Penguin Love || Benedict Cumberbatch

CHAPTER ONE

     It was a hot summer. Too many days, Daisy Green found herself reclining in her bed, lazily surfing the internet, trying desperately to pass the time. Earlier during the year, she couldn't wait for her much needed vacation. College was a hell of a lot of work, and Daisy worked her fingers to the bone.

     But now, when there was no work to be done, she craved it. Boredom was eating at her very soul. It wasn't long before she was skimming the internet for potential jobs. The search was fruitless, at first, but it wouldn't be for very long.

     Daisy stared at her laptop. She closed the BuzzFeed article she was reading and, once again, went onto a job search website. Entry after entry popped up, employers looking for much needed workers. Most of them looking for workers with previous experience (which Daisy had little of). Daisy had some, but not nearly enough to fit employers requirements.

With a loud frustrated grown, almost like a growl, she clicked to a different website.

Passing by her room was her mother, and Daisy's groan was just loud enough to catch her attention. With a frown, she stepped into her only child's room with a soft knock on her door.

     "I don't know why you're wasting your time, Daisy," she said as she observed her daughter. Daisy held back another groan. She needed a job, yes. She was desperate, yes. But she wasn't going to do what her mom was about to suggest. "Your uncle could always use a pair of hands at the zoo, you know."

     "Uncle George."

     "That's the one."

     "I don't know if I can do the work, I'm not very good with animals," Daisy murmured, most of her focus still on her computer screen. But what she said was true. Apart from watching the occasional Youtube video about animals, and the marine biology class she had to take during her second year, Daisy was clueless about animals. And honestly, she didn't care to learn more about them.

     Maybe it had to do with the dog that bit her when she was just a child. Perhaps it had to do with the geese that chased her through her Uncle's backyard. Whatever it was, Daisy and animals just did not mix.

     "I don't think he'd give you work with the animals," her mother assured her. "Maybe cleaning up?"

     "Their waste."

     She shrugged a shoulder. "Someone has to do the work," she replied. "But it is work." With one last glance at her uninterested daughter, she left the room.

     After that, Daisy couldn't pay attention to the suggested jobs before her. Did her mother actually have a point? Slowly, her eyes drifted to the phone on her nightstand. Uncle George was just a phone call away. It couldn't hurt to at least ask him what positions he had available. He'd be so ecstatic to work with his favorite niece, maybe he'd even take pity on her.

     Daisy dialed his number.

     Uncle George didn't answer.

     And as far as Daisy knew, that was it. She had dodged a bullet. She continued to browse the internet before getting ready for dinner.

     . . .

     Come dinner, her mom opened up a bottle of wine and made more food than usual (which should have been a clue). Being the amazing daughter she was, Daisy even helped make the salad.

She was just plopping down on the couch when the doorbell rang. Getting up with a sigh, she trudged towards the door and checked to see who was on the other side. She immediately took a step back, and took a deep breath.

     "Mom," she muttered under her breath. Opening the door, she smiled broadly at  the man who stood before her. "Uncle George!"

     "Daisy!" Uncle George heartedly greeted. Stepping into her mother's home, he wrapped Daisy up into a warm hug. Uncle George always smelled so different from everyone else, a mix of his profession and cologne. It was something nobody else could replicate.

     "Oh, George," Daisy's mom appeared in the living room. She hugged her brother, then invited him to sit. She poured a glass of wine for him. Uncle George wasted no time in starting a story about the zoo.

     He always had a story about his zoo. It almost always sounded like a miracle.

     "So, Daisy," Uncle George finally said. Daisy grabbed a glass and poured herself some wine. She took a sip, then another, then another. Uncle George stared at her. "Pace yourself," he joked. "How are you doing? How's your summer going?"

     "Oh, you know." The vague answer caused a quirk in her uncle's brow.

     "As a matter of fact, I do know. You're mother has been informing me that you're in need of a job." His lips pulled back into a knowing smile as Daisy threw her head back with a groan. "It would be great experience for you, kid!" George protested.

     "I know, I know," she grumbled, looking down at her wine glass, imagining all the lions and tigers and snakes. For weeks, she's been looking for a job and now she was having one thrown in her lap. A golden opportunity...

     "So?" Her uncle asked, ducking his head, trying to catch her eye. "What do you say, kid?"

     With a huff, she looked back and forth between her mother and uncle's expectant eyes. It looked like Daisy Green would soon be a working girl.

     "When do I start?"