"I wonder if I should buy this?" Maya wondered as she examined the small keychain with her name on it. The blonde 8-year-old girl was currently inside of a gift shop located in the science museum her 3rd grade class was visiting. As promised, her teacher, Mrs. Ayers, had taken her and her classmates to the gift shop after they ate their lunch.
Most of the kids inside the store were goofing off, but Maya was trying her best to find something worthwhile to buy. However, she didn’t have much time. Mrs. Ayers had just announced that they would be leaving the gift shop in 5 minutes.
"Look at this bracelet! Isn’t it beautiful?" her best friend Hazel said as she approached Maya in the keychain section. The 9-year-old girl held her hand out displaying a peculiar looking piece of jewelry on her wrist.
"It’s… unique," Maya responded as she turned back to looking at the tacky keychains hanging on the rolling display holder.
"I just HAD to buy it," Hazel said with an ecstatic tone. "So, have you found anything you like yet?"
"Not really. And I promised my family that I would bring something really cool when I came home. I mean, this is one of the biggest museums in the country. They have to have some interesting things to sell here."
"And they do." Hazel shook her bracelet in front of her friend. "Maybe you should just look at the stuff on discount. You might have enough money to buy something for everyone in your family. I think they’ll appreciate having their own souvenirs over you just buying one cool and expensive one."
Maya smiled and thanked her friend for the suggestion before heading to the discount section at the back of the store. She grabbed a few things off the shelves and walked to the counter to pay for the items. Unfortunately, there was a line of people at the register.
Maya walked to the back of the line, prepared to wait patiently, when her teacher suddenly approached her. "Maya, I’m taking the class to the animal exhibit of the museum. It’s directly across from the store. Could you meet us there after you finish paying?" Mrs. Ayers asked her.
"Sure, I can do that," Maya answered.
Mrs. Ayers assembled the class and then promptly took them to the room where the animal displays were. Maya watched them go before she began to patiently wait in the line for 10 minutes. Finally, she reached the cash register. After paying for her stuff, she was given a bag with her souvenirs inside and told to wait for the receipt. As she did, Maya noticed an interesting figure enter the gift shop.