At The Mall by Patricia J. Birtwistle
Money
Chapter 1
This was it! Summer was coming to an end, and the kids had to get things for school. They had money and were going to the mall to get their stuff.
“You just get what you have to,” said Bob’s mom. “And see if you can stay out of trouble at the mall. You may get lunch there if you have time. Be back by two. We have some things we should do before you go back to school.”
The kids went to the mall a few times. They did not have a lot of money, so they did not go over there much. This day, they all had money to get their stuff.
“This should be fun!” said Beth on the way. “If we can get good stuff and have money left, we can get lunch and maybe some CDs.”
“Can we get things with the leftover money or should we take it home?” asked Dan.
“Mom didn’t say to bring the money back, so she must think we will not have much left. I think we can get the stuff we want,” Nick said.
“By the time we get the things we have to get, there will not be much money left. But let’s see how we do!” said Dan.
The rest of the kids said that Kim’s plan was a good one. Maybe they could pool their money at the end and get something that they all wanted.
When they got to the mall, they all went to get their school things.
“How much money do you have left?” asked Nick as they left the shop.
“We still have lots, but we have to get some things to wear,” the girls said.
“We do too,” said Dan. “If we get going, we could get it all by noon.”
So, the girls took off to get their things. The boys did not have as much to get, so they went slowly into the shops.
Kim was by one of the shops when she saw a dirty old bag. She gave it a kick. She could tell that there was something in it. She picked it up and opened it. The bag had a lot money in it. She wanted to yell out, “I’m rich.” But she just took it over to Beth. She could not keep her hand still as she opened of the bag for Beth.
“Look!” she said.
“Wow!” Beth said when she looked into the bag. “Where did you find that?”
“It was over there by the door. I picked it up. There is no one over there looking for it. I don’t see anyone.”
Kim went back to the door and looked at the folks passing by. No one stopped. They all kept going by her.
Then she went back to Beth and said, “Let’s get out of here. I’m rich!”
“Let’s just get the things we want and we’ll see what the boys think you should do,” said Beth.
“What? No way!” said Kim. She wanted to keep the money. She was upset with Beth, but she did what Beth said. She got her things.
It was noon when they had all their stuff. Kim saw the boys by the food stand. She came over to them with the bag in her hand.
“Don’t tell us you got into some more trouble, Kim,” said Nick. He could tell that something was up by looking at her.
“No! No! Look at this! I picked it up, and there was all this money in it. No one was looking for it, so I kept it.”
“Wow! How much is in there?” asked Bob.
“A lot!” Kim said.
“Let’s have lunch. We have lots of time before we have to go home. We’ll have to think of what you should do with it,” said Dan.
“I don’t want food,” Kim said. “I just want to take this money home.”
Beth said, “Look, Kim, it is not as if it is just a little money. You cannot take it home. Someone must be looking for it.”
“But,” Bob said, “she did find it. She should not have to give it up. Finders, keepers!”
“Someone must be looking for it,” Dan said.
“I think so too!” said Beth.
“It’s not yours, Kim. You have to try to find out who lost it,” said Nick. “If you can find them, they may give you some of it. But you can’t just keep it.”
