The Randomness of Chance (Max Verstappen)

THE ODDS OF BEATING UNEMPLOYMENT

Amelia was sat at the small café, a cup of coffee in her hands. 

Christmas in Australia was always an oddity to her, no matter how many times she spent the holidays there. Her brain was still wired on the European weather and so she always had a hard time wrapping her head about the concept of a warm Christmas.

She looked around; the owners of the café went all out on the decorations, going as far as to play the seasonal jingles as background music.

Amelia was humming quietly to Mariah's song when the chair in front of her was pulled.

"Sorry I'm late, Ames!"

She waved her hand dismissively, smiling at the grinning face of Michelle Ricciardo.

"I was early."

She had known Michelle for almost ten years now. Despite their age difference, they had hit it up immediately and Amelia was most grateful for her friendship.

It had been hard enough to leave everything behind when they made the move from Portugal to Australia. She was on the peak of her angsty teenage years, so the unexpected friendliness and welcoming nature of her neighbors had been a blessing to Amelia.

Michelle laughed, flipping through the menu – "How's Australia treating you?"

At Amelia's wincing face, she raised an eyebrow – "That bad, uh?"

"Not bad. But not good either." – she sighed, her expression getting sadder – "One can't expect much after being forced back to their parents nest."

Amelia wouldn't describe herself as quitter, but the past years had drained her energy completely.

She had left Australia to study abroad. She had graduated Oxford University with a degree in Experimental Psychology, a moment of great pride for her if one must know, and two years later had a Masters specializing in Children's Psychology and Behavior.

Amelia had took all the internships, even the unpaid ones, and joined all research projects available but despite her professors' high praise and expectations, her big break never arrived. She was stuck on a lowly paid researcher scholarship, taking every babysitting gig possible on the side, so she could tackle her monthly expenses.

When the University decided, two months ago, to dissolve the research team, Amelia had swallowed her pride and returned to her parents' house in Australia. They had received her with open arms, of course, but she could catch the worried glances they sent her way.

Amelia couldn't judge them. They had spent a small fortune on her education and now their highly specialized daughter was sitting at home all day, unemployed.

Michelle smiled in sympathy, reaching for her hand – "Still no luck on the job hunt, then?"

Amelia shook her head – "No opens on my field of expertise and I'm overqualified for other positions. I'm actually considering scratching my qualifications from my CV."

"Well, you mightn't have to. That's actually the reason why I asked you to meet me." – at her inquiring look the older girl gave her a mischievous grin – "There's this friend of my brother who's in desperate need of someone to take care of his kid. I might have recommended your awesome babysitting skills to Danny and now he reverted asking your availability to interview for the position."

"Wait, hold on a second! Your brother?" – Michelle nodded – "The one who lives in Monaco?"

Michelle rolled her eyes in annoyance – "I only have one brother, Amelia."

"But Mish, I don't have any credentials."

"You have a highly specialization in children's behavior, that's more than many sitters have going for them." – Michelle pointed out – "Besides you have the experience to back you up. I know you babysat for a bunch of high end snobs back in London, can't you get a recommendation letter?"

"I suppose I could." – Amelia mused quietly while mulling over the job opportunity.

Babysitting for the higher classes was not an easy task. They were not only paying the sitter to look after the children's basic needs. Most of them expected the full involvement of the sitter in the kids' lives: raising them, educating them and providing guidance and support when the parents were not available.

On the other side, she could really use the money. Having her parents providing for her at the age of 25 was not something she was proud of. If she couldn't be out of their hair, at least she would be able to aid them with the bills.

"Look, Ames, I know it's not your dream job." – Michelle interrupted the silence – "But it's a well-paid gig for a reliable person. I know Danny wouldn't have asked otherwise."

Amelia let out a dramatic sigh before smiling big at her friend.

"When's the interview?"

Michelle grinned in return and reached for her phone – "I'll call Danny."

---

AN: Hi! My first attempt at writing a F1 fanfiction. There's a chance (no pun intended) of finding some mistakes since I'm not a native speaker.