"Jesus, you'd think for one minute we'd get a break!" Bender moaned. The Breakfast Club and their stolen Cadillac had been stuck in traffic for nearly 3 hours…and they'd barely gone 3 miles.
"John, this is not good, we have to pass a police line to get out of here!" Claire said.
"I guess this proves Murphy's Law is true," remarked Brian.
"No, what would prove it was true is if the car burst into flames," said Andy. Allison ducked and squeaked, as if she were anticipating it. Andy patted her back, and Allison sat up again. No flames. Yet.
"You guys, we're gonna be cool, alright?" said Bender in a feeble attempt to calm the group down. Claire kept tapping her feet and looking out the window.
"My parents would always play a game with me when we were stuck in traffic…" Brian began.
"What was it?" asked Allison. Bender looked in the rearview mirror and rolled his eyes.
"Spot the car," Brian answered.
"Oh look!" interrupted Bender. "There's a car, there's a car, there's a car, oh look! Another car! I think there might be a car behind that one! They are EVERYWHERE!" Bender said tensely. "Golly gee, Beev! I think I won! Do I get a gum drop and a kiss now?" Bender punctuated his sarcastic sentence by slapping his palm angrily on the dashboard.
Brian sank back into his seat, embarrassed for even bringing it up. Allison dug into her bag and got out the box of cheerios she stole from the pickup truck. She opened it and took a handful, eating it then passing it on to Andy, who did the same. Once the box was passed around, everyone remained quiet as the stolen Cadillac slowly crept down the road.
"I think a turtle just sped by us," Andy said ironically. Allison leaned her head on his shoulder and fell asleep. Taking her lead, everyone but Bender at the wheel voluntarily fell asleep.
"You guys! We're out of traffic now! Home we go!" Bender yelled loudly as everyone was startled awake. "I think it's 20 miles to home, right?" he asked. Brian whipped out the map and nodded with an excited 'uh-huh!'
"Guys, I know you're gonna kill me for this…but I think I have to use the bathroom!" Claire said cautiously.
"Can't you wait a freaking half an hour?" asked Bender. Claire shook her head.
"We've been in the car for three hours! Please, just pull over and I'll go in the woods if I have to!" Claire begged. Andy shifted in his seat.
"Truth be told, I have to go to," he said quietly.
"Me too," said Brian. Bender groaned.
"I'm in a car full of dildos! Home's a half hour away, and they need to piss!"
"Just shut it and pull over!" Andy snapped. Bender did so. Claire, Andy, and Brian shot out of the car and made their way deep into the woods (so they wouldn't be seen). Bender turned around to look in the back seat. Allison had not gotten out.
"What about you?" he asked. Allison shook her head.
"I'm fine," she said. Bender nodded and faced forward again.
"That was really clever the way you hotwired this thing. Did you really find yourself bored enough to ask someone to learn how?" he asked.
"Well, when you don't have any friends, you do get bored easily," Allison said. "Besides, a girl always needs to know how to hotwire a car in case…"
"…in case she needs to jam?" finished Bender. Allison's jaw dropped.
"Yeah," she said. Did he overhear when she was talking to Andy and Brian about the shit in her purse and never knowing about when one might need to jam?
"Did you really intend to run away someday?" asked Bender.
"I guess not," said Allison. "It's not like my parents would give a damn. They probably don't even care that I've been gone for three days. I bet I'll walk in that door and they'll have a note on the fridge saying their bailing Joe out of jail for something again, or visiting Randall in Hollywood because he got cast as another extra in some Harrison Ford movie!"
"Better than what I'm gonna get. My dad's gonna assume that I was out partying all weekend and is gonna beat the living shit out of my ass," Bender said.
"You could come stay with me. My parents won't give a crap," Allison said.
"I already got an offer from Claire for that," Bender said.
"Are you gonna take it? Because I think you should," said Allison. Bender looked at the steering wheel. "I think she likes you…and I think you like her back."
"Yeah well—" Bender suddenly stopped speaking when he thought he heard sirens in the distance. Allison heard them too and started hyperventilating. Bender saw a single police car speed right at them. "Shit! RUN!" Bender slammed the door open and bounded out of the car, running into the woods. Allison opened her door but tripped as she tried to climb out, banging her knee hard on the frame. She hollered out in pain. Bender turned around to see her trying desperately to crawl away from the car as the police car slowed down as it approached the stolen car.
Bender did something he only did once before. He thought of someone other than himself. He didn't think for a full second before running back to help Allison to her feet. But by now, it was too late. Bender started pulling Allison up, when he felt himself being shoved down beside her, his arms twisted behind his back. Two tall, black policemen were screaming at them. Bender planted h is forehead on the concrete and didn't move. Allison shook as she stared into the muzzle of a shotgun, pointed right at her.
"You two are under arrest on charges of auto theft! You have the right to remain silent…"
Andy, Brian, and Claire looked on with horror from behind a bush about 20 feet into the woods as Bender and Allison were shoved to the ground like dogs. Andy bit his lips as one of the two policemen pointed a gun right at Allison. How terrified she must have been! Bender was remaining oddly quiet and calm during the whole brutal process, as both of them were felt up for weapons or drugs, Allison's bag was searched (the officers looked perplexed to find canned pasta and trail mix in her bag), and screaming in both of their ears. Brian looked like he was ready to puke…again. Claire stared at Bender, wondering how the heck he could remain so calm.
Bender and Allison were then handcuffed and stood up as both policemen yelled at them like drill sergeants. Allison was gritting her teeth, trying desperately to fall into her own little world. Bender looked defiant, but NOT defeated.
The pair was then shoved into the single police car, the doors slamming loudly behind them. Andy listened in closely.
"Take them to the station in Edmonston!" ordered the one not driving. "They're gonna rot in jail for 20 years if they're LUCKY!" He then began taking on his radio. "I've located missing car beta, it's located approximately four miles east of recent traffic accident site out of Hillsdale…"
The other policeman laughed and got into the car. Once everyone was in the police car, the sirens began wailing as the car drove off down the opposite side of the road towards Edmonston. Claire, Andy, and Brian hopped out of the bushes when the coast was clear.
"Oh no, this isn't good at all. Remember? Edmonston was 40 miles the OTHER way!" Brian whined. "We can't POSSIBLY walk that far and save them!"
"Maybe they'll get one phone call?" Claire suggested. Andy shook his head.
"Those are for kids accused of gas station robbery or drug dealing on the corner. Auto thieves don't exactly get one phone call each…"
Claire sighed. Andy looked at her. "You KNOW what we have to do!"
She looked at Brian. Brian stared back at her blankly. Claire suddenly got what Andy meant.
"Oh no! Andy, hitchhiking is DANGEROUS!" she whined.
"Claire, our friends are being dragged off to some holding cell nearly 100 miles from any familiar territory. There's bound to be a bank in Edmonston, you can take out bail money and we can get things sorted out once we get back to Shermer," Andy said. "But we can't do ANYTHING unless we get to Edmonston, TONIGHT!"
"It's already close to five," Brian said. The sun was getting lower in the sky.
"I can't risk it!" Claire said, panicked.
"Claire, listen to me. Bender and Allison are the only reasons we've even made it this far! Are we gonna thank them by letting them get 20 to life in a moldy prison?" Andy asserted. Claire bit her lip and looked in the direction of where the police car had driven.
"Hurry up and decide, Claire. I think I hear sirens coming back for the car, we can't let them see us!" said Brian. Andy looked at Claire. Suddenly, Claire took off, running across the highway. Andy and Brian chased after her. Claire suddenly stopped when she'd crossed to the other side and stuck out her thumb. Andy saw why she's shot across the road. A large burgundy-colored van was driving slowly in the direction they wanted to go. The van slowed to a stop, and an elderly woman rolled down the window.
"You need a ride?" she asked.
"Edmonston?" asked Claire.
"Bless my soul, that's where Herb and I are headed with our grandchildren!" the woman pointed to the backseat and beside her, where an elderly man sat with three golden-haired little girls who looked almost identical, except in height.
"Can we get a ride, my…brothers and I?" asked Claire. The lady nodded.
"Jump on in!" she invited. Andy smiled as the trio piled into the van. "Who are you kids?"
"I'm…Jane, and these are my brothers Drew and Ryan," Claire said. She knew giving real names was dangerous no matter who the people were.
"I'm Missy," said the short blonde girl.
"I'm Mindy," said the medium blonde girl.
"I'm Mitzy," said the tall blonde girl.
"I'm Ruth-Anne, and this is Herb!" introduce the woman. Claire didn't care. She just wanted to get to Edmonston before anything really bad happened to Bender and Allison.