She had aced her classes in the first half of the year at Hogwarts. She had won her first duel. And now she was walking into a pet shop hand in hand with her grandfather, the rest of the Bennett family trailing behind her. Her mother had promised her a pet "maybe" if she did good in school but she was not sure if they could afford it at this point since a lot of money had gone into Frank's college tuition. However, grandpa Raymond pulled his savings out and said that 'his little one was getting a present this year'. A 'belated birthday gift' he called it.
Nicky opened her mouth in excitement when they were inside the shop. There were too many animals to choose from, simply too many.
"You should get yourself an owl, it is sweet and practical" - Lynette pointed at a few cages with owls nearby, - "and you won't have to use my owl every time you need to send a letter".
That was indeed a sour subject for Lynette because Nicky wrote letters to all of her family every day and Lynette's owl could barely ever get a moment's rest while Lynette herself sometimes had to wait on her owl to come back to send out correspondence.
But an owl would be way too boring for Nicky. Her grandparents and her mother had owls, and so did Lynette.
"A cat would be fun too, wouldn't it?" - her mother asked, clasping her hands in delight at the sight of several cats of different breeds. One was ginger, another - a tabby. Nicky ran over to them excitedly.
"Can I pet them?" - she asked the shopkeepers.
"Of course, dear, but be careful!".
She touched the tabby's head, petting it gently.
"He is so cute, and Henry has a cat too! We were talking about arranging a pet playdate if I get a pet, I'm sure Loki would like to meet this one!" - she rambled looking at her mother.
But then her gaze fell to the back of the shop where there were several small terrariums. It looked like while there was a crowd around the owls, cats and ferrets, nobody went into that corner. Nicky made a few steps towards the back of the shop. There were so many spiders... And they looked lonely, like they had lost all hope to be picked because there were so many other amazing animals... One in particular looked sadder than the others and Nicky pointed at him without even thinking.
"I want that one!"
"Are you sure?" - Lynette asked meekly. "It's a spider!"
"I'm sure!"
"All right, spider it is then!" - her grandpa went over to the counter to pay for the pet.
"You better not let it run on my side of the room!" - Lynette threatened, visibly repulsed by the sight of her new pet. But Nicky barely heard her. Her attention was fully on her new pet. When they exited the shop, she scratched the spider's back gently and whispered:
"I'm going to call you Pringle!"
(517 words)

What animal do you wish to purchase?
European Hairy Trapper
What do you want to name it?
Pringle
Is this a boy or a girl?
Boy
What is your pet's date of birth?

08.10.2019