WE DO NOT OWN THE BREAKFAST CLUB. SHOUTOUT TO POPPY471.
Sunday, April 8, 1984. Standish Family Home. Clarendon Hills, Illinois.
Daddy waited until after dinner to drop his bombshell. I had cleared the table and stacked the dishes for Tabitha to wash the next day when he came into the kitchen. He rarely ventured into this domain. What could he want?
"I have had a talk with your mother."
My mind immediately jumped to divorce. Were they finally going to do what they had been threatening each other with for years? I hated being the pawn in their marital cold war and things sucked, but they were at least predictable. Bender's question came back to me: Who would I prefer to live with? Living with my brother was just a dream. Chip was busy with his career, always flying to Europe for business, no time for abandoned little sisters.
"We both agree that you will not spend time with the criminal riff-raff I saw you with today."
I was so mad I skipped right over my surprise at this united front.
"How do you even know if they are criminals?" I demanded.
"I can tell trouble when I see it. Your mother and I agree we do not want our daughter seen in the company of scum like that."
"All you care about is image, keeping up appearances! What about my happiness? Do I not matter?"
"That is our decision. If I see you with those two again, you'll be grounded. No phone, no allowance, no socializing. That will include no time with Luke." He strode out of the room.
I groped my way to a chair in the dining room and held my head with both hands as tears spotted my dress.
"Claire, what's wrong?" I was surprised to see Luke. "I heard you yelling."
"My father has forbidden me to see Allison and Bender."
Luke pulled up a chair next to mine and put his arm around me. "Tell me what happened."
I blurted out the entire story, crying the whole time. When Luke put both arms around me, I rested my head on his chest and gripped him fiercely while I cried. Finally I loosened my hold and looked up.
Luke handed me a paper napkin from the table. "Here, you're a mess."
I dabbed at my eyes and wiped my nose. "What can we do ?"
Luke put his fingers to his lips and gave a meaningful glance in the direction of my parents' bedroom upstairs. "You'll just have to obey your parents." He winked at me and made the sign for quiet again. "Things will seem better in the morning. Let's watch some TV."
I laughed, "Luke, you act like you've never seen TV before."
He laughed too, and said, "I really haven't, not all these premium channels. We couldn't afford cable."
We settled ourselves in the den, sitting on the couch and holding hands. I put Luke in charge of the remote and he chose a police show.
Luke and I spent Sunday going to church and finishing our homework. I was refusing to talk to either of my parents. They didn't care about me, just appearances.
Shermer High School. Clarendon Hills, Illinois.
Allison beamed when we all met at Luke's locker Monday morning and I gave her a hug. "Bender and I were talking. We should go to Judd's this Friday," she announced. As I related my father's ultimatum, though, her smile disappeared.
"Oh no! I got you into trouble."
Bender glowered as he said, "You didn't get her in trouble. Her father being a prick is the problem." I noticed he was clenching one gloved hand into a fist.
"Your parents really are the shits," Brian said. "But they both agreed? That's weird."
"It really is weird." I thought about this. "I guess it shows how much they both care about appearances. I can't remember the last time they agreed about anything."
Just then Andy showed up, looking very happy about something. He grinned and announced to the Breakfast Club, "Larry took the calculator. He accepted my apology."
Luke and Brian patted him on the back enthusiastically as they gave him their congratulations.
"Well, now that we've all witnessed our Boy Scout doing his good deed, what are we going to do about Claire's 'rents?"
Just then the bell rang, ending our conversation. We parted ways, Luke and I heading in the same direction, to art class. As we settled into our seats at the same table, I was surprised to see Luke looking distant and troubled. He usually looked forward to art class.
"Claire, I can't keep on mooching off you. I want to be able to pay my own way the next time we go to Judd's. And I still owe you that twenty."
"Oh, forget about the twenty. It was no big deal."
"It was a big deal to me. I've always taken care of myself. I don't want to be your charity project."
I felt exasperated. Why did Luke keep bringing up the charity case thing? "Luke, how many times do I have to tell you you're not a charity case? Don't you believe me?"
He moodily poked his book bag with his art pencil. "Living in your house is one thing, accepting cash is another. I'm not a freeloader. If I can't afford something, I've always done without."
"But you have to come with us to Judd's. You can't just sit there and not eat anything."
"Yeah, I know. I was thinking… The arts and crafts store at the mall had a Help Wanted sign in the window. Maybe I could get an after school job?" He continued poking the bag.
I took the pencil out of his hand. "You'll break the point."
"What do you think your old man would think? I can catch the bus to and from the mall."
I considered this idea. "Daddy would probably love it, being an industrious young man."
Luke's face had lightened a bit with this thought, but then his face fell. "I don't have job interview clothes."
"Borrow Chip's clothes again. You can buy your own clothes with your first paycheck." I kissed his cheek and said, "It's just a loan, to get you on your feet."
Our teacher then called the class to order. Luke picked up his pencil looking much happier. But my thoughts lingered on Bender's question. What could we do about my parents?
CAN LUKE LAND A JOB? REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.
