Sammy, the teenage narrator, begins the story by describing the three girls who have walked into the A & P grocery store where he works. They are wearing nothing but bathing suits. He is so distracted by them that he cannot remember if he rang up a box of crackers or not. As it turns out, he did ring them up, a fact that his customer, "a witch about fifty," lets him know quickly and loudly.

He finishes ringing up the customer's items as the girls, who have disappeared down an aisle, circle back into view. He notices that they are barefoot. He describes each: there's a "chunky one . .. and a tall one [with] a chin that was too long" and the "queen," whom he imagines is their leader. She catches his eye for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that...