Writing Practice 3d, Casters

Malcolm passed Alex in the hallway, and he ignored Reggie's questioning grunt when he executed an about-face and followed her through the crowd. He was on a mission to befriend this woman; she was interesting and a challenge, and it had now become a matter of honor. I've never had so much trouble trying to get someone to talk to me. He jogged around a corner only to nearly smack into her as she tried to find a way around the blockade of people in front of a bulletin board.

She noticed Malcolm when his arm accidentally brushed against hers, and she huffed softly before turning ninety degrees and stalking off in another direction, intent on losing him. He hurried after her, calling out her name as he tried to snag her sleeve. She slipped between two women deep in conversation, and he quickly apologized as he butted between them to run after her. What a stubborn girl! He couldn't believe she was the same age as him. She acts like she's sixteen, not twenty.

She finally succeeded in losing him when she ran into the ladies room, and he muttered a curse before taking up a post beside the door, crossing his arms as he glared moodily at the wall. Cheater. He knew she couldn't stay in there forever, but he was reluctant to be late to Magical Law, so he asked the first woman that went to enter the bathroom, "Can you ask Alex to come out, please?"

She gave him an odd look, but she came out a few minutes later to politely tell him, "She says to stop stalking her before she gets a restraining order."

He rolled his eyes and thanked her, and he started to rap his knuckles on the wall as he counted the seconds that ticked by. Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty . . . One hundred and seventeen seconds later, he was able to enlist the help of a trio of chatty women, but the redhead of the group came back out with a troubled frown. "Are you really harassing her?"

Malcolm rubbed his temples. "No, ma'am, she's just being stubborn." Trying to get her out as fast as possible, he told the redhead, "She's going to be late for class. Can you please talk to her?"

He almost cheered when the women walked out after the dirty blonde, but he was taken aback when she got rather close and poked his chest roughly. "I don't appreciate you sending people in to come and get me like I'm a lost child." Her eyes burned furiously into his, almost daring him to try to explain away his behavior.

"I don't appreciate you running away like a child." He accepted her glare without complaint, going on, "I don't understand why we can't have a simple conversation."

Alex folded her arms over her chest, lifting her chin haughtily as she replied, "We have nothing to talk about. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be late." She took a step back and let him feel the full brunt of her scowl before spinning on her heel and marching down the hall, her hands clenched into fists as the swung to and fro.