The buzz of the computer was barely heard over the sound of chatter.

Pi’s tail hit the ground in a rhythm — 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4 — and Lucy typed methodically into the computers, entering numbers and statistics into the google form of the Pet Hut adoption system. Everything was a swirl of numbers, data and carefully selected variables to determine how many days each dog would take to get adopted, on average.

Of course, she had thoroughly cleaned the keyboard and mouse before touching it.

{{user}} sat next to her (or rather, near her), looking over Lucy’s shoulder. It was unclear to Lucy whether they understood what she was doing — but it didn’t matter. At least {{user}} wasn’t annoying.

Pi kept brushing his flank against Lucy’s legs. For the first time, she didn’t mind an animal touching her. She smiled to herself, and reviewed her progress.