“Yeah, I get that sense.”

“He’d do anything to help this place, and the city needs him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think that’s for Levi to explain.”

“Great, another opportunity for him to give me two word answers.”

Hailey chuckled. “Yeah, he’s pretty good at that, isn’t he?”

“The best.”

“You ready to go shopping?” she asked, replacing the magazines in the neat pile where I left them.

“Sure, but you never told me what was up with this impromptu shopping trip. Not that I need an excuse to shop.”

“I wanted to hang out without the guys for once. There is only so much of my brother I can take.”

I laughed. “Let me grab my bag.”

***

Hailey drove us uptown in her red Jeep Cherokee. “Are you aware that your car matches your hair?” I asked as she wove her way through traffic.

“Ha ha, my hair is not that red.”

“Okay, but it’s close.”

“If you’re jealous, why don’t we dye your hair purple like your car?”

“It’s lavender and low blow. I didn’t pick out the color.” I regretted pointing my car out to her.

“Sure, sure. I thought we’d head up to Magazine Street. It’s no Madison Avenue, but it’s kind of fun and different,” Hailey explained as she parallel parked along the street.

Hailey was right; Magazine Street was fun. Lined with a good mix of trendy and vintage boutiques, it kept us busy for several hours. Surprisingly, we didn’t buy anything in the first few stores, but just as I was ready to congratulate myself on not spending any money, I found a dress I couldn’t leave behind. Little, black, and a bit racy, I wasn’t sure when I’d wear it, but it looked too good to resist.

“I might have to borrow that dress sometime,” Hailey said as we waited for the clerk to put it in a garment bag.

“Deal, as long as I can borrow that skirt you picked out.”

“Think of the clothing collection we’d have if we combined,” Hailey laughed. Trying on clothes at the first store we had discovered we were the same size.

“Good point, maybe we can mail things back and forth.”

“It’s always nice to get packages.” Hailey glanced down at her cell phone as we walked back to her car. “Wow, is it that late already?”

“Why? Do you have somewhere to be?”

“Kind of. I mean I can get out of it.”

“What is it?”

“My soon to be roommate is in town for orientation and wants to meet up.”

“Why aren’t you at the orientation?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s totally optional. I pretty much grew up on Tulane’s campus so I don’t need it. I tried to get out of meeting her, but she was pretty persistent.”

“It might be nice to get to know her now instead of the awkward move-in meet and greet. I wish I could do that, I still don’t know who my roommate is.”

“If it’s such a good idea, why don’t you come with me?”

“Oh no, I’ll take a cab back downtown or something.”

“Please. I don’t want to meet this girl by myself.”

Hailey’s discomfort at meeting her roommate surprised me so I questioned her on it, “Why not?”

“She just seems a little too bubbly to be safe.”

“You do realize how ridiculous that sounds, right?”

“But I’m being totally serious. Something is off with her; no one is that perky naturally.”

I laughed. “Where are you meeting her?”

“At PJ’s. It’s a coffee shop on campus. It could be fun; you haven’t even seen the school yet.”

“Sure, why not?” I shrugged before stowing my bag in the back of the jeep. I didn’t have anywhere else to be, and I could tell that Hailey really wanted me to go.

We drove a few minutes before she parked along the curb. “We could never find a spot this close during the school year, but it’s fairly quiet on campus over the summer.”

“Yeah, it looks that way.” I glanced around the street lined with dorms, and one open grassy area. I’d always loved college campuses, and being on one reminded me that I was really going to be a college student in a few months.

I followed Hailey into a coffee shop located on the first floor of a brick dorm. Glancing around, I noticed that a scattering of tables were taken, and I figured many of the students were pre-frosh in town for orientation. “Do you know what your roommate looks like?”

“Yeah, black hair and—”

“Hailey! Hi!” A petite girl hugged a startled Hailey. “It is so nice to finally meet you!”

“Umm, hi Anne. It’s nice to meet you, too.” Hailey gave me an “omg” look over Anne’s head. “You look just like your picture on Facebook.”

“So do you!” Anne said with a lot of enthusiasm.

“Oh, hi there. I’m Anne. Are you going to be a freshman too?” She reached out to shake my hand. I guess I wasn’t entitled to the hug treatment.

“Hi, I’m Allie and I’ll be a freshman, but not here.”

“Oh, where are you going?”

“Princeton.”

“Cool. Are you from New Orleans then?” she asked.

“No. I’m just here for the summer.”

“Fun! I found us a table already.” Following her gaze, I noticed a table with a large to-go cup on it.

“Why don’t you go ahead Hailey? I’m going to get a chai tea, you want anything?”

“Make that two.”

“Okay, see you in a sec.”

With our teas in hand, I joined Hailey and Anne. Passing Hailey’s cup over, I tried not to interrupt their conversation.

“It’s awesome you’re from here. That means you know all the best places to go out, right? My dad wanted me to stay closer to home in Jackson, but there was no way I was giving up the chance to go to school in New Orleans.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Hailey said unenthusiastically.

“Have you decided what classes you are taking yet? I’m pre-med so I have to take Chemistry and I want to get my freshman writing over with, but otherwise I have no clue,” Anne said all in one breath. The girl could talk fast.

“I’m going to be an art history major, so I need to get into the intro class, and I’ll probably take French as well,” Hailey answered.