This little piggy went to market

chapter 2

Chapter 2
This little piggy had none

Cassidy spent the week saying her goodbyes to her friends. She was so thrilled to be moving from the city to the country. Her Grandfather was going to drive her to Nebraska so they had to leave on Friday. They arrived early Sunday afternoon and Cassidy was assigned her room. She said her goodbyes and her grandfather left for home. She was the first of the girls to arrive, but the others all trickled in as the day went on. First to arrive was Lisa, followed quickly by Elizabeth (Beth). Around 4PM Tonya arrived. The last one, Holly arrived around 6PM just as dinner was starting. Cassidy could not believe how much food was on the table as there were only seven of them including Mr Smith and his wife. Mrs Smith would become their housemother. She asked the girls to call her mama Sara. Sara has a very large woman, farm life obviously agreed with her. Cassidy asked about their family. Mama Sara told her she was unable to have children of her own, so she always enjoyed spending time with each years interns.
Monday morning at 5AM they were taken to the area where they would be working. Mr Smith spent the week teaching them everything they would need to know. The days would be long, he explained, 5AM to 5-6PM daily, 7 days a week. They would be given loose fitting uniforms to wear at work. They girls spent all their time together that first week, and started to get to know one another. Holly and Cassidy hit it off and would become best friends over time. Tonya and Beth seems to really hit it off as well. Lisa pretty much kept to herself and that never changed during the year they were all together. Mama Sara cooked all the meals and every meal much more food than they would consume was on the table. On Friday Cassidy asked why there was always so much food. Mama Sara told her none of it went to waste. What they did not eat ended up in the animals feed trough the next day.
The next Monday they were all assigned their own area and animals to care for. By lottery each was assigned one of the experimental formulas of feed for their pigs. Each was assigned twelve animals, which they had to weight before feeding every Friday morning. This particular breed averaged around 275 lbs when ready for market, which took about 4 months average to reach. This meant if they reached weight earlier, then the formula was successful. They would each get a total of three groups of pigs to fatten over the year of the internship. They would also all have a new version of the experimental feed with each new group.
After the first month Cassidy has her own little routine down pat. She Feed her pigs at 0500, then had a large breakfast before returning to the pig pens. Except on Fridays she would start her day at 0400 to weigh the pigs, then feed them at 0500 like every other day. She knew the animals would all be heading to market so she did not want to treat them as pets. She decided to look at them as her future dinner. She kept track of all the pigs activities and watched for an adverse reactions from the feed Mr Smith instructed them to look for. That Friday at dinner Mr Smith announced they all had Saturday off but had to be back at work 5AM Sunday.
Cassidy enjoyed that day off. Mama Sara offered to take them into town shopping and Cassidy and Holly decided to go. Cassidy had noticed her cloths were getting a little snug, and that her tummy looked a little fuller. Must be that yummy food mama Sara has been feeding them. They got back to the farm around 5PM and Cassidy offered to help mama Sara prepare dinner for the group. Cassidy had never really learned to cook and she found Mama Sara's food delicious so she thought she would be an excellent teacher. On Sunday morning they were all back at work.
Another month passed and Cassidy could really tell her belly was filling out. She noticed all the other girls had gained a little as well, but not as much her. That Friday morning, before weighing the pigs, she weighted herself and was surprised when the scale stopped at 165 lbs. They had each been given a physical at their interviews and she was at 149 lbs. A gain of 16 lbs in two months time, so she vowed to cut back on her eating. That lasted until dinnertime when mama Sara had prepared Cassidy's favorite food, an italian sausage and penne pasta dish similar to what her mother used to make. She could not help herself and had three servings. She went to her room truly stuffed that night. The next morning dieting was the last thing on her mind and she was back to eating her normal amount. Her favorite meal was breakfast and her favorite breakfast food was bacon, and there was always plenty of bacon on the breakfast table every morning.
Week 15 and Cassidy's pigs were nearly ready for market. They averaged 255lbs, 20 lbs short of the 275 goal. That night at dinner Mr Smith announced that Tonya's pigs were at weight. They would be going to market the next morning and Tonya had the next two weeks off until time for their next group of pigs. Week 16 came and went and Cassidy's pig were 2 lbs short of the goal. The other 3 girls all made the goal that week and were now off for the next week. All of them took the time to visit family or friends, so Cassidy was the only one left. Then the fateful day came and her pigs were at weight and she was told to not feed them that morning. She did not know that they did not feed the pigs the day they were sent to market. So "this little piggy had none".