Lila’s shadow was caught in the wheels of a shopping cart as she moved toward the automatic opening doors.

Walmart’s entrance was blocked by rows of bicycles backed up to the Garden Center. Blue and pink bikes waiting like lost puppies for families to adopt and take home for the summer. Lila wanted to power through the aisles, past the multitudinous displays of canned goods, toothpaste, packages of macaroni and cheese, ten for five dollars; notebooks and felt pens caught her eye but she pushed onward, past the fresh fruit, cycling toward the back of the store where her items were stacked.

All Walmarts were the same. So many multitudes contained in a single store. Lila meditated on the displays like classrooms filled with students bright and hopeful.  But as their teacher, it was Lila’s job to discover what they needed, their strengths, what they lacked, their fears.

Lila had visited the Walmart museum in Bentonville with its Disneyland façade of striped red and white curtains. Just a few years ago, its founder, Sam Walton had received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. He said, “If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone.” Very moving.

Lila saw a few students in the electronics section. 

“Miss Thibodaux!” They waved. “How’s Marshall?”

“At home.” 

“Doing okay?”  

“No worries.” 

She didn’t want to alarm them. Marshall had been given a breather with albuterol. She kept wheeling her cart.

A cold blast of air wafted between Lila’s legs from an open door of the frozen food section. She stood for a few moments.  A woman stood before the doors contemplating varieties of pizza. Boxes of original, classic, double-top, four-meat supreme, three-cheese, fire-baked, classic crust, brick oven, crispy thin and even California-style pizza. 

The woman held up a box that read Italian-baked. “Ever try this one?” She held up another. “Or this?” She was an older woman with curly hair wearing one of those thermal red vests in the middle of summer. Lila guessed she’d prepared herself for the freezer section.

“How many people you expecting?” Those frozen pizzas were small.

“About twenty. Maybee twenty-five.”  The woman put the two boxes back in the freezer and reached for a third.

“Better get them from Mountain Mike’s? They deliver right to your door, and they’re bigger.” The woman acted like she’d never organized a meeting before, let alone had a bunch of hungry relatives descend upon her house. “My students like pepperoni,” Lila said. “Can’t go wrong. Anything with cheese.”

“Thanks.” The woman removed her thermal vest and draped it over the cart. “Not thinking straight. So much to do before the evening. Did you say you you were a teacher?”

“At the high school.”

“I used to teach elementary,” she said, “years ago. What’s your name?”

“Lila Thibodaux.”

“Hi Lila. I’m Ariel Shawn.” 

Lila knew that name . “Heard you chewed out Snarklepuss.”  

“Principal Rigamonte?” Her face changed from the contemplation of pizza boxes. “I wanted Rigamonte to let us River Watchers to bring our test kits and document what’s happening. After Marshall, now there’s another boy. But Rigamonte refuses.”

Lila groaned in half disbelief and half acceptance.

“Why not come to the meeting?” Ariel said. “It’s at the library. One teacher to another, I really would appreciate if you could.”

Lila looked at her empty cart. “Have to finish shopping first.”

Ariel gave her the details. “I’ll save you a slice of pizza.

Lila glided toward the paper goods section. Anything to get Snarklepuss off his duff.

Ariel headed out the store to Mountain Mike’s.

“You can call them,” Lila suggested.