Sammy, a teenage clerk in an A&P grocery, is working the cash register on a hot summer day when three pretty young women about his age enter, in bathing suits and bare feet, to buy snacks. Sammy gawks at the girls; he imagines details about the girls based on their appearance alone, impressions that, to his surprise, are shaken when the leader of the trio, an enchantingly gorgeous beauty he dubs "Queenie", speaks in a voice unlike that which he had created in his imagination.
Lengel, the prudish manager, feels the girls are not dressed appropriately for a supermarket, and admonishes them, telling them they must have their shoulders covered next time, which Sammy believes unnecessarily embarrasses them.
Offended by the manager's disregard for their dignity, Sammy ceremoniously removes his store apron and bow tie and resigns on the spot, despite the mention by the manager that he believes Sammy's resignation is for rash reasons and to reconsider. Lengel also reminds Sammy he knows Sammy's parents and he ought not do anything that would embarrass them socially. Sammy then leaves the store, seemingly in expectation of some display of affection or appreciation from the young women involved, only to find that they've already left, apparently oblivious to his presence. Sammy then feels a sense of dread, reflecting on "how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter".[3][4][5]
