Chapter 165: What if it refuses to eat?
They arrived back at the pet store and the three of them went inside alone, leaving Alyssa and Roland in the car.
Not they were asked to stay, but Roland wanted to stay back, so Alyssa, feeling Roland might be better with company, decided to stay back as well.
And this was the same girl who wanted to go on a blind date to find a man who was better than Roland.
She decided to go about this after they returned to Italy though, so she was free to do whatever she liked and feel whatever for Roland at the moment.
It definitely couldn’t get any worse than this.
"We’re here to get a pet." Michael said to the lady wearing a pink apron at what looked like the receptionist’s table.
"Oh, an adoption?" She asked and looked at Olivia in her father’s arms. "For the cute little girl, I assume?"
"Yes, I want a hamster." Olivia excitedly said and the lady chuckled.
"Well, it’s not a difficult process, but we advise our customers to spend some time with the given pet before actually making up their mind to adopt one." She explained. "And while that’s going on, you can observe and monitor the process, if you think it’s all right for your child to take such a pet or not. We’ll know your opinion and go straight to the process. Is that okay with you?"
Michael nodded, same with Noah.
"Then, please show us the available hamsters." Michael said and the lady smiled.
"Right this way." She walked out of the reception table. "By the way, my name is Zoey. If you have any questions or complaints, do let me know. I’ll be sure to address the issue appropriately."
While there were a variety of pet cafés in the country, not all offered adoption and only allowed the customers to visit as well as cuddle the animals.
For places that allowed adoptions, Ike this one, the staff paid close attention to the adopters so that the animals wouldn’t end up in the wrong hands.
The pets were innocent, so it would break their heart if they were harmed because of an incompetent owner.
"...We also have a professional vet who takes care of the animals occasionally and is well inclined with animal habits. So, be sure to bring back the hamster if it suddenly gets ill or refuses to eat."
"What if it refuses to eat as soon as we take it home because of the change in environment and unfamiliar faces?" Michael asked as they watched Olivia take a look at the different cute hamsters.
"That’s a regular case." The lady said. "Hamsters are prey animals so any change in environment could make them feel unsafe. They usually rely on scent trails, smells, sounds, and lighting, so if all of this changes, they naturally feel inclined and hide until they’re sure their lives aren’t in danger."
Olivia listened to this and then turned back to continue searching for the one she wanted.
She was taking note of Zoey’s words so she wouldn’t make a mistake with her hamster.
"This usually goes on for about two to three days, but if it persists after that, you’ll have to bring the hamster back to get checked for other possible problems." Zoey explained. "But before then, the things you need to take note of are to get a cage with their familiar toys. Place the cage in a fixed position for that period so you can avoid sudden movements that might frighten it, avoid loud music since they’re very sensitive when they feel unsafe in the new environment, and then feed them with small bites of fruits, preferably cucumber or apple, since they love such fruits. Just give them a while and they’ll adjust."
Zoey said a bunch of other things but Olivia trailed off, already knowing what she had to do to be a good pet owner.
She found a specific hamster with white and odd color eyes, munching on a nut. It’s right eye was gold and the other eye was green.
Ah, it was such a rare hamster, she assumed. But it was very cute.
When she looked into its eyes, which weren’t paying attention to her, she felt it was being calculating.
Olivia quickly shook her head.
’I must be overthinking because it looks like a smart hamster.’ She thought and then turned to find that they were still talking. ’Papa won’t scold me for taking it out to look, will he?’ she wondered and decided whether to just tell them she wanted this one or not.
It was a cute little hamster.
But before she could make up her mind, Zoey walked up to her.
"You’ve been staring at that little fella for quite a while. Do you like him?" She asked and Olivia pouted, unsure of what to say.
"It does look cute and clever but I want to spend some time with it before I make my choice." She said, shocking Zoey.
That was a rather mature answer to give for someone her age.
Kids like her would usually nod their heads in excitement and say yes because it looked just like what they wanted but she didn’t do that.
She was smart.
Zoey smiled, feeling that if it were this little girl, even if her parents didn’t do much, the hamster would be in good hands.
"Alright, let me take him out."
Zoey took out the hamster.
"Now, stretch out your hands. I’m going to place him on your palms, so don’t be scared, okay?"
"Scared? I eat fear for breakfast." Olivia boldly remarked, her nose pointed to the air and Michael cleared his throat, adding as he darted his eyes away,
"Along with a cup of your own tears, that is." He said, and Olivia fumed.
"Crying has nothing to do with this, Papa." She said and Zoey watched. They were quite chatty.
"Yes, yes. But don’t come crying when it starts licking your thumb." He added and Noah laughed.
"That’s enough. You just want to make her cry, don’t you?" He asked but Michael snickered and said,
"Ah, I already succeeded."
Noah looked at Olivia who was desperately trying hard to fight the tears from falling.
’I will not cry. I will not cry. I can’t let Papa succeed this time.’ she said, biting her lips and Noah sighed.
"I can’t believe you bully our daughter as well." He muttered but Michael shrugged his shoulders.
"I’m just reminding her that she’s still a child at heart, no matter how mature her mind is." He carefreely said but then Olivia yelped in excitement.
"Yes, I did it." She said and rushed towards them, with the hamster in her palms. "I’m holding the hamster, Papa and I didn’t cry. In your face." She tittered.
Noah laughed.
"Admit it. It’s your defeat." Noah said to Michael but Michael still had his smirk up as if he hadn’t seen the end of it yet.
"Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Olivia darling." He said, snickering to himself and Olivia looked at him innocently.
"What does that mean in this situation, Papa?" But as soon as she asked that, the hamster that was trying to get familiar with her hand suddenly got triggered and ran up her arm, causing her to panic and she screamed in fright.
It ran across her body and then landed on her head.
"Ahh, get it off. Get it off." She cried, and Zoey picked up the hamster while Noah picked her up into his arms.
"It’s okay, baby. It’s okay. It’s not there anymore." He said, stroking the back of her head as she cried.
Michael simply shrugged his shoulders and said,
"You see what I mean."
"It’s no longer funny, Michael. She’s scared." Noah said but Michael shook his head and said,
"I expected the hamster to try something like that." He said.
"How did you know?" Zoey asked. "I didn’t expect it to suddenly run around her so I thought it would be fine."
"Well, I saw a classmate’s hamster once when I was a child. I took it out of its cage and admired the pretty little thing, but all of a sudden, it ran up my arm and got into my shirt, making me dance around the class and get laughed at." Michael recalled, goosebumps rising on his skin as he remembered that day. "Anyway, I had a hunch something like that would happen."
"Papa is so mean." Olivia whimpered, snuggling her face on Noah’s shoulders.
"I’m sorry, little one." Zoey apologized, placing the hamster back in its cage. "It got excited and just wanted to run around. And since you’re not used to having its tiny claws on you, you felt scared. Would you like a lollipop to feel better?" She asked, taking out a lollipop from her pocket but Olivia shook her head.
"Thank you, but I don’t want a lollipop." She said.
"Then what do you want?" Zoey asked and Olivia’s eyes burned with determined flames.
"I want revenge on Papa."
