"I'm going to be a horse." She gave a weak smile and cleared her throat.
"Well... that's good, right?" Stephen looked hopeful.
"But... you're going to be a Hereford." She looked upset.
"What's a "Hereford"?"
"A bull, Steve, they use them for beef and stuff." That came out badly, she thought. She was just as upset as he was, but she didn't want to sugar coat it.
Stephen slumped down on the sofa. "Oh man.." It hadn't quite sunk in. He rubbed his forehead.
"Hey, look," Elle sat down next to him and rubbed his shoulder. "Sometimes they transfer people once they're there- they do really well as breeding stock and they get kept for that only."
Stephen looked blankly onwards. "Yeh, but when they get too old, THEN they get turned into burgers."