Running for No Reason

Maddy watched the clock for practically the entire time in her Theory class, barely paying attention to what the prof was saying. Not that it was important or anything. They have been covering the same thing for a few weeks now.

The clock struck 12:45 and Maddy was out of her seat, not caring that the prof hadn't yet dismissed them. As she dashed out of the room, she heard him murmur something to himself before dismissing the rest of them.

Running the best she could through the crowds, she only slowed as she approached the front of the campus building, making it look as though she was just passing through. Her eyes were the only thing to give her away, darting around in the crowd as if she were looking for someone, rather impatiently at that.

Ace beat Maddy to the front of campus but just barely. He carried his notebook in one arm and the rest of his things in the other hand. His notebook almost didn't fit with the rest of his character; it was anything but neat, various papers, most of which were sporting greek names and terms, poking out from the sides. While he waited he attempted to stuff the papers back into his binder, but his efforts thwarted by the stack of paper on top of his binder, his notes from the class and after; he usually spent as much time after class talking to the professor as he did in the actual class.

Maddy spotted Ace and tried to act completely casual. In doing so, she tripped over a stray textbook and nearly barreled into Ace. "Oh! Wow! Hi! I'm sorry about that!" she stammered, bending to pick up a few of the loose papers that had fallen out of his messy binder. "Here you go."

"Thanks!" Ace flipped through the papers, skimming them and putting them back in order before stuffing them back into his binder. "We were going over the stoics again today. Seems rather appropriate given the rally today. I thought I had all the information in the world on them, but I never do. That's kind of the idea of philosophy isn't it?" He stopped and clamped his mouth shut. "Sorry about that. I ramble. How was class?"

Maddy smiled as he started talking again. How she loved the sound of his voice. Isn't that a little creepy? she scolded herself.

Opening her mouth to agree with his statement about philosophy, Ace cut her off with his own mini tongue-lashing. "Nono! Really. It's fine. Talk all you want," Maddy said, but then shrugged her shoulders at his question. "I'm actually not sure. I know, however, it couldn't end soon enough." As soon as these words left her mouth she wanted to take them back. Not because she didn't mean them, but because she pretty much said to him straight up that she liked him.

Ace laughed. "You are more than welcome to come to my class next time, then," he quipped. "Who knows, maybe I'll make a philosopher out of you."

Maddy laughed too, shrugging again. "I might just take you up on that," she said, only partially joking. "So where to now?" she asked, tucking her own books, which were significantly neater, more firmly under her arm.

Ace looked across campus then back at Maddy. "Well, that depends. How good of a meal does a muffin with coffee make?"

"It's a typical breakfast, and sometimes makeshift lunch if I didn't eat that morning... But if you are asking whether I am hungry now, the answer is that I can eat" Maddy said, shrugging. "I mean, if you want to go somewhere to eat, that is. Otherwise, we could do something else..." She let that last suggestion trail off, suddenly unsure of herself, something she has never really felt before in all her life. Ace laughed it off and nodded.

"I know a great place off campus if you have the time."

"Oh! I have the rest of the day! That there was my last class of the day," Maddy said, dropping her sudden shyness as quickly as she was burdened by it. But now she felt that she was being almost too eager.

Sighing inwardly so Ace wouldn't hear, she tried to rein in her emotions and regain the control she was accustomed to.

"That sounds good then," Ace said. "Right this way!" He started off across campus, and before long he began to ramble about various philosophers and their invaluable contributions to modern philosophy.