The big ice cream debate

 

It was the first truly warm day of the year, and I had only one thing on my mind: ice cream.

“Bubbles, let’s go get ice cream!” I announced, already grabbing my pocket money.

Bubbles, my tiny stuffed hippo-turned-real-life-best-friend, perked up from his spot on the windowsill. “Ooooh, yes! I love ice cream! Let’s get strawberry.”

I made a face. “Strawberry? That’s so boring.”

Bubbles gasped. “Boring? Excuse me! It’s classic! What do you want then?”

“Chocolate, obviously,” I said, folding my arms. “It’s rich, delicious, and perfect.”

Bubbles shook his head dramatically. “Too much chocolate. It needs something more exciting. Like fruit!”

“Or,” I countered, “it could have something crunchy, like nuts!”

We walked to the ice cream shop, arguing the entire way—Bubbles passionately defending fruit flavors while I stood my ground on chocolate. By the time we reached the counter, neither of us had convinced the other.

The lady at the counter smiled. “What will it be?”

Bubbles and I both opened our mouths, then hesitated. We looked at the long list of flavors, neither willing to budge on our choices.

Then, my eyes landed on something interesting. “Wait… what about mint chocolate chip?”

Bubbles tilted his head. “Mint?”

“Yeah! It’s fresh, like your fruity stuff, but also has chocolate chips—so it’s not boring!”

Bubbles tapped his tiny hippo chin. “Hmm. It does have a good balance. A little bit of both our ideas.”

I grinned. “So we agree?”

Bubbles held out his tiny paw for a shake. “Deal.”

A few minutes later, we sat outside, happily enjoying our mint chocolate chip cones.

“You know,” Bubbles said between licks, “this might be the best flavor ever.”

I nodded. “Told you.”

And for once, we didn’t argue. Well, at least not until Bubbles tried to steal a bite of my ice cream.