Title: The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case
Author: TWBasketcase
Summary: After a chaotic Monday, can Tuesday bring some peace?
Disclaimer: I do not own the movie or the characters of The Breakfast Club…so don't sue!
A/N: Once again thanks for the great reviews; I wanna make a shout out to UnicornPammy for giving me some info on the hospitals and schools, etc… I really appreciate that. One more shout out to Hannah; you're very kind! I also noticed that mistake…4 not 5… slaps forehead…anyways here's chapter 10, sorry about the wait for this one, I had a little trouble getting it out the way I wanted it to! Please R/R and enjoy!
Chapter 10 – Aftermath
I opened my eyes after a wonderful dream and glanced at the clock…7:48 am. Shit! I cannot believe I slept in! After a short war with my bedding, I scrambled to my feet and grabbed a small, white Depeche Mode t-shirt and a black denim skirt and threw them on as quickly as I could. I grabbed my bag and sprinted to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and do my make-up. I half assed most of it and ran a brush through my hair and pushed it back with a black head band. Nearly falling over in the process, I fought with the bathroom door and ran down the hallway to kitchen to grab whatever was left on the stove. EW! I looked at the contents in my hand and realized I had bit into a piece of bacon…meat again? I spit the contents out of my mouth and onto the floor; I didn't bother grabbing anything else to eat, just the thought of having animal flesh in my mouth is enough to make me lose my appetite! Diving to the floor of the foyer, which is directly off of the kitchen, I went for my Taylor's and slipped them on, tying about four half-assed knots in each shoe. I threw open the front door and ran right into a strong body. "Fuck! Watch out, I'm late," I hollered.
"Well good morning to you too, sunshine!" Bender yelled back, "I was just checking to see if you wanted some company today, but with an attitude like that I don't think I want to walk with you anymore!" he said, rather childishly at that.
"Shut-up you shit and let's go!" I said, smacking him in the process. He turned around and huffed and followed me in pursuit.
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We walked into the school about an hour late and decided to just go to the cafeteria until first period was over. Bender sat at a table near the window, and I sat across from him staring out into the cloudy morning sky.
"So what did you do last night?" John asked, obviously bored out of his mind.
"Not too much, Andy came over for a while and when he left I went to sleep…what about you?" I asked him.
"Well actually I'm glad you asked, you see after being dropped off from the hospital last night, I walk into Claire's house and that evil monster that she calls mother shrieked in my face for about 20 minutes until I finally offered her a breathe mint…" he smirked ridiculously and started to laugh, "then she chased me out of her house with a broom!"
I widened my eyes at him, well at least one thing came good out of it, one of his goals was to wreak major havoc amongst Claire and her parents, "What did Claire think about that?"
"I heard her laughing in hysterics until the front door was slammed in my face, then her mother started screaming at her and I heard her scream back until I was about thirty feet away…that girl has one set of lungs on her," he replied.
I smiled at the thought; I could totally picture it.
"Hey John," I asked him quietly.
"MmHmm?" he mumbled, busy trying to light his cigarette without the lunch ladies seeing.
"Would you ever consider going to the prom?"
He stared at me blankly for a few moments and then shrugged, "I dunno, if I can ever get to being a senior, maybe I would go…if I was wasted or something,"
"Well if Claire wanted you to go, would you?"
He looked at me blankly again, then looked towards the ceiling momentarily, "Sure, I guess. It's not really my thing, but if it keeps her from moping around and sulking then sure," He answered, a little unsurely, "Why do you ask? You thinking about starting to attend school functions?"
"Well Andy asked me to go; I'm just a little insecure about it, that's all. I just wanted your opinion."
"You should go; there isn't anything to be insecure about, it's just a dance…and besides, I think you can trust Sporto," he replied. The bell rang signally the end of first before I had the chance to reply. Gathering our things, I thought about it…he's right, I don't have anything to worry about, I hope…
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I glanced around at the frames on the wall; once again I have been sent down to see the school guidance councilor, I'm not too sure why they send me down here without telling me first, but it sure beats sitting in biology.
"So Allison, can you tell me exactly why you hit the other girl yesterday?" Mr. Hashimoto asked with an obvious lack of care.
"No I won't tell you, but I can show you a picture I drew of her plunging hundreds of feet from the roof of a haunted castle," I replied grinning wildly.
"Allison I really do not want to have to go through another one of these talks today," he said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied with a shrug. I slumped in my seat and stared out the window over his shoulder.
"Allison, you have never been one to start violent fights during school hours; I can bet you that you have some type of motivation behind it," He stared intently at my face; I fidgeted under his ice cold gaze.
"Maybe its people like you who try so hard to convince me you care - when really you don't - who are motivating me to act out violently. I'm beginning to think the only reason why my teachers send me down here is because you are all part of a conspiracy to brain wash me!" I squeaked, trying to hide my laughter.
He sighed, he knew he wasn't going to win; he never does. I laughed out loud at him, "Ha!" He rose from his seat and moved towards the door; he sent one more antagonizing glance my way before he opened it, ushering me out. I gathered my bag and walked out of the tiny, musty office with little hesitation. There was only a few more moments left before the end of second period and then it would be lunch time. I can sit with my friends and I will not have to be psychologically evaluated, or glared at; hopefully this lunch hour won't be as dramatic as yesterday's.
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I made my way back to my locker and put my school books back inside; I just as quickly shut it again and made my way back down the hallway to the cafeteria.
By the time I reached the front of the cafeteria doors the bell had rung, and in no time after that, I was joined by Claire.
"Hey Allison," she waved cheerily, "where were you guys this morning?"
I breathed heavily, blowing some of my loose bangs in the air, "I forgot to set my alarm, I had barely enough time to get ready, I forgot to take some money for the bus, and then we had to walk…my place isn't very close to here," I explained.
She laughed heartily, "Sounds like you had quite the morning…I got detention again." She rolled her eyes.
"For what?"
"Skipping class…" she started, "again," we both said in unison. We laughed at our own antics until we were joined by Brian and John.
"What the party started without me? Come on ladies…" Bender whined throwing his arms over our shoulders and leading us into the cafeteria. We made sure that Brian stayed with the group today and that Bender was by no means able to throw food at monster-like muscle heads. We grabbed a table at the east side of the room and sat down. We all were silently eating when we were rudely interrupted.
"Hello there, Claire," By god is that some kind of pointy faced demon? Oh wait, its just Ashley Young and her clan of sheep.
She smiled innocently, "Hey girls how are you?"
"Wondering why you have avoided us at lunch for the second day in a row to sit with these losers…and you?" Her eyes were getting all squinty and she rolled her head around her neck with every word she spoke; if that didn't make her look funny enough, the amount of make up plastered on her face trying to cover up her scuffs was…she sort of resembled Pennywise the clown.
Claire slowly swallowed her food and then cleared her throat, "Well these aren't losers, they are my friends…and if you guys were any type of real friend you wouldn't care who I decided to associate myself with. I'm avoiding you because I'm kinda embarrassed that you were cowardly enough to jump my friends from behind last night…outnumbering them as well, might I add."
I swallowed the nervousness I was feeling down, and glanced from Claire back to her group of 'friends'. If looks could kill Claire would be dead twenty times over right about now.
This time a taller brunette spoke up, Michelle Manning, I believe her name is, "Who jumped who?" she asked confused. Ashley spun around to face her, "You never mind that! Just shut up and let me handle this." Michelle glared at Ashley but shut her mouth anyways.
"You better think long and hard about what you are doing here, Claire! I wouldn't let one day of detention with a bunch of whack jobs threaten your reputation and social status, or you are going to go down hard before you can blink an eye!" And with that she spun on her heal and walked away, with her little clique following close behind. Michelle shot Claire a sympathetic look and a small smile. She turned to the rest of us and quickly evaluated; her eyes lingered on Brian for a few moments and she shot him a friendly smile before she too followed.
I looked at Claire intently; it was almost…almost…as if she wasn't fazed by them at all. She glanced back at me momentarily and gave me an uneasy smile, I could tell she was having a little inner turmoil with herself but all in all she kinda seemed happier too. I gave her a reassuring grin and she chuckled at me, Bender just rolled his eyes and kept picking from Brian's food, "I swear chicks speak alien language sometimes," he grunted. Claire and I just laughed again in spite of ourselves.
We sat silently for a few moments, me and Claire picking at our food while John kept stealing Brian's. I looked around the table at each of them; they were all pretty silent but seemed to be in deep thought. I sighed quietly to myself and dipped a dill pickle into my chocolate pudding cup; I took a small bite savoring the taste and smiled to myself. Suddenly Bender piped up, "So my band got a gig at the last minute this Saturday…it should be pretty wild, we're playing with a few other metal bands, you guys should come," he said rather excitedly.
"I didn't know you played in a band Bender," Brian said with obvious adoration.
"Yeah for a bout a year now, I play lead guitar and do a little bit of vocals," he said proudly.
"I'll be there," I said without hesitation.
"Count me in to," Claire joined, "I can't wait to see this!"
"Good," Bender said, "I'm going to be practicing all week after school…it's at the Club Underground downtown, I'm gonna have to meet you guys there though…"
We all nodded our heads, this should be pretty cool. I've been to Club Underground a few times, it gets pretty crazy there; lots of mosh pits and slam dancing. I love music shows though, I always feel like I fit right in…you can also dance like an idiot and no one says anything because they look just as ridiculous. I smiled happily to myself and glanced up, my eyes caught with those of Andrew Clark. He was walking across the cafeteria with two friends I had never seen before; he stopped when he made eye contact, and made a beeline for our table.
I swallowed my food quickly and wiped my lips, my eyes never leaving his. He was wearing a pair of black jogging pants with a white tank top underneath of his letterman's jacket. I noticed that a lot of people were staring at him as he approached us, and surprisingly, he wasn't fazed by any of it. His deep blue eyes were locked on mine and he had no intention of breaking contact. That is until the rest of his 'friends' stood from their table and cut him off.
"Clark! What the hell was yesterday all about, man?" The tallest one asked, I remembered him clearly as the one who had held me back for a round of cheap blows. He stood demanding, with broad shoulders and a firm look on his face. His fists were clenching and unclenching at his sides, you could tell he was a combination of angry, frustrated, and nervous.
"Leave it alone, Jack," I heard Andrew say in a sharp voice. His stare was now directed at Jack, I'm assuming that's his name, but had gone very quickly from soft and excited to cold and hard.
"No Clark, I won't leave it alone! I had some business to take care of and you decided to stick your nose in it! I wanna know what the hell possessed you to get in the way!" Jack's face had gone from firm to fuming, and he looked like he was about to burst. By now, the entire cafeteria was quiet and watching the episode as it unfolds. I shifted nervously in my seat and swallowed the growing lump in my throat. Brian looked just about as anxious as I did, while Claire had worried anticipation written all over her face. Bender sat in silence, never taking his eyes away from the group of angry jocks in front of us; his expression was grim. I turned my eyes back to the growing situation, praying they wouldn't do anything to hurt Andy.
"Well!" Jack pretty well screamed into Andy's face.
Much to my amusement Andy wiped down the side of his face with his sleeve, a look of sheer disgust on his face. I could have laughed out loud if the situation was a little different. "What the hell do you want me to say?" Andy hissed.
"I want an explanation Clark, and I want one now! Those little shits fucked with us yesterday and they were getting what was coming! And in you come playing hero to a bunch of poor, dirty punks! What's with you?"
Andy shook his head in disgust, anger and frustration evident on his face. He stepped forward and tried to make his way around the group to our table but two of the others pushed him back. He eyed them up closely, "Let me through."
"Not until we're done here Clark!" Jack hollered. I looked around the cafeteria, everyone in there had obvious anticipation written all over their faces, but at the same time they all looked very shocked. I was wondering which parts of this story were responsible for that shock. The next thing I knew Bender had thrown down his sandwich or Brian's sandwich in this case, and stepped on top of the table. He jumped down with a loud thud that caused the entire group of jocks to spin around and face him. Claire eagerly got up to follow him, as did Brian, so I figured what the hell?
As Bender approached the group Jack had a rather hideous sneer plastered on his face, "What the hell do you want faggot?"
Bender just shrugged and stood his ground, "I decided I wanted a front row view," he rolled his eyes and once again gave his famous smirk. Jack waved his hands dismissively and turned back to Andrew, "What? You need your little freak show to back you up?"
Andrew was growing increasingly tense at his former friend and shot his ice cold eyes to meet his, "What are you talking about? It didn't look like I needed too much backup to chase off the four of you last night!"
"So what, Clark? Is this how it's going to be? All of a sudden over night you feel sorry for these clowns and that slut that you're going to turn your back on your own friends?"
"Don't you dare say that!" Andrew's voice rose to a level I've never heard him use before, "You don't know these people to be judging them and you sure as hell won't be calling her a slut!"
Jack and his group of clowns all had a similar look of confusion and disbelief on their faces. Jack turned to face me for a moment, and I locked eyes with him; he slowly turned his head back to Andrew and pointed back to me over his shoulder, "Who? That basketcase? You sticking up for her to me, Clark?"
I once again swallowed that annoying lump in my throat. Bender was just about fuming, and looked like he was ready to jump the guy. Claire gently grasped his arm and whispered something inaudible to him; he seemed to soften at her touch but never took his eyes away from the group. Andrew raised his eyebrows and smirked, "Yeah that basketcase," he said with a growing smile and paused, "…and if loving her makes me loopy too, then so be it," he said with a satisfying shrug. My jaw hung open…did he just say he loved me in front of the entire school? The room was so quiet you could here a pin drop; I don't even think Jack knew what to say at the moment.
"That's where you fucked up royally, Jack," Andy continued, "Messing with my buddies was bad enough, but you put your hands on my girlfriend and that's where you crossed the line. And if beating all four of your asses again would make up for what you did to her, I would do it in a heart beat." He stood tall, not at all intimidated by the men in front of him. You could hear gasps and whispers from all over the cafeteria, and I still couldn't come to my senses enough to even close my mouth! My Andy, who on Saturday could not think for himself…was standing up in front of the entire school saying every thought on his mind while standing up to his jag-off friends, and looking entirely amused with himself in the process!
Jack's eyes widened in disbelief and he opened his mouth to speak, obviously seeking the right words to respond with, "…"
"I know what you were trying to do to her you sick fuck!" Andy hollered at him, "Don't you dare try and deny it either! I don't think there is a single guy in this room who wouldn't knock your lights out if they caught you doin' that to any girl."
Jack sneered and a wicked smile came over his face that made me shiver. He was disgusting and I wanted to get sick just being in this close proximity to him. "What's wrong Andrew? Did I hit a soft spot, huh? You upset because I stole a feel?" He said mockingly, obviously trying to get Andrew to snap, I could tell he was getting to Andy…but Andy, being my amazing Andy, stood his ground trying to be the better man. Bender once again looked like a cougar ready to pounce; even Bry was getting a little ticked.
"Well I'm not gonna say what you did was acceptable, but I'm not gonna blame you for wanting too," Andrew paused with a cocky grin drawing over his features, "She sure is a lot better looking than anything you've ever dated…and that includes that dog you call a girlfriend now!"
Jack's face turned an unsettling shade of red, while Ashley scoffed from the table she was seated at below. A wide smile drew across my face matching the one on Andrew's…while once again the cafeteria erupted in gasps. Suddenly Jack's fist rose in the air, but just as quickly a fingerless glove stopped it in mid air from behind. Andrew did not even flinch at the gesture. Jack spun around quickly to face Bender, who was seething might I add, "I would advise you not even try it, muscle head!" Bender hissed. Jack's face turned into a disturbing looking snarl and before it could proceed any further, an equally disturbing voice interrupted, "What in God's name is going on in here? What is this ruckus?" In came Satan's spawn himself, Mr. Vernon.
Claire, Brian, and I bit back a laugh at the statement, having remembering the last time he came bouncing in a room hollering it.
Jack grabbed his fist back from Bender's grasp and folded his arms over his chest; neither Bender nor Andy moved from their stances. "Jack Davis! My office now! You too, Clark! Get your asses moving!" With that he turned and left the cafeteria, and as if on cue, the bell signaling the end of lunch break rang.
After a few moments hesitation the school of students around us began to file out of the lunch room and to their third period classes. Jack and Andy continued their stare down for a few more moments until one of the other jocks motioned for him to follow. The group of guys plus Ashley and her girls followed suit until it was only the five of us left standing in the formerly chaotic room.
We stood eyeing each other for a few moments, until we all broke out in grins and approached Andy. I grabbed him in a tight hug, as did Claire. I stood holding him for a few moments until a smile graced his face. "Thanks man," he said to Bender.
"Just returning the favor, bro."
The aftermath of Monday's chaos definitely left a few people in shock…namely me with Andy's confession of love for me to the entire school. Thankfully this time around the aftermath worked to our benefit. He turned his eyes to me, looking a little sheepish, I returned the gaze with a reassuring smile…even if I did feel a little scared, wanting to hide in a hole. I'm glad he felt that way, don't get me wrong, but no guy has ever done that for me before, and I don't know how to react. His face softened a bit with my smile and I turned to the rest of the group. Brian stood still; he looked as if the aftermath was still processing in his brain. He looked from Bender to Andy and had a look of true idolization for them both.
Claire smiled widely and pulled Bender towards her by the side of his waist. He threw an arm around her shoulders and let out a howling laugh at what just transpired. After a few seconds we all joined him and didn't move from our place in the cafeteria, even as the sound of the third period bell rang. Together we stood strong and proud, hoping we got through the worst of it all. Shermer High School was ours…The Breakfast Club was here to take it by storm.
To Be Continued