text: [Themes: Crime, Humor, gender-neutral protagonist, slice of life, ice cream, restaurant setting]
  
  > Look around
  The bricks in this alley are so old that at the middle of the road they have sunk a full foot below the level of their neighbors closer to the building walls. Walking across this uneven half-pipe of bricks is an unnerving and probably dangerous experience.
  
  The alley continues north, past a staple-encrusted utility pole, until the beams of the streetlamps don't quite reach; west is the parking lot and east is Paco's Taco's.
  
  > look at the bricks
  The way it curves down in the middle, it looks like a truck full of anvils was sitting here for a few decades.
  
  As you tilt your head you detect the glimmer of a dime in the space between two bricks. You try your best to look graceful and casual as you stoop, then kneel, then get on your hands and knees to pick it up.
  
  [Your funds have increased by 10¢.]
  
  > Go east
  Here's the entrance to Paco's Tacos, everyone's favorite place for a bite as long as everything else is closed. The stretch of sidewalk here is covered by a striped awning for the masses to huddle under while waiting for a table at peak hours. The door to the north is framed by neon signs behind plate glass windows. Further east, there's some sort of ice cream place.
  
  Now is a good time to go over the plan before you pull the job. It'd be nice if you had everything written down as a reminder, but a note like that could end up being incriminating. So, mentally, as you're standing here in front of the taco shop, remember:
  
  Once you're inside, you're going to go north across the dining room, to where the counter is. Then you're going to point the gun at the cashier and, without hesitating, tell the cashier to open the cash register. When that's done, tell the cashier to take the money from the register and tell the cashier to give the money to you. (But don't say "to you", say "to me".) Finally, while still pointing the gun at the cashier, walk backward to the entrance. Once you're back outside, you just have to get to your car and drive away.
  
  Nobody will get hurt, nobody will recognize you, and best of all, nobody will get evicted.
  
  > go east
  From this end of the street you can almost see the respectable part of town, way over to the east.
  
  The name of this establishment, according to the vinyl banner in the window, is "Get Your Licks." The sign in the door to the north says it's open, but in spite of the heat you can see no customers inside.
  
  > look at the sign
  It says OPEN.
  
  > go north
  Blissfully you step into the open arms of air conditioning.
  
  Is this really just an ice cream place? It looks more like a mountain cottage, with lace curtains in the windows, and a low table with a built-in checkerboard next to the little fake fireplace. The walls are done up with floral wallpaper and littered with newspaper clippings.
  
  You'd probably take it for a coffeeshop if the counter didn't include a big glass window displaying numerous tubs of ice cream.
  
  A number of cheap wire coat hangers hang from a hastily-installed coat rack.
  
  A dark-haired cashier sits behind the counter.
  
  > examine the cashier
  She's very tall. Well, no she's not; she's actually pretty short, but arms are so long that she looks tall. Or maybe the cut of her sleeves just makes her arms look long.
  
  She's wearing an apron; she has a tattoo on her left shoulder. She also has a lot of hair, which must be a nightmare in this humidity.
  
  > look at the tattoo
  It's mostly obscured by her sleeve. You can only see a the very bottom, a white curve. Maybe it's a tattoo of the moon? Or a yin-yang?
  
  > ask the cashier about the tattoo
  [Use TALK TO to interact with characters.]
  
  > talk to the cashier
  "How can I help you?"
  
  [1] "How are you this evening?"
  [2] "What kinds of ice cream do you have?"
  [3] "I should get going."
  [4] Point your gun at her.
  
  > 2
  "What kinds of ice cream do you have?"
  
  "Well, take a look! We've got chocolate, vanilla, mint, key lime, strawberry, and salted caramel. Do you want to taste something first?"
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "How are you this evening?"
  [4] "I should get going."
  [5] Point your gun at her.
  
  > 1
  "I would actually love to taste something&"
  
  "Sure! Hold on&"
  
  She produces a tiny plastic spoon. "What would you like to try?"
  
  [1] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [2] "Can I taste the vanilla?"
  [3] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [4] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [5] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [6] "Can I taste the mint?"
  [7] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [8] "How are you this evening?"
  [9] "I should get going."
  
  > 6
  "Can I taste the mint?"
  
  "I would be happy, to, let you do that," she stumbles. She scoops up a tiny spoonful and offers it to you.
  
  Your eyebrows raise, and your nostrils flare.
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the vanilla?"
  [4] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [5] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [6] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [7] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [8] "How are you this evening?"
  [9] "I should get going."
  
  > 8
  "How are you this evening?"
  
  "Well, business has been a little slow, so I've been& bored, I guess. How are you doing?"
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the vanilla?"
  [4] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [5] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [6] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [7] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [8] "Oh, I'm fine."
  [9] "I've been better."
  [10] "Actually, I'm doing pretty terribly."
  [11] "I should get going."
  
  > 9
  "I've been better."
  
  "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She looks down at the counter. "Well, things always get better eventually, supposedly."
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the vanilla?"
  [4] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [5] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [6] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [7] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [8] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [9] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [10] "I should get going."
  
  > 32
  [Valid responses range from 1-10. Type REPEAT to relist the options.]
  
  > 3
  "Can I taste the vanilla?"
  
  "Absolutely." She scoops a tiny amount of ice cream onto the little spoon, and then she hands it to you.
  
  Oh, wow. "Vanilla" doesn't mean "plain." This has a flavor.
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [4] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [5] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [6] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [7] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [8] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [9] "I should get going."
  
  > 7
  "Would you mind my asking&"
  
  "Not at all!" says the dark-haired cashier, without even knowing what it is you're going to ask. [You can try this option again later to "refresh" the things to ask about.]
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [4] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [5] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [6] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [7] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [8] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [9] "What's your name?"
  [10] "What's your tattoo of?"
  [11] "I should get going."
  
  > 10
  "What's your tattoo of?"
  
  "Oh, it's a slice of pie." She lifts up her sleeve so you can see the ink in its entirety: It does indeed depict a slice of pie. The white curve at the bottom is the plate it's sitting on.
  
  "It's cherry pie; it's my favorite."
  
  And now you know!
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [4] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [5] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [6] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [7] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [8] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [9] "What's your name?"
  [10] "I should get going."
  
  > 8
  "You wanna hear something weird?"
  
  Her eyes widen. "Yes. I do." You'd better think of something good! [You can try this option again if you find any more weird things in the future.]
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [4] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [5] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [6] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [7] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [8] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [9] "Have you seen this graffiti of a bird?"
  [10] "What's your name?"
  [11] "I should get going."
  
  > 9
  "Have you seen this graffiti of a bird?"
  
  "Oh, you mean the one with the beak?" She makes a sweeping, downward-curving gesture in front of her nose. "Yeah, I've seen that thing all over town. I think it's supposed to be an ibis."
  
  What's an ibis?
  
  [1] "What's an ibis?"
  [2] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [3] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [4] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [5] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [6] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [7] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [8] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [9] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [10] "What's your name?"
  [11] "I should get going."
  
  > 1
  "What's an ibis?"
  
  "Um, it's a bird, with a curvy beak and a long neck. I don't know much more than that. I think they're from Africa?"
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [4] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [5] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [6] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [7] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [8] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [9] "What's your name?"
  [10] "I should get going."
  
  > 9
  "What's your name?"
  
  "It's Zuleika. Pleased to meet you."
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  [4] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [5] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [6] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [7] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [8] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [9] "I should get going."
  
  > 3
  "Can I taste the chocolate?"
  
  "Of course you can." She rolls up a fairly generous spoonful onto the little spoon, which she then hands to you.
  
  Hey, this is bitter. Do you like bitter?
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  [4] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [5] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [6] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [7] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [8] "I should get going."
  
  > 3
  "Can I taste the strawberry?"
  
  "Certainly." She scoops up a little bit of pink ice cream and hands you the spoon.
  
  It's a lot more mellow than you expected.
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [4] "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  [5] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [6] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [7] "I should get going."
  
  > 4
  "Can I taste the salted caramel?"
  
  "Oh, please do. I just put it together, and I really want to know what you think of it." She picks at the stuff with her tiny spoon and produces a sample for your adjudication. You put it in your mouth.
  
  You are unable to conceal your reaction.
  
  She frowns. "Too much salt, huh?"
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Can I taste the key lime?"
  [4] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [5] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [6] "I should get going."
  
  > 3
  "Can I taste the key lime?"
  
  "Yes you may." She spoons a tiny amount of ice cream onto her spoon and then she hands it to you. "Careful, it's intense."
  
  Geez! She wasn't kidding.
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [4] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [5] "I should get going."
  
  > examine the clippings
  Dozens of photographs and newspaper clippings, chronicling the life and lives of an independent dairy farm. There's a full-fledged narrative here, with personalities and ambitions and twists and turns, but at its heart it is a narrative about cows and therefore fundamentally uninteresting.
  
  > talk to her
  (Zuleika)
  "How can I help you?"
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [4] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [5] "I should get going."
  
  > 3
  "Would you mind my asking&"
  
  "Not at all!" says Zuleika, without even knowing what it is you're going to ask.
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [4] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [5] "What's your tattoo of?"
  [6] "What are all these newspaper clippings?"
  [7] "I should get going."
  
  > 6
  "What are all these newspaper clippings?"
  
  "They're all stories about my family's dairy farm. All this ice cream comes exclusively from our cows, and we use exclusively non-homogenized milk, which is different from homogenized milk in that&"
  
  A few minutes later you realize that she's done talking.
  
  [1] "I would actually love to taste something&"
  [2] "I know what kind of ice cream I want."
  [3] "Would you mind my asking&"
  [4] "You wanna hear something weird?"
  [5] "What's your tattoo of?"
  [6] "I should get going."