I DO NOT OWN THE BREAKFAST CLUB.
Tuesday. April 3, 1984. Shermer High School. Clarendon Hills, Illinois.
(Luke)
Everything stopped the moment that Brian told me my old man had been caught. I honestly had no idea how to respond. On the one hand, I had been hoping that the son of a bitch was gonna get picked up by the cops, but on the other hand, what did this mean for me? Unless he cut a deal, there was gonna be a trial. If there was a trial, I was probably going to have to testify against him. This may make me sound like a coward, but I didn't know if I was ready to face him again.
"Oh...that's great." I said as I walked into school. Claire tried to follow me, but I left her in the dust.
The rest of the day passed with a dull and melancholy roar. Any hopes of being able to drown my sorrows in the alcohol of academic learning was quickly proven to be futile. Everything that the teacher said went in one ear and out the other. It was somewhat bearable until art class. I had it with Claire and that was a freaking nightmare. We had to do another partner exercise and of course she snatched me up before I could get someone else. She kept trying to get me to open up, but she was fighting a losing battle.
"Can you please talk to me Luke?" Claire asked as we worked on our assignment together.
"There's nothing to talk about Claire," I replied. "The old man got caught, he's gonna rot in the joint, that's all there is to say about it."
"Yes there is," she insisted. "You are hurting and I want to be here for you, but I can't help you if you won't me in."
"Maybe I don't want to let you in!" I exclaimed. "Maybe I just want to curl up and die!" I put down my supplies and I stormed out of the classroom. I was probably gonna have to serve another Saturday, but I didn't give a rat's ass. I just couldn't deal with all of the bullshit.
I found myself in the boy's bathroom and I slumped down in the handicapped stall and I just bawled like a God damn baby. I was crying so hard in fact that I didn't realize that I had company in the form of John Bender.
"Trouble in paradise?" the criminal asked as he peeked in through the other stall. I wiped my tears away and rolled my eyes.
"Shouldn't you be off telling Vernon where to get off?" I asked as Bender made a look of mock discomfort.
"Why Luke, I am hurt...I really am," he said sarcastically. "Here I am trying to be a good friend and you slam the door in my face." Suddenly, the door to the handicapped stall burst open and Bender walked in and sat down next to me.
"Besides, I'm gonna be seeing Dick on Saturday, so I can just tell him then."
"That's great Bender," I replied.
"So, are you gonna tell me what's wrong or what?" Bender inquired. I heaved a sigh. John Bender was not the ideal person to bear my soul to, but I was pretty sure that my girlfriend was pissed at me, so he would have to do.
"It's my old man," I explained. "Everyone expects me to be happy now that he's locked up, but I'm not."
"Why not?" Bender asked. "Would you rather he be out on the streets where he can shank you again?"
"No...but unless he admits to what he did, there's gonna be a trial," I pointed out. "And if there's gonna be a trial, I'm gonna have to testify about what he did to me...and the idea of facing him again, it scares the shit out of me."
"You think if you never see him again, your life will be perfect and you'll graduate on the honor roll and you and Cherry will get married and she'll squeeze out a few of your puppies and everything's gonna be a piece of cake?"
"I guess I did," I shot back, fighting the water that was growing in my eyes. "I guess that was pretty stupid of me."
"You're not an idiot for wanting a wife and kids," Bender replied. "You're an idiot for thinking that you can move on with your life without dealing with this shit. My dad's an asshole, but I don't pretend like it never happened. I accept it."
"So basically, what you're saying is that I have to face him in court?" I asked as the criminal shrugged.
"If it comes to that," he replied. "Otherwise, the bastard is gonna be a shadow that is hanging over you for the rest of your life." I didn't want to admit it, but a Bender was right. I couldn't ignore the old man forever, mainly because he was interfering with my relationship with Claire and she had enough shit on her plate to deal with besides my family drama. I had to be a man and stop being afraid of my old man.
"We'll see," I said as I stood up and walked out of the boy's bathroom. I figured that I needed to find my girlfriend and apologize. I was tired of treating Claire like trash. She was so good to me and all I did was continue to push her away. Even though I knew that she loved me, I was still afraid of her leaving me. Claire didn't deserve to be treated like that. I was going to need her and I had to let her in and stop pushing her away,
NEXT TIME, CLAIRE DEALS WITH LUKE'S REACTION. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.
