"Ahhh, a good girl, izit?" Alex grinned. The way he said "girl" was clipped at the end, the "r" dissolving softly into a faint "w" sound. He pursed his lips playfully. "We'll have to see what we can do about dat." Ellie's touch was electric. He handed her books back awkwardly, jamming both hands in his pockets to try to play it off.

The bell rang and Alex, usually quite conscientious about getting places on time, realized he had no idea where he was going, or to what class, and his sulky teenage heart suddenly had no desire whatsoever to find out. 

Brian had turned away and was gathering his satchel, saying goodbye to the rest of the clique. Another girl touched Alex's shoulder as she passed and said "See ya," but that was it. Alex had completely neglected to get acquainted with the rest of the clique when Ellie had distracted him. There was always tomorrow, he supposed.

The rest of the cliques in the hallway began to merge into one thundering herd of humanity, coalescing and throbbing and then disseminating again as the students went to their respective classrooms. 

"I've got no idear where I'm s'posed to be," he muttered, fishing a folded piece of paper out of his back pocket. His sharp gaze implored Ellie from beneath his serious black eyebrows. He showed her the schedule. "You know where dat is?"