Nina is already outside the new SCHEELS store in Cedar Park.

“I STAND / AM STANDING near the front of the line now, and you should see this place. I HAVEN’T SEEN / DIDN’T SEE so many people outside a store before. Some families HAVE BEEN CAMPING / CAMPED out here since last night. I HAVE GOT / GOT here at about five this morning, PARKED / HAVE PARKED at the far end of the parking lot and HAVE WALKED / WALKED over with coffee and a folding chair. So far, I HAVEN’T REGRETTED / DIDN’T REGRET getting up at four. Everyone’s tired, but the atmosphere is great.”

Derek had planned to arrive before sunrise, but his morning did not go quite as planned. He WAS LEAVING / LEFT home at 4:30 and DROVE / WAS DRIVING toward Cedar Park with an enormous travel mug beside him. The roads WERE / HAVE BEEN almost empty, but as he HAS LOOKED / WAS LOOKING for the entrance to the parking lot, he MISSED / WAS MISSING the turn and ended up several miles away.

By the time he finally reached SCHEELS, hundreds of people were already there. He WAS WALKING / HAS WALKED toward the back of the line when someone near the entrance suddenly WAS WAVING / WAVED at him. It was his neighbor Chris.

“We ARE SAVING / HAVE SAVED you a spot,” Chris shouted.

Derek WAS RUNNING / RAN over before anyone could complain. “My wife HASN’T GOTTEN / DOESN’T GET here yet,” Chris explained. “So you can have her spot until she arrives.”

Seventeen-year-old Kayla HAS PERSUADED / IS PERSUADING her father to take her to the grand opening after seeing videos of the crowds online. She first HAS HEARD / HEARD about the new store a few weeks ago and immediately started making plans. On Friday evening, she BOUGHT / HAS BOUGHT snacks and a cheap folding chair while she WAS GETTING / HAS BEEN GETTING a few things at Walmart.

Later that night, one of her friends HAS SENT / SENT her a photo of people already camping out in the parking lot. The store officially OPENED / HAS OPENED on Saturday morning, but Kayla and her father arrived well before the doors opened. Her father SPENT / WAS SPENDING most of the wait drinking coffee and asking why anyone needed a sporting-goods store this badly.

Kayla SAID / SAYS the answer is simple: “It’s opening weekend. You don’t go because you need something. You go because everyone else is going.”