Lily rarely had reason to climb all the way to the school. (All those cotton-pickin' stairs!) But today, she was going out on a mission to bolster her finances after the shop being closed the past several days.

While it would have made sense to wait for Lezard since he lived next door, the thought of dealing with her annoying sometimes partner while winded from the climb was unappealing. So, she put on the usual plain white dress she wore for casting, slipped on her Keds, and set out early to climb all those stairs.

Spotting someone familiar near the top, she stopped and took a few moments to catch her breath before waving and approaching to say hello.

"Good morning, Steve. What are you working on?" Maybe he was making notes about something?