Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original content from The Breakfast Club. Any new characters and ideas are my own.
They hear footsteps rapidly coming towards them in the hallway. They all turn to look at Bender to see him with a shit-eating grin on his face. Vernon realizes something's amiss and starts incoherently yelling.
Evelyn looked towards the door with growing anticipation. "Oh, shit…"
The door swings open and a red-faced Vernon comes stomping into the library.
"What the hell just happened?" he pointed to the students sitting incredibly still at the desks. "What the hell just happened? Why is that door closed?"
All eyes swivel to the offending door and then back to Vernon.
"I don't know sir, it just closed." Claire said with a slight shrug.
"Oh, really? 'It just closed'." Vernon mocked her, his hands on his hips. Claire fidgeted uncomfortably under his loathing gaze.
Evelyn piped in, "Yes, sir. It really did just close." God, he's such a creep. Leave Claire alone, she was just answering your question.
"And exactly how did it close, Ms. Connor?" His mocking tone never leaving his voice. Evelyn just shrugged, not offering any other explanation.
"Well?" He slowly stalked over to her desk, her eyes never leaving his form. He stopped in front of her, palms lay flat against the surface and leaned in, completely invading her space. Evelyn leaned as far back as possible without Vernon noticing the afront. "Well? An answer would be a wise decision right about now, Ms. Connor."
You could hear a pin drop. No one moved and no one dared to even breathe too loudly.
"Leave her alone."
Vernon's eyes left Evelyn's and focused on Bender, the trance broken. Evelyn let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
He straightened up, his intention now fully on the delinquent. Bender was lounging at his desk, his expression neutral. But what pissed off Vernon the most was his calm demeanor. Normally, he would be engaged in a heated verbal spar with the kid, and now he was calmly defending his classmates? It made Vernon seethe with anger. He's making me look bad...again.
"What was that, bub?"
"Christ, just leave her alone." Bender shook his long hair out of his eyes. "You want to know what happened to that door? I took out the fucking screw and tossed it, that's what happened."
That shook everyone out of their reverie. The students quickly looked around at each other and then at Bender in disbelief. What was going on? Why would he confess so easily to Vernon? Their mouths were all agape at the sudden turn of events. Vernon was ready to pounce.
"You think you're going to be let off lightly since you supposedly told the truth?" He gave a cruel laugh. "Think again, bub. Why don't we take a trip, just you and I?"
Bender gave shrug and pushed the chair away his feet were resting on. "What the fuck do I care?" The rest couldn't believe what was happening. He was solely taking the heat from Vernon. As he passed Brian, he gave him a clap on the back, then proceeded to give Evelyn a handshake, flipped off Andrew, was about to give Claire a handshake as well then thought better of it and gave her a grimace instead. She returned the favor.
Vernon look on with distaste. He hated Bender's theatrics. He shoved the kid out the door and into the hallway, the door slamming shut behind them.
"What the fuck was that all about?"
"Why would Bender do that?"
"What the hell is with Vernon? He's such a creep!"
A chorus of hushed confusion swept over the group, not quite coming to terms with what they just witnessed.
"Well, now we'll at least get some peace and quiet." Andrew grumbled.
"Yeah, but that was a decent thing Bender did. Well, after he technically defaced school property." Evelyn countered.
The rest nodded in agreement, not quite sure what to do. Evelyn and Brian took advantage of the moment and took out their study materials. She glanced at the clock and sighed. 9:02am. Please, please, please, no more distractions…
Bender shuffled along the hallway in a pace that was deemed unacceptable to Vernon. The assistant principal sneered as he looked at his student's jean-clad back. The urge to shove him was almost too much, but he refrained. He steered Bender to a crowded storage closet at the end of one of the hallways and gestured him in. Bender rolled his eyes, this was nothing new. Just a power trip for Vernon.
Bender hopped up on to one of the old desks in the closet and claimed his perch. They looked at each other briefly with unveiled disgust.
"Have fun in here for the rest of the day. And don't you ever, ever, make me look bad in front of those kids again, do you hear me, Bender? Ever."
Bender only responded by staring at Vernon, willing him to leave. Just as that thought crossed his mind, Vernon slammed the door shut, locking it behind him.
"Prick."
He removed his jean jacket to use as a pillow and spread out on the desks, trying to get comfortable. Unfortunately, the bruises on his back were keeping him from doing so. He figured he'd get a little sleep, safe in the dingy closet. God knows he never got enough at home.
The door to the library slammed open again, making the students jump in their seats. Vernon strode in, anger evident on his face.
"So. You decided that it would be a good idea to cover for Bender." He slowly glanced around the room at the startled students. "You lied to my face about the door incident." He scratched his chin, pretending to be in thought. "How about two thousand words for your essay. How does that sound?" He smirked and didn't even wait for them to answer. He walked right out the door and shut it forcefully behind him.
"Shit." Evelyn muttered, throwing down her pencil. She rubbed her face in frustration. She and Brian had made good progress on studying for their midterms, but this essay was looming over her head and she hated it. She needed to get up or take a walk or something. Making a decision, she grabbed her Walkman out of her backpack and headed toward a secluded alcove in the library.
"Evelyn, we aren't supposed to move from these seats." Brian nervously called after her.
She just shrugged in his direction, ignoring the others staring at her and found a comfy spot. Music always helped her to relax. She figured Vernon wouldn't be back for a while and hell, she really needed a break from the quiet. Evelyn chuckled. That's exactly what I was aiming for earlier: quiet. And now I can't stand it.
Propping up her Doc Marten clad feet on a low table, she folded her hands under her head and slowly drifted off to sleep.
"Pssst, Evelyn. Hey, Evelyn! Wake up, Vernon's coming!" Brian called over the bookshelves to her hidden alcove.
Her eyes shot open and in a panic, she tried to get up quickly but in her haste ended up getting the chord to her Walkman tangled around her. With no time to fix it, she hurried back to her seat just as Vernon stalked in, the headphones dangling from her shoulders. Miraculously, he missed the state Evelyn was in.
It was already close to noon. "Who needs to use the lavatory?"
All hands shot up, desperate to get out of the godforsaken library.
"Well then, let's go. On your feet, hurry up." Vernon barked impatiently. "And grab some money for the vending machine", he added as an afterthought.
Evelyn scrambled to untangle herself and was finally able to do so. She shoved a few quarters in her pocket and headed out the door with the others.
They followed Vernon down various hallways until they reached the bathrooms. While they each headed to the separate bathrooms, the intercom turned on and a man's voice was heard.
"Mr. Vernon report to the office. Mr. Vernon to the office, please." Click. The intercom turned off. They could all hear Vernon curse outside the bathroom.
"Goddamnit, Carl." He muttered under his breath. "When you're finished in there, stay right outside in this hallway. Do you hear me?" He yelled in their general direction and was greeted with a chorus of assurance.
Evelyn and Claire glanced at each other and laughed. Allison just stared at them and went in to a stall.
"Whatever." Claire went in to the next stall and Evelyn into the third.
They met the boys in the hallway with growing anticipation.
"So. Vernon's not here", Andrew said in a hopeful tone.
"Thank you for pointing that out, Captain Obvious", Evelyn replied playfully. Andrew shot her a grin and rubbed his hands together, the adrenaline starting to pump.
"What should we do while he's cooped up in the office on the other side of campus?" His grin was infectious and soon the whole group was feeling the same energy. Naturally, Brian was a little hesitant though.
"Um, I don't know. I think we should stay right here like Vernon said."
"That's boring. You're boring." Allison quipped, staring at Brian with her uneasy gaze. Everyone started at her in shock. This was the first time she had spoken during detention.
"You're always doing what people tell you to do. Live a little." She grinned. The group was quiet for a few seconds before Evelyn chimed in.
"I say we go rescue Bender."
Allison shot her an approving look. "Now we're talking." The others weren't so sure.
"Are you crazy? It's been so much nicer not having that asshole in detention with us. 3 hours of blissful silence and you want him to come back?" Andrew asked incredulously and Claire agreed.
"Oh, c'mon guys. It hasn't been blissful, it's been boring! And don't forget, he did take the blame for all of us with the door incident."
"Yeah, but that's because he was the one that messed with the door, not us."
Evelyn turned to Brian, exasperated.
"Yes, thank you for pointing out that blatant fact. However, he still actually told the truth and took the heat. The only problem is, I don't know where Vernon took him."
"I do."
Claire shot a look at Allison, unwilling to believe her. "And how would you know that?"
Allison didn't even deign to give her an answer. Instead, she just started walking down the hallway. Evelyn laughed and followed her strange companion.
"Anyone else want to join?" She called over her shoulder, weirdly okay with breaking the rules. I shouldn't get into a habit of this, I don't want to get any more detentions. But it's only been a few minutes and I know Vernon probably hasn't even reached the office yet.
She caught up with Allison and they came to one of the storage closets located on this floor. Luckily, this door didn't require a key, it was a simple tab lock. Allison unlocked the door and swung it open, revealing Bender perched on the desks inside.
His head snapped up, surprised to find the band geek and the recluse outside of his cell. After his much needed nap, he was feeling restless and claustrophobic. But he couldn't let them know that one, why anyone actually took the effort to come and find him, two, he was surprised they even knew where he was, and three, that he was grateful. He put up his nonchalant defense mechanism and turned it to full Bender mode.
"Can I help you? You two look a little lost. Hell is back that way." He pointed in the general direction of the library and smirked. Evelyn returned it with one of her own.
"We're here to rescue the fair maiden from her tower." She said with a dramatic flourish while Bender grunted. She couldn't tell if he was amused or not, but she didn't care that much. He inspected his nails with a sigh.
"Have you slayed the dragon yet?", clearly in reference to Vernon.
"The dragon lives, unfortunately", Allison deadpanned.
"Well, in that case, what good are you two? And by the way, this fair maiden is a strong, independent woman that doesn't need your help."
Evelyn and Allison glanced at each other and shrugged.
"Okay, then. Don't say we didn't try to be nice or anything…" Evelyn said as her and Allison started closing the door.
"ALRIGHT. You win. Get me the hell outta here." Bender hopped off the desk while Evelyn and Allison grinned. They quickly locked the closet door and followed him into the hallway. Evelyn updated him on the situation.
"Vernon got called to the office for something. But it's been a while and he'll be heading back towards the bathrooms where he left us. I'm assuming he's also taking us to the vending machine so we can get something to drink for lunch. Want anything?"
Bender's step hesitated. He didn't need any charity.
"That depends. What are you offering, Sweets?"
"A soda. That's it, Bender. A soda."
He pouted and slung an arm over both of their shoulders. Allison didn't even flinch.
"Pity. It was getting very lonely in that closet…" He whispered in her ear and moved to bring in Evelyn closer when she shoved him back.
"Ugh. You have two hands, do it yourself." Evelyn shrugged off his arm and laughed, clearly not affected by his suggestion.
He looked to Allison.
"Don't even think about it." She, too, flung his arm off her shoulder and instead linked her arm with Evelyn's. They sauntered down the hallway in front of Bender and he couldn't help but admire both of their spunk, especially that band geek. Meh, they're alright. Unlike the rest of those pricks.
"You'd better hurry, Bender. The dragon is on a rampage". Evelyn called over her shoulder while turning the corner with Allison.
Bender grinned and sped off in the other direction towards the library.
I decided to deviate a little from the original script to speed things along. I hope you liked it! Reviews would be appreciated!
~QueenOfTheBrassQuill