“Is there somewhere that you wanted to go?” Frankie took her eyes off of her surroundings to turn her attention to Noa, who fussed with a stray curl at the nape of her neck that had broken free from her high puff as she walked. “I really only wanted to come to this one place, so if you had anything that you wanted to do or see or buy, I’m down to go with you; payment for dragging you all the way out here with me.” Frankie laughed, her own curls brushing freely against her forehead as she shook her head at her friend.

“Well, I can’t think of anything in the city,” she mused; the only place that came to mind was the Hilltop Mall. “If you know some good shopping places just lead the way.”

“Say no more, my friend.” Ten o’clock on a Saturday morning found Frankie and Noa stepping off of a bus on Sutter Street and traveling a short distance to a crepery on Polk Street that Noa had been craving for a week, but hadn’t had a chance to get to. When the opportunity arose she didn’t hesitate to seize it, and seized Frankie in the process for the ride. Frankie didn’t mind, though; she had already been awake, and was happy that Noa had chosen her of all people to tag along. They reached the crepery and Noa treated Frankie to her very first crepe, a concoction made of Nutella, bananas and strawberries, that Frankie fell in love with immediately. This would be their breakfast; they sat together at a table inside and discussed the rest of the day as they ate, mulling over plans to invite Naami and Theo out to bargain hunt as well (Noa was the queen of the thrift store). By the time they finished talking, planning and eating an hour had passed and they were ready to move onto the next adventure of their day.

“So, your sister is meeting us there?” Noa inquired as they made moves toward the exit.

“Mhm,” Frankie responded with a nod. “She says she knows where it is already; she’s going to take a Lyft.”

“Ooh, big spender.” Frankie laughed.

“Theo says she’s too short to always rely on public transportation,” she explained. “Sometimes it’s just not worth it.” Noa laughed as well.

“Makes sense.” They exited the restaurant and began making their way down the sidewalk, to begin a ten-minute walk to the thrift store nearby, that would help burn off their breakfast; all Frankie could think about were the potential finds waiting for her at the store that Noa had suggested and how her wardrobe would expand.

“Oh, there goes your man,” Noa said suddenly, catching Frankie’s attention.