Title: The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case
Author: TWBasketcase
Disclaimer: I do not own The Breakfast Club…although I would be very happy if I did!
A/N: AH! The curse is gone! Thank god…I love writing this fic and I hate when I get the dreaded block! Sorry for the delay in updates, I think I am ready to get myself back on track! So here we go, Chapter 13 (oh lucky 13) I hope you enjoy…and please feel free to leave reviews…bad or good I don't care just tell me what ya think.
A/N 2: Just want to say thanks to Hannah, Moonjava, and KushelKitten for the wonderful and ever faithful reviews. You guys always put a smile on my face!
Chapter 13 – The Drama Known as High School
It has been just over two weeks since Andy was attacked at the wrestling meet and Bender began his crusade to local fame. The show was a blast and my fellow members of the Breakfast Club have only become tighter. There is only a month left until Andy is scheduled to return to the mat for the final state championship tournament of his high school career and another six weeks until the big prom night. I have been looking around for a dress, and it has been total chaos! Claire has insisted that we shop together; she is a nut about dulling me up, and has gotten even crazier now that she has convinced John to go with her. I tell ya, John and I at the prom is definitely something I would never had seen coming in a million years but the two of us are amused to say the least.
The last three weeks of my life will be completely unforgettable. Just a month ago I was the invisible basket case; I felt alone in all of my days and going to school just made it all the more lonely…if that makes any sense. I had a few friends as a young child, but as I grew older people began to distance themselves from me as my creative side sprouted. I never really understood why being an individual was so unpopular, especially when everyone is always saying just be yourself. But ever since that detention I have felt totally confident and prideful; two things I have never really felt before. When Claire gave me the make over I never intended to fully keep it, but it did open up my eyes. So I decided that I would meet her half way and mix my style with the one she helped create. I no longer hide behind the security blanket that was my long hair and baggy clothes; instead I keep my hair pulled back and go for better fitting outfits.
It's Monday again, which means another interesting and dramatic day at Shermer High School. As the days and weeks go by, our feud with the jocks and their preppie girlfriends intensifies. There haven't been anymore physical confrontations but the glares, arguments, and attempts to humiliate each other still continue. Andy and Claire have almost completely distanced themselves from their former friends with the exception of a few; there are a couple people in the so called popular group who have absolutely no problem with their association of Bender, Brian, and I, and a few who are envious of our sport and princess for getting the guts to turn against the societal standards. To say I was proud of them would be an understatement.
Andy and I are still going strong, and are closer than ever. Bender and Claire continue their constant bickering at each other, but are still in complete adoration with each other. Brian, oh dear Brian, is our ever faithful companion, our mediator, and the source of our intellectual advice. Brian has really blossomed over the last few weeks; he is over his elephant fiasco and, with the help of Bender, got permission from Mr. Ryan to start the project over. He is becoming much more comfortable in his own skin and I admire him for his new found ability to handle and stick up for himself.
I approached my bright red locker that morning to have Claire waiting for me. She looked very distressed; she had dark bags under her eyes and her clothes were very unlike her. She hadn't styled her hair this morning, she just left it wet, and her attire was more like something she could feel comfortable in rather than look good in. She had on a baggy navy blue Shermer sweater with a pair of frumpy blue jeans; she wore a pair of Nike sports sneakers underneath. She didn't have any make-up on and I could only wonder what…or who, ahem…started it this time.
"Oh my god, Al," she started to sob then as she approached me for a hug, "I'm so glad you came early today."
"What's wrong?"
"John and I got into this monster fight and I think he hates me!"
I frowned; this happens all too often, "What happened this time?"
She sniffled and rubbed away her tears with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, "We were hanging out at his house this weekend and something happened, and it all blew up from there."
"Okay…what sparked the fight?"
"Do you remember when I told you about all the girls he kept pictures of in his wallet?"
Oh great, this is going to be just peachy, "Yeah…"
"Well when we were sitting in his bedroom his mom yelled down that he had a visitor and it was some morbid looking female," she stopped, wiping away a few stray tears. I could tell that this fight was a pretty big one and that it was probably going to involve the rest of us, "Well anyways, she comes prancing down into his bedroom – like she had a reason to be there – and starts yelling at him, 'who the hell is this? You aren't cheatin' on me again, are ya Bender?'" She mimicked a voice to make this girl sound like some drunken red neck. She frowned and looked down to the floor, kicking an invisible object.
"Okay…go on," I pushed gently.
"Well I turned to him and asked him what was going on and he…he…just clammed right up." She began to sob again and I pulled her into a friendly hug, rubbing her back gently as she soaked my jacket with tears.
"So this girl gets all up in my face calling me a little slut, and that I was no more than a peg on his head board and that I was nothing for him to be proud of."
I blinked at her blankly; I didn't quite know what to say. With the exception of Andrew, I was closest with John; he was probably my best friend. He had spent another few nights at my place when shit got too tough at home and during those times I have had a lot of lengthy conversations with him. Not once did he ever mention other girls, only Claire. This surprised me a lot, but something is telling me there is a little more to the story that I don't know yet. I thought over my choice of words, "So what happened then? I don't ever recall John mentioning anyone else…are you sure you aren't just jumping to conclusions?"
She blinked at me, her chestnut brown eyes fogging up with unshed tears…she looked as if she was gonna burst, "Well that's what I kept telling myself. After she had called me a slut he had jumped up and they started screaming in each others' faces. She ended up punching him in the face and he pushed her down on the ground. I really didn't know what to do…but all the while I kept thinking that she had no reason to hit him unless he really was hiding something. She ended up leaving, but he was still fuming."
"Wow, so what happened after she left?"
"Well I questioned him of course! I asked him what was going on and that I thought he had told me he dumped them all. I got all upset because his answers were not good enough to explain anything and we ended up screaming at each other and I broke up with him!" She sat down on the floor in front of my locker and just cradled her head in her hands as she sobbed. This was something new; I mean they always argued but they never broke up. I walked slowly towards her and took a seat on the floor. I just listened to her cry and curse for a few moments, just being there like a friend.
A few moments later we were interrupted by the ever wonderful Ashley Young and her clan. She had her bleached blonde hair in ringlets, falling down her back; she had on a white tank top and pink sweater, with a matching pink mini-skirt, "What the fuck do you want, Ashley?"
"Well hello to you to nutcase…I was actually just stopping by to compliment Claire's appearance today. That is…I don't really have anything to say to you, Reynolds, you look like a mutant like always." A few of her friends behind her snickered and her eyes remained glued to mine.
"Well Ashley, a mutant is always better than a street-wielding whore like you, right?" I smirked.
She scoffed and a few snickers were heard once more. This is when she starts her head rolling and her frantic finger pointing as she talks, "Bite me Reynolds, Claire…it's sad to see someone who was once so fashionable fall into the class of scum. You really know how to pick 'em!"
I looked at Claire and she just began sobbing again at the thought of John. She stood up from her spot on the floor and made a beeline for the washroom. I turned my face back to Ashley with a scowl, "Why are you such a bitch?"
At that moment Andy approached my locker with a look of concern and confusion on his face. Ashley gave him a seductive smile and turned back to me, "Why because I'm telling the truth? That makes me a bitch?"
I rolled my eyes and looked at her, "She's sitting there bawling her eyes out, and you come around and make her feel worse! What the fuck is the point of that?" I yelled, getting inches from her face.
"Because, it's disease like you who ruin my day…" she hissed.
"I'm gonna do a whole lot more than ruin your day, bitch!" I hissed right back. Before she could open her mouth to reply, the bell signaling homeroom rang. She gave me a middle finger salute and turned to Andy, "Keep your bitch on her leash there, Clark." With that she spun around on her heel and stomped off, followers in close pursuit.
"Keep your bitch on her leash, Clark!" Andy mimicked in a shrill annoying voice and shook his head, "She is such a dog."
I gave him a small kiss, "You're telling me."
He frowned slightly and scratched his head, "What was that all about anyways? And what's wrong with Claire?"
I raised my eyebrows and snorted, "She is being her ever present annoying self like usual…and Claire, well you'll be hearing about that soon enough; her and John broke up."
He widened his eyes in disbelief as I finished gathering my books from my locker, "They broke up? Like for real?"
I slammed the door shut and locked the lock, "like for real."
We began walking towards my art class slowly; he just kept blinking at me and said nothing. "What did he do?" he asked.
"I didn't get to hear the whole story, let's just say there is another girl involved."
"Oh shit."
"Oh shit is right," I replied as I gave him a quick kiss and left him in the hallway with his thoughts.
333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333
As the bell to mark the start of second period rang, I did a double take as I entered the class. Did Bender actually show up for biology today? He looked miserable and completely pissed; no one even thought twice to sit near him. I sighed and made my way to the stool next to him. He never comes to class, and of all days he had to pick this one to come! This is going to be wonderful…
"Hey John."
"What's up…"
"Nothing…you're actually in class today!" I replied trying to hide my knowledge of his situation. I knew if he found out that I talked to Claire he would pry at me and make me play messenger between the two of them – and believe me – that is not fun.
"Yeah well I didn't feel up to sitting in the rain and gettin' stoned today," sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"Why what's wrong?" I asked him. See, I don't usually have to pry at Bender because the two of us have no problem opening up to each other. We have told each other so many personal things that it doesn't bother him to talk to me. We kinda came to the conclusion that we got more in common than the rest of the group and we would just understand each other a tad bit more.
"I fucked up," was his simple reply.
I raised my eyebrows in shock, and I was about to question him when our monotonous teacher Mrs. Cruz came in the door.
"Alright open your books…today we have a lab to do." I wonder if she is capable of showing any emotion. This woman is so dull that I want to die just sitting in this class. I leaned over to John's desk, "Partner up with me for the assignment and we'll talk then." He nodded his head expressionlessly in reply.
We sat through roll call and were assigned our disgusting work for the day…dissection. Doesn't anyone have compassion for animals or us vegetarians these days?
I let Bender take the pig fetus, for I had no intention of touching the poor thing. I looked over to him with curiosity; he had a very blank expression on his face and his eyes seemed unfocused as he poked the pig around with the knife. I shuddered and spoke, "So, are you gonna tell me what's wrong?"
"I fucked up," he repeated.
I bit my lower lip and stared, "What did you do?"
"That Sunday after detention…right after I left your house I decided that I wanted to break off everything with the other girls I was with. I decided I wanted to be with Claire. Even if she didn't speak to me again on Monday I still wanted to change my ways."
"So…how exactly is that fucking up?"
"Well one of them came over to my house, so I could tell her face to face…I was closest with her out of all of them, and it was really hard to say good-bye."
"You didn't sleep with her or anything did you?"
"No…but I told her how I felt about her and I kissed her good bye. She told me I would come crawling back and I just laughed it off."
"So…how exactly is that fucking up? You didn't sleep with her so…"
"I never slept with any of them," he said quietly, so quietly that I barely heard him.
I raised my eyebrows, "I didn't know that…I assumed that you weren't a…" I stopped myself and looked at him for a response.
"Yeah, I'm a cherry okay! Don't push it," he grumbled.
I raised my brows again and bit back a giggle, who'd a thought? I regained my composure, "So then what's the problem here?"
He looked at me unsurely for a moment, almost embarrassed, "Claire was over yesterday and that girl showed up. She was sure we were gonna get back together…in fact she was sure we were still together and that I was cheating on her with Claire. I really like Claire; in fact I think I'm goin' soft for her, but this other girl was so close with me that I had a hard time explaining myself and I ended up blowing up at both of them." He stabbed his knife into the face of the pig and scowled. Did I mention I really hate biology?
"So why don't you just explain to Claire, you didn't do anything wrong so there isn't anything for her to be mad about."
"Yeah well she dumped me," he said quietly.
I bit my bottom lip again, pondering what to say next, "If you love her all you need to do is talk to her and get her back."
"It's not that easy now. I fucked up again."
I furrowed my brow and looked at him, this was part of the story I didn't know, "Go on…"
"That chick came back to my house later to apologize. I was so fucked up over Claire that I ended up making out with her all night. She wanted to have sex with me but I finally realized what I was doing and kicked her out. Even though Claire broke up with me, I was still too hurt to be moving on already." He looked down to his feet in shame and frowned.
"John…" I replied patting his forearm, "You gotta work this out or you both are gonna be a mess."
"It's not that easy…I fucked up…"
Mrs. Cruz came around to our table and looked at the knife sticking out of the eye of pig and the blank pages of our assignment. "Do you mind explaining?"
"I didn't feel like pork chops," Bender spat. She glared at him and turned to me, obviously expecting that kind of response from him.
"I don't agree with the assignment, M'am, so I'm not doing it."
"Well then both of you can go see Mr. Vernon, NOW!" She demanded as best as she could in her monotone voice. Down to the office once again…
33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333
Bender and I waited at our regular lunch table after getting out of Vernon's office. We were both lectured and Bender ended up getting two more detentions for talking back. What a guy!
We haven't really spoken too much since second period and I couldn't help but ponder their situation. It really wasn't that messy, and to me could easily be fixed – from an outsider's point of view – but if I was in that predicament with Andy I would probably be sulking too.
Moments later our three friends approached the table. I smiled brightly at Andy and Brian, but then frowned at the appearance of Claire. I guess its show time.
Andy and Brian took a seat across from me on Bender's side and Claire slumped down next to me. They were avoiding eye contact with each other at all costs, and I couldn't help but notice the uncomfortable looks on everyone's faces. You could probably cut the tension in the air with a knife.
"So how was everyone's day so far?" Brian asked, in his usual chirpy tone. I don't think he had any idea what was going on.
"Uh…great," Andy spoke up, breaking the silence, "My knee is getting better and I started training again today."
I gave him a proud smile and Brian was telling him how great that was when he was interrupted.
"You really are an asshole, you know that!" Claire hollered across the table. Brian wore a look of confusion while Andy and I just raised our eyebrows at each other in unexpected shock.
"And you're any better for making this situation worse?" Bender retorted.
"How the hell am I making it worse? You are the one who is a fucking liar!"
"Hey! I did not lie to you I already explained this whole fucking thing to you but you are just too thick-headed and stubborn to listen to me!" His voice was getting louder and he already had a few heads turned in his direction.
"I'm thick-headed? You're the one who can't stop thinking with his dick and not his brain!"
"Don't you dare say that! I never lied to you and you had to go off and make a big fucking scene! Always stomping around your little feet tryin' to get things to go your way!"
Her face turned a light shade of red and she narrowed her eyes dangerously, "You know what, John? Fuck you! I do not wanna see your fucking face again, you back stabber!" She screamed getting up from the table. "I'll see you around guys," she said to the rest of us; she turned on her heel and stormed out of the cafeteria.
I let out a deep breathe and looked at everyone else. They looked just as awkward as I feel, while Bender looks like he is going to snap.
"What in the world is going on?" Brain asked innocently, yet terribly confused.
"Mind your own damn business!" Bender literally screamed in his face, loud enough so the rest of the cafeteria could hear. Then he too sprung from his seat and stormed out of the cafeteria. Brian spun around so that he was facing Andy; his eyes were pleading for an explanation.
"Don't take that personally Bry," Andy said quietly, "They are having some troubles right now."
"Well, I can see that! What is going on?"
"They broke up," I answered, "I talked to both of them and heard both sides of the story and it's all a big misunderstanding. They're both just too stubborn to admit where they are wrong."
He nodded his head and looked towards the ceiling intently; he always does that when he thinking about something.
"Well, well, well, looks like the Brady Bunch are having a family dispute…" I turned around to come face to face with Jack and Ashley.
"Go fuck yourself," Brian spoke up, surprising both me and Andy.
"Watch it dork!" Jack warned.
Andy rolled his eyes and looked from Brian to Jack to Ashley to me and then back to Jack, "Mind your own damn business Jack, don't you have some freshmen you gotta go whack off too?"
"Shut up Clark," Ashley spat. What a bimbo.
"I told you man, these freaks weren't worth ditching all your friends off for. It was happy, dandy for awhile, but it'll end. Then you'll have no one," Jack said nonchalantly with his arms folded over his chest.
"Get lost scumbag," Andy retorted, "I'll be fine."
The two of them scoffed and walked away. I looked at Andy and sighed, "this is gonna be a long day."
He took my hand from across the table, "This is gonna be a long week," he countered.
The three of us sat looking at each other trying to figure out what to do with our friends. I seriously hope that this won't last long, or I think they'll drive me nuts. I sighed; just another day of the drama known as high school.
TBC