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As she turned to leave the store, a bright poster drew her attention. It read: "Has the heat got you down? Try an ice-cream bar. Only 16 cents."
Lisa walked over to the display and stared at the frozen chocolate and vanilla16 bars. Her smudged17 hand held only three cents. She looked up at the sign again, then down at the wrapped ice-cream. She looked up at the sign again, then down at the freezer and pulled one out, just as another customer walked around the corner. Lisa looked up and saw him watching her. She hurried down the aisle, glancing back to see if he was following. He continued walking up the aisle. She ran to the door and pushed it open fast as the man called out: "Wait! Hey, wait! You didn't pay for that!" He turned to the cashier. "Hey, that girl-she didn't pay."
The cashier turned and looked at Lisa who was now running down the road. "Huh? Ah-they come in here and do that all the time. Never been taught any better, I suppose. Oh, let her go."
Lisa ran fast down the black pavement. Her feet burned as they slapped the hard road. She held on tightly to the groceries and to her ice-cream and kept running. The houses with eight or ten windows rushed past her. She kept running until finally her feet felt the hot rough dirt again. She stopped when she reached that rock and sat on it. Her lungs ached from the run, and the perspiration ran down her chin. The groceries slid through her arm onto the ground, but she continued to hold the ice-cream. With her free hand she slowly removed the wrapper. The ice-cream bar, soft from the heat, fell off the stick and onto the ground. The dust scattered and settled instantly like a film over the chocolate coating.18 Lisa looked down at the soft melting mass. She sat very still and stared at the dry ground.
From below a voice called to her.
"Lisa? Come over here! I've been waiting for ya. Come on! Girl!" But Lisa didn't move.
