He found Andy in one of the booths, head on the desks fast asleep. Bender opened the door but didn't stir. "Sporto!" Andy's head shot up off the desk.
"Jesus, Bender." He said rubbing his eyes.
"Here, maybe it'll wake you up." He said throwing the candy bar in front of Andy. Andy looked at him incredulously. "Don't worry I got it from Allison's acquaintances."
"Who?"
"Just eat the candy, Sporto." Andy gave up and unwrapped the chocolate. They were quiet for a minute.
"Allison sent you up here, didn't she?" Andy said eyeing Bender.
"Would I talk to you on my own Sporto? I don't…"
"Even speak your language. I know." Andy said cutting him off. His words didn't have much fight, but he stood and tried to leave the booth. Bender grabbed his shirt and pushed him back towards the chair.
"Sit down, dumb ass." He sat down and ran his hand over his face. "What did you do?"
"It wasn't me it was her!"
"Believe me, no matter what we think, it's always our fault." Andy scoffed. "So…?"
"Allison has it stuck in her head that I'm using her." Andy admitted looking at the ground.
"Are you?"
"No!" His anger was rising. "I would never do that to her. She's just so paranoid."
"Well, living in the shadow of people like you tends to make that happen. Think of it from her angle."
"Don't you think I have?" Andy retorted. "I mean I never even knew her name before that detention and now were together… But I'm treating her just like I would any other girl." He sighed.
"Are you?" Andy stopped and thought about it. He really only ever saw her outside of school. When he was at school he was always with his friends and he had never really introduced her to them. Why hadn't he?
"I've been trying to separate her… haven't I?" Bender just shrugged. "To protect her?" Bender shrugged again taking another bite of licorice. He and Andy sat in silence for a minute. "How's Clair?" Bender had to laugh.
"Sporto I couldn't care less about that chick."
"You dumped her didn't you?"
"Dropped her like second period French." Bender replied. "She may have been the most shallow person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting." Bender stood to exit the room. "Which is why you should hang on to Allison. However crazy that chick is, she might be good for you." With that he left the room and closed the door behind him. Andy sat and thought about the conversation. He had been keeping Allison away from his friends. He had believed that their reaction to him going out with Allison would hurt her feelings, because he knew his friends would not react well. But she was a big girl, she could handle a little judgment, and he would always be there to back her, no matter what. Bender had knocked some sense into him. Bender. Andy sighed and left the room, finally knowing what to say to Allison, or at least hoping he knew.
Cora stared at the ceiling as she lay on the back desk.
"So, Alli." She didn't get a response, but she knew her friend was listening. "What's with this Bender guy? He an acquaintance of yours?"
"Can we trust him, you mean?" Allison responded.
"Something like that."
"Would you stop talkin'" Meg said from the seat at the desk Cora was on. A mirror was rested against Cora's side, which Meg was using to put on some makeup. "I can't see where I'm putting this eyeliner, I'm gonna stab myself in the eye."
"Sorry, dear." Cora replied.
"He's volatile, but his situation puts him in the trust range. Make your own choice." Allison responded and went back to biting her fingernails.
"Allison?" The voice was quiet. Cora sat up to see Andy hovering at the bottom of the stairs. "Can we talk?" He said haltingly. Allison turned to the other girls. Cora shrugged but Meg mouthed go! Allison rolled her eyes and got up, brushing past Andy towards the back of the library.
"Kids these days." Cora said before lying back down. Minutes later Bender was back downstairs. "I'm bored." Cora mumbled to the ceiling.
"Nothing to do when you're locked in a vacancy." She sat up and eyed him.
"Truer words have never been spoken. When's Vernon getting back?" She asked. Bender looked at the clock.
"Ten minutes till lunch." Bender said.
"We should probably get Andy and Allison back here." Cora said hopping off the table.
"I'll get 'em, I gotta split anyways." Meg said getting up. She made her way towards the back of the library. Halfway there she turned around and made a face at Cora. She pointed at the corner of the library and then pushed her hands together wiggling them around a bit then rolled her eyes.
"Jeeze, what did you say to Andy?"
"Not much." Bender replied. Seconds later Allison and Andy returned to the front of the library holding hands and smiling like idiots.
"I guess your hearts not dead yet, huh Allison?" Cora asked as she watched the two separate and sit at their desks. "Spit swapping keeping it alive?"
"Very." Allison replied; her mood much improved from the morning. Cora rolled her eyes in disgust. "You could do for some."
"Please." Cora chuckled. "I don't need men to make me happy."
"Oh, so you're batting for the other team? I knew something was different about you."
"Shut up, Bender." Cora said, pretty much ignoring him.
"I mean, there's nothing wrong with liking other women. Is that why your friend Meg was here?"
"Fuck you." She said, starting to get offended.
"Oh, but I'm not your type."
"I swear to God…"
"Hey!" They all swung around to look at Vernon. "Shitheads." He mumbled under his breath. "You have exactly a half hour for lunch. You." He said pointing to Andy. "And you." He pointed to Cora. "Drinks from the teacher's lounge, go." Andy and Cora stood, Cora surreptitiously flipping off Bender as she passed.
"Are you really…?" Andy raised his eyebrows at Cora.
"What?" She acted like she didn't know what he was asking.
"Ya know, batting for the other team?" He asked, using Bender's line.
"I'm not a lesbian." She said pushing open the door to the teachers lounge.
"Oh." He responded dumbly.
"Ya know, not everything that jerk says is true."
"Well, you did say you didn't need a man to make you happy… and, no offence, you're not the picture of perfect femininity." She stated at him. "I mean, the short hair and…"
"Allison's is only about an inch longer." She cut him off.
"And the lack of makeup."
"I'm allergic to most of it."
"And the clothes?" He had gone from explaining himself to asking for and explanation.
"They're more comfortable." She was often seen in large plaid shirts and jeans. "I hate skirts." Andy nodded and then went to the vending machine. Cora turned and scoped the back cupboards. Opening them she saw that they were mostly full of dishes and other crap, but on the top of one of the shelves was a box. She climbed up on the counter.
"What are you doing?" Andy asked.
"Getting lunch." She responded. She snatched the box off the top shelf and saw it was half filled with donuts. She found a bag in one of the draws and put them in then slid the bag up her shirt and tucked it into her pants a little so they wouldn't fall out. She then surveyed the fridge finding some hard-boiled eggs. She picked up two and scrutinized them. Neither was cracked. She smelled them and they seemed all right so she put one up each sleeve. Finally she picked up four cheese sticks and shoved them in her pocket. "Try carting this stuff in a cardigan." She smiled.
Andy chuckled and held open the door for her, four cokes in hand. When they got back to the library Vernon was back in his office. Allison had her lunch out and was fiddling with her sandwich. Andy grabbed his grocery bag full of food and joined her. Cora eyed his lunch hungrily for a second and then turned to Bender. He had his head on his desk and didn't seem to have any food. She remembered what Allison had said about his situation being similar.
She slammed a coke down next to him, not being quite over his accusations earlier, but not wanting him to starve either. She slid the bag of donuts out of her shirt as he slowly sat up. After removing the two eggs she sat down next to Bender. "Hungry?" She asked without looking at him. She slid the donuts towards him as he sat with his mouth open.
"This your food?" He asked incredulously.
"No I swiped it from the teacher's lounge." She said as she cracked open one of the eggs. It looked grey on the inside. "Scratch the eggs." She said grabbing the other one and walking them to the trashcan. When she returned she saw Bender eying the food, but not touching it. She sat back down and turned to him. "Look," She said taking the cheese sticks out of her pocket. "I stole this food fair and square, and I definitely can't eat it all, so unless you have another meal waiting for ya…" She handed him two of the cheese sticks. He took them and she turned back to the table before he could respond.
"Thank you." He said quietly. They ate their lunch in silence. Bender didn't know what to say to Cora and Cora was simply too hungry to stop eating. When Mr. Vernon came back in to make sure they were done eating she quickly hid any evidence that might have looked incriminating.
"Bathrooms. I don't want any funny business. You've still got half the day to go." He warned before heading out into the hallway. The rest of them followed behind. Allison and Cora dragging behind the boys.
"So, did you make nice with Andy?"
"I guess Bender helped him realize what he was doing." Allison said, but quieted when Vernon threw a look over his shoulder. She didn't speak again until they were in the bathrooms. "I guess he was just trying to protect me." Allison explained. Cora rolled her eyes. "He's really kind of sweet."
"I think he's kind of a meat head." Cora said over the sound of the toilet flushing. She came out of the stall and washed her hands. Allison quickly joined her.
"You think all guys are meat heads."
"Because they are." Cora defended herself.
"Well Andy was just trying to help me, even if he was going about it in the wrong way."
"You girls hurry up in there!" Vernon yelled. Allison sighed and they both slouched out of the bathroom and rejoined the guys. Once back in the library Vernon sat them down, gave them another warning look and then left, venturing away from his office to roam the halls.
