Cashier Yells at Boy Short $2, Gets Confused When He Sees Tennis Rackets Strapped to Boy’s Feet — Story of the Day

A snowstorm ravaged a town, causing people to hunt for food and supplies. Meanwhile, an irritated cashier in one store decides to yell at a boy after he is short two dollars while checking out his goods – that was until he saw the tennis rackets strapped to the boy's feet.

One winter night, a snowstorm swept over Minnesota. Residents did not anticipate such a strong storm, so many were unprepared.

In Lucas' case, the roof of his house broke, and he had to place buckets under a large hole to keep the falling snow from filling his home. He worked as a cashier at the local grocery store, and while he wanted to stay home the day after the storm, he needed to fill in for those who couldn't go to work.

"Fine, I need money to fix my roof anyway," he told his supervisor as he dragged his feet to get to work that morning. There were only a couple of people in the store, as it was challenging to get to with snow piled up on the streets.

Those who made it there came prepared with equipment that made navigating the heavy snow easier. They complained about the weather and bought piles of food just in case more snowstorms happened.

After a few hours and serving a couple of adults, Lucas came across a boy, about 11 years old, with a cart full of groceries. He laid them out on the checkout counter and waited for Lucas to put them all on the system.

Once Lucas gave him the total, the boy realized he was short two dollars on the payment. "Oh no, I miscalculated the total and now lack two dollars to pay," the boy said, looking around the store as if thinking what to do.

After a couple of seconds, Lucas grew irritated. "Well? Are you paying for the groceries or not? You're holding the line!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry. I lack two dollars. I will need to take some things out of my cart. Please serve the others first while I sort things out," the boy explained, walking to the side to let the other customers go ahead.

Lucas was furious. He thought the boy was playing tricks on him, especially after checking out so many items from their store. Then he saw the tennis rackets strapped to the boy's feet and this made him curious.

Once Lucas had served all the customers, he decided to approach the boy. "Why do you have tennis rackets strapped to your feet?" he asked.

"This is the only way I could get through the snowdrifts on the way to the store. I live with my old grandmother, and I needed supplies for her and our other neighbors. My neighbor's house was covered in snow, but ours was okay. I wanted to help them," the boy explained sadly.

Lucas felt terrible that he had embarrassed the boy minutes earlier. He decided to give the boy two dollars so he could take home everything he intended to purchase.

Realizing that the boy would have difficulty walking with so many bags, he looked at his watch — his shift had ended — so he decided to do one more act of kindness by accompanying the boy back to his house.

"Let me help you. Let's take this cart," he told the young boy, loading the cart with grocery bags.

"Thank you, kind sir! My name is Lawrence," the boy revealed.

"Hi Lawrence, I'm Lucas. I'm going to shovel the snow while you push the cart. Does that sound good?" he asked.

Lawrence nodded. After shoveling and walking in silence for a while, Lawrence decided to ask Lucas a question: "Why were you so angry earlier? You seemed upset about something."

"It's because of the roof in my house," Lucas replied. "The snowstorm ruined my roof, and I have no time or money to fix it."

Lawrence understood that Lucas was simply having a bad day. However, he appreciated that Lucas still decided to help him deliver the groceries to his grandmother.

Although it took them over an hour to get home because of the snow, not Lucas nor Lawrence ever complained. They got the groceries to Lawrence's grandmother safe and sound.

Lawrence's grandma and their neighbors were thrilled and appreciative when they distributed the goods. They thanked Lucas by inviting him to have dinner with them that day.

The following day, the snow started to subside and melt. However, Lucas still had to deal with the problem with his roof. While contemplating what to do, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

When he opened it, Lucas saw Lawrence, his grandmother, and their neighbors on his doorstep. "What are you all doing here?" he asked in surprise.

"We're here to fix your roof!" Lawrence said excitedly.

Lawrence, his grandmother, and their neighbors entered the house and worked together to renovate Lucas's broken roof. Lucas was not only happy to have people over, as he lived alone, but he was touched by Lawrence and his community's kindness and generosity. He never realized that his lending Lawrence a helping hand the day before would lead him to a life-long connection with strangers who eventually turned into family.

What can we learn from this story?

• It's just a bad day, not a bad life. Lucas was feeling down after the snowstorm broke his roof. The incident ruined his day, and it affected the way he interacted with other people. He realized it was just a bad day when he met Lawrence, who became such a positive ray of sunshine in his life.
• Be kind to everyone you meet. Everyone faces a battle you don't know about. Lucas blew up on Lawrence without realizing that he was only trying to help his elderly grandmother and neighbors. Likewise, Lawrence assumed Lucas was a grumpy man without him knowing that he was dealing with problems of his own internally.

Share this story with your loved ones. It might inspire them and make their day.

If you liked this story, you might like this one about an old man who was banned from attending his granddaughter's wedding after his kids find out he works as a janitor.

This account is inspired by our reader's story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.