in a kind of pleading but firm tone of voice. This caused Linda to shake her head as though Mrs. Carter was being very stubborn. And Dionne sounded like she was apologizing when she repeated "I only want one." By this time Mrs. Carter's voice had become loud too. But she sounded frustrated rather than angry. Linda was shaking her head at Dionne as if she was a small child. And, finally, she gestured toward a huge stack of cartons of Coke products near the front window and said, smiling for the first time, "So cheap today." Her gesture and her shaking head seemed to indicate despair over Mrs. Carter's failure to take her advice. Because that was what it turned out to be; good advice that you could buy two cartoons of Diet Coke today for only a little bit more money than it cost for one.
With this response Mrs. Carter finally got the message that Linda was trying to convey and, perhaps most important
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