"Need help there, Miss?" He was teasing. Bert, the shopkeeper, was a friend of Charlotte's. "I want to look at that book up there" Charlotte pointed to {Book Title}. "I need to start charging you for 'looks' at those books!" said Bert, laughing his big booming bellylaugh. "Anyway, I have to close up." Charlotte looked looked up sadly into his eyes. One of her few lovely trips to Bert's Books had been spoiled. Bert bent down at her and said kindly, "You can have that one, Lottie. But just this once, and don't tell your folks" Charlotte looked up at the big man, who must have been getting old; the hair on his head was getting greyer every visit to town. "Thanks, Bert!" Charlotte ran out of the shop, leaving Bert to lock up and head home. She stuffed her book into her bag, and looked around for Natasha. She spotted her alone at a big booth with a tall glass. Natasha was fair and skinny, with flashing green eyes and big gaps between her teeth. Quite the opposite was Charlotte, who was tall and strong, had deep auburn hair, dark brown eyes and a short stubby pig nose. She started to pull her book out to show Natasha, but even though Natasha was her best friend, she couldn't keep a secret. She would probably spill the whole story in front of Charlottes parents and get Bert in trouble again. Charlotte slipped the book back into her bag. "Where did you get that?" gasped Charlotte, pointing to Natasha's lemonade in shock. "I stole a card" Natasha said, her face full of mischief "Well, not stole exactly. There was a man, and he had two children... with ice creams! He must have been rich anyway, and the card dropped when he was paying for something, and I picked it up..."
"And didn't return it" said Charlotte, with anger slowly eating up the sides of her stomache, threatening to take over her whole body and spill out her mouth. "You have to do something. You can't just, just take something like that."
*
