Sammy is a cashier at an A & P supermarket located in a suburban town north of Boston. It is a hot summer afternoon in the 1960s. The atmosphere, as described by the narrator (Sammy), inside the A & P is monotonous with mostly old ladies checking off their shopping lists and housewives in pin curlers. Then, three girls wearing bathing suits saunter in, barefoot. The 1st one that caught Sammy's eye was a "chunky" girl with plaid, green two-piece bathing suit on. There was also a tall one with a long chin. Finally, there was the "queen", short with white legs, walking deliberately and leading the group. The queen was the one that stole Sammy's attention. The straps falling off her shoulder, dirty-pink bathing suit, and her face and hair mesmerized him. Stokesie, another male cashier also noticed them. Sammy and Stokesie were college-aged.
The girls proceeded to make their way through each of the aisles. Sammy referred to the elder customers as "sheep" and mocked at how they were indifferent in the presence of these girls. Women generally do not wear only bathing suits in these parts since they are far from the beach. The queen and her sidekicks approach Sammy's checkout and she presents a jar of Kingfish Fancy Herring Snacks in Pure Sour Cream: 49 cents. Lengel the manager walks in and tells the girls that they are not dressed decently. He tells them that they had to cover up the next time since it is store policy. Sammy promptly quits with a slight sense of remorse mixed with the conviction of what he did was rational.
Flowchart of nonlinear variant of "A & P"
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