A few minutes later

Mr. Cobb was the store owner. He had no use for kids. They were little people with little money. His eyes narrowed as he saw the boys approaching the store.

After they entered the store, Travis walked over to the big cooler that was filled with ice and sodas. Paul walked over to the candy bar section.

“Mr. Cobb, you don’t have any orange soda,” Travis said.

“Yes, I do. Just dig a little. You’ll find one.”

Travis dug for a minute.

“I still can’t find one.”

“Are you blind? I’ll be right there.”

Mr. Cobb started digging through the ice. Paul immediately put two candy bars into his trousers’ baggy pockets. He patted the pockets down a little bit.

“Look! Orange soda! What did I tell you?”

“Thank you, sir,” Travis said.

As Travis was paying for the orange soda and the root beer, Mr. Cobb looked at Paul.

“You’re not buying anything?”

“No, sir. We just wanted some sodas.”

“Then why were you looking at the candy bars?”

“Just to see if you got any new brands, sir.” Mr. Cobb’s narrow eyes got narrower as they moved slowly from Paul’s eyes to his shirt, to his pants, and to his shoes.

“If I ever catch you stealing from me, I’ll chop off your hands, you hear me?” For emphasis, Mr. Cobb reached down beneath the countertop and pulled out a butcher knife, sharp and shiny.

Both boys were startled. They ran out of the store.

“Come back here. You forgot your change!” Mr. Cobb yelled at them.

The man got back onto his ATV and started driving in circles around the women. The ATV was spraying sand and water all over them. He was laughing. They started running back south. When the ATV driver saw that they were leaving, he drove off.

“John Smith. A phony name to go with a phony uniform,” said Maria when they slowed down to a walk. “We’re going to the police station and make a complaint. I hope they put him in jail.”

A few minutes later, Lisa asked, “Where are the shells?”

“Oh, gee, in all the excitement I left them back there. I’m sorry.”

“No problem,” replied Lisa. “There’s plenty of seashells in the sea.”

“Yeah, just like there’s plenty of jerks on the shore.”