[Ingle-Lowe] One short day, full of so much to do (Emma)

After a long morning spent crunching numbers and applying a variety of arithmancy techniques to analyze data sets for his mentor Grynthim, Andy was glad to finally have reached his lunch break. Better yet, he would be meeting up with Emma who he hadn't seen in quite a few weeks, perhaps not since sometime in February if he recalled correctly.

Andy always enjoyed getting to spend time with Emma, as they had become quite good friends during their years at Hogwarts together. Andy was lucky that even though he was still attending Hogwarts for his final year, he traveled to Diagon Alley frequently for his position at Gringotts and to tend to his mother, and so the two had not fallen out of touch.

NEWTs were nearly upon him now, and it felt like when Andy was at Hogwarts his time was devoted solely to classes and studying. Andy had even taken to avoiding socialization at meals by taking his plateful of food back to the Slytherin common room to eat while he studied. It certainly let him focus, but he had been feeling a bit isolated from his schoolmates recently. Still, it was the price he needed to pay to ensure that he would get top scores on his exams.

Now though, Andy was looking forward to a break from the constant work, even if it was just for a quick lunch with his old friend. He walked down the main pathway towards Ingle-Lowe, making his way through the typical lunchtime crowds out running errands or grabbing a bite to eat. It was certainly not as crowded as during the peak end of summer shopping period when Diagon Alley was suddenly flooded with students, but it still took some navigating to get to his location of choice.

Entering the brick building, Andy saw a small empty round table near the doorway. He quickly took a seat facing the door. As he smoothed the fabric of his stylish dark green silk robes, he glanced out towards the street waiting for a glimpse of Emma. He was really looking forward to catching up with her again.

I am beyond incredibly sorry/embarrassed that it’s taken me so long to reply… I cannot wait until this medical school application process is over. >>

It was a good thing that Emma knew her way around Diagon Alley blindfolded, because she was barely paying attention to where she was going. Her feet carried her methodically to her destination, but she was still feeling dazed. She’d been given the day off, but her supervisor had owled her about an hour previously with some exciting news. There was a chance – though he wasn’t yet sure how likely – that she, Emma, would be able to help out with the World Cup this year!

The nineteen-year-old had stared at the letter in her hand, dumbfounded for several minutes. It wasn’t a certainty, but it was still beyond exciting! She almost tripped over Leona – who was winding herself around Emma’s ankles in hopes of a head-scratch, unbeknownst to the brunette – in her haste to find a quill and a spare bit of parchment on which to scribble a reply. Always one to think everything through, she chose her wording carefully: she had to professionally convey her excitement and appreciation without sounding too overzealous, while at the same time courteously acknowledging that nothing was set in stone at that point in time. Emma wasn’t quite sure how long she sat deliberating, but when she looked at the clock again her heart skipped a beat. She had to meet Andy in ten minutes! She had hastily scribbled a note to her parents and sent it off with Astrid before shouldering her purse, giving Leona the quick scratch behind her ears that the tabby had been demanding, and hurrying out the door of her flat.

No matter how hard she tried, the brunette almost always managed to cut it as close as possible when she had somewhere to be. Even if she was ready early, something always seemed to come up last-minute that would delay her enough that she was scrambling to leave on time. It was an extremely annoying reoccurrence, but today it bothered her considerably less. Andy would understand, she knew, and he certainly knew her well enough to expect her to be a few minutes late for most things. That didn’t make her feel any better about it, though… she hated being rushed and/or late.

Ingle-Lowe was only a few blocks down, so she could have Disapparated and been there with plenty of time to spare, but considering she had spent her day off being a couch potato (literally only getting up to eat and use the bathroom) with her nose in a book, she figured she should probably get some exercise.

Her long legs had come to her rescue, and before long she had reached their agreed meeting place, Ingle-Lowe. Emma always looked forward to their “lunch dates”, as she referred to them (even though they have absolutely no romantic implication whatsoever despite her use of the word “date” as a descriptor). She had missed catching up with her friend in the Common Room, and maintaining that sort of regular, frequent contact was more difficult now that Emma had graduated. And from the sound of things, Andy had his plate full with studying for his N.E.W.T.s and with his internship at Gringotts, so the two didn’t get a chance to touch base as frequently as they used to.

Emma pushed open the glass-front door of the familiar establishment, adjusting her purse slightly on her shoulder as she glanced about for her friend. She spotted him almost immediately, as he had chosen a table close to the entrance and was facing the door. Grinning, she made her way over.

“Hi!” she greeted a little breathlessly, sliding into the seat opposite him. Normally the first thing she did when greeting a friend (especially one she hadn’t seen in a while) was hug him/her, but because Andy wasn’t a very touchy-feely person she refrained. It was a hard habit to break, though; she had to consciously remind herself whenever she was around him, as she had noticed that even friendly physical contact seemed to make him a bit uncomfortable.

She was incredibly tempted to launch right in about the owl she’d received, but she forced herself to wait at least a few minutes. “How’s your day been so far?”