For once, Mallory actually wasn’t running late. She had gotten up plenty early this morning, had gotten herself in order with some casual—but nice—clothing that would be appropriate for meeting with family, had gotten her makeup on, all without having to rush. She had, however, skipped the coffee, since she was going to be meeting her darling little cousin at her favorite cafe in the Quarter, and the last thing that she wanted to do was to practically vibrate out of her skin later on in the day. After all, there were things that she needed to do, though she was in no rush whatsoever to hurry her cousin from whatever had prompted her to call this particular meeting. When they were children, Mal had found great company in Lyric, and a closeness had been born between the two of them that continued to this day, despite Mal’s graduation from Primrose and beginning of a life quite separate from the institution. Make no mistake, she went to the alumni fundraisers, and she donated when she found the opportunity to, but she had found her future, and had no intent on looking back on the time that she had spent in Primrose with anything other than a fond regard. There were those who said that high school was the best time of their lives, that had not been Mal’s experience, she had been a much worse person then, but she supposed to each their own.

Her plans for the day were simple. Meet Lyric for coffee and to catch up, pop over to the office of In the NOLA to look over some things, before heading to the gym and getting in a long overdue work out. Her life had gotten far too complicated lately, and honestly? She needed some time in that gym to kick the shit out of a weighted bag, because it had been far too long since she had made her way into the gym, and she could feel her muscles starting to lose some of what she had spent so much time honing. A lot had happened since the last time that she had made it to the gym; the holidays had been hectic had best and awkward more than anything else, but between work and familial obligations, she hadn’t been able to make it in.

Mallory made her way into the Quarter Cafe, scanning the people sitting at various tables until her eyes landed on a brilliant head of copper hair that she recognized. A bright smile split her face as she made her way over to Lyric, taking off her jacket as she made her way over. “Lyric!” Her voice was pitched high with excitement, and she wrapped her arms around the slightly shorter girl’s shoulders, wrapping her in a warm, familial embrace. She had always been one to value her family, and Lyric was no exception. It had been far too long since the two of them had some time to actually catch up, and it was really good to see her again. “God, it’s been ages since I saw you last, how have you been? How are classes going? Have you ordered anything yet? It’s on me.” She took her seat across from the younger redhead, draping her jacket carefully over the back of her chair.