Chapter 43: Louise

Anne and Mary walked into the Student Union for lunch, chatting like magpies. They'd arranged to join one another at noon one or two days a week — "girl time", they called it. Today, Sigrid was missing.

As they went through the cafeteria line, Anne noticed a woman sitting alone at a table.

"Isn't that Louise Whatsername?" she asked Mary. "You know, from North College?"

"Yeah, I think so. It's not the same Louise we knew — at least from her looks. Something's happened for her. She's looking good."

Louise had, even on her better days, never been a fashion plate. Her clothes had generally been clean, but she never seemed at home in them; nothing seemed to match, nothing seemed quite correctly put together. She had tended toward rather ratty tee shirts, ill-fitting jeans and grungy running shoes. Her complexion had been blotchy, her hair straggly and lifeless.

Today, Louise was another story. Her hair was shining and casually styled in the way that shows thought has been given to it without excessive care. She wore a figure-flattering jumper dress over an attractive shirt that brought out the coloring of a complexion the girls had never appreciated. She even seemed to be wearing attractive flat shoes that matched her belt.

Mary gave Anne a beckoning nod and led off with her tray in Louise's direction.

"Hi!" Mary said, "It's Louise, isn't it? Can we join you?"

The woman looked up in surprise and smiled. "Sure, make yourselves at home. How are you? I haven't seen you since the end of the semester."

Anne answered. "We moved out at the break. We found a house out on the edge of town and a bunch of us are renting it. How've you been?"

"I'm fine, thanks. I never knew what happened to you, but I keep seeing one of you and now and then one of those guys you were hanging out with. Are you all still studying together?"

Mary replied, "Yes, we're still studying together. Things are going pretty well. How's it going for you? You're really looking good. I love that dress."

The talk turned to more or less conventional college chatter, and the three of them attacked their lunches.

Louise went along with the chatter until they had mostly finished. She looked at the two women and said, "Have you got time for a cup of coffee?"

Mary looked at Anne, who nodded, "Sure. Coffee Shop?"

When they had gotten drinks, they settled at a table and Louise picked up a thread she had clearly been leading up to.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked.

The two friends looked at each other. Mary said, "Doing? What do you mean?"

Louise blushed and sat back in her chair. "Sorry, that came out wrong. I mean, it looks like the gang of you — you two and those four guys — have got something going for you. I've been watching the stuff they post about class standings, and you all are way up there, assuming I've got the names right. You don't look like a bunch of geeks. So, I want to know what you've got going for you."

Anne spoke for them both. "Louise, we aren't doing anything now we weren't doing when we were in North. We work our asses off. We study together and do the best we can to get good grades. That's all."

"Well," Mary put in, "there's more. When we aren't studying, we have a good time. Anne and Saul swim, Will and I work with horses, Tom and Alex — well, they're busy with other things. Work hard, play hard.

"But there's a reason you're asking us, isn't there. You've changed, haven't you? Something happened since we saw you last and it looks like it was good."

Louise snorted a rueful laugh. " You can say that again. You remember what it was like when you were in North. Parties all weekend. I basically just showed up at classes, didn't do much work. That gang I hung out with were a real bunch of losers. I almost flunked out last semester."

"What happened? You're looking good now — don't know when you've looked better."

"Thanks," Louise said with a smile. "I know how I looked back then, a real loser. I was drunk all weekend and screwing guys I hardly knew.

"Actually, it was two things. Maybe three. First thing was, I got called into the Dean of Women's office."

"Yeah, so did we," Mary volunteered.

"You? Both of you? What for?"

"The dean was checking out parties in North College. With six of us in the room most of the weekend, that qualified as a party, even though most of the time we were studying. We managed to convince her it was all hard work."

Louise laughed. "I'll bet she didn't believe that for a minute. I mean you had to be studying with the marks you guys get, but I'll bet that wasn't all you did.