The Assassin

chocolate milk

(12:15 PM, Market)

Rachel pulled into the Trader Joe's parking lot, trying to suppress her annoyance of the toddler-like woman beside her. The whole car ride, Brittany kept talking about what she would dip into the fondue. Bread, vegetables, fruit, fish, candy; the possibilities were endless to Brittany. Needless to say, it was quite a long car ride.

As soon as Rachel parked her car, Brittany practically flew to the market, eager to heat up a smoking pot of cheese. Rachel jogged behind her, trying to keep up, yelling, "Brittany! Get back here!" Just as a mother would to her daughter or son. You could say that they had that type of relationship. As previously mentioned, Brittany didn't exactly have the brightest mind, but her friends didn't see that as a setback at all. They saw it as an opportunity to prove to her that she was special, and that's exactly what they did, Rachel especially. Her friends and family made her feel special, and she loved them endlessly for that, forever remaining in their debt.

Brittany was zooming through the aisles of Trader Joe's, picking up items she would be able to dip into her fondue later this afternoon. Rachel raced behind her with a shopping cart, knowing that whenever they go for fondue, it usually all ends up filling at least one full cart. She didn't mind, though. Brittany wasn't one to ask for much, so why not spoil her every now and then?

As they passed through the ice cream freezers, Brittany began to look through very flavor, a frown growing on her face. Rachel took notice and simply asked, "Britt, what's wrong?"

Brittany gulped and replied, "Rachel, the cows."

"What? What about the cows?"

"I love ice cream, but imagine how the cows must feel."

Rachel chuckled and said, "You know, I'm pretty sure they don't mind."

"How are you so sure?"

"Well, that's how we get milk, Britt. It's been going on for a while, actually."

"Okay, but, how long do they keep them in the freezers?"

"Hm?"

"How long do they keep the cows in the freezers until they have to milk them to make ice cream?"

Rachel took a deep breath, knowing that this was something she had yet to explain to Brittany, but she decided she would save it for a later date. So instead, she took Brittany by the arm and said, "Only for a little while, don't worry."

Brittany let out a sigh of relief, and carried on with her market rummaging. After ten more minutes, she decided that the cart full of food behind her would be enough to dip for the fondue later on. So, she decided that she should finally head down to the dairy section to pick out her cheeses.

Rachel was busy picking out teas to brew for her throat, so Brittany decided to just bring the cheese back to the cart after she grabbed all of them. She jogged to the dairy section, excited to finalize her fondue plans.

She picked out whichever cheeses she desired: Gouda, Mozzarella, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, and many more. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to mix all of them, but that's what she's been doing ever since she could remember, so why change it now? She grinned as more cheese began to fill her arms, which were getting tired from carrying so many. She knew she had to return to Rachel now.

As she walked back, she noticed Rachel's eyes widened at the amount of cheese she had picked out. She had to admit, she did go a little crazy this time, but something insanely traumatic just happened to her, so who could really blame her?

She dropped them all in the cart, and suddenly, she remembered she needed to grab something else from the dairy aisle.

"Rachel, can I go grab some chocolate milk? You know it's my favorite... Please? It'll help support the brown cows..."