I DO NOT OWN THE BREAKFAST CLUB. SHOUT OUT TO POPPY471

Sunday. April 15, 1984. Standish Family Home.

(Claire)

My father knocked gently on my door. I looked at the clock and groaned. 8 am. The doctor assured us that chloral hydrate hadn't done any permanent damage, but the hangover was brutal. I felt like I had been run over by a truck, and the idea of readying myself for church was intolerable. Luckily, he had only woken me to give me aspirin and make me drink a glass of water, as the doctor had suggested.

I felt decidedly better when Luke brought me breakfast in bed 2 hours later. He made eggs, sunny side up, my favorite, but I would have loved anything he made. He was such a good boyfriend. Once again, I felt how lucky I was to have him in my life. He even answered the phone for me so I wouldn't have to go into the hallway to answer the family phone.

"Who was it?" I asked when he returned.

"Just Allison and Bender, they wanted to know how you were."

"Oh, that's so nice of them. I really owe Bender." I did not like the idea of what might have happened if the Breakfast Club had not been there to help me, especially Bender.

"Do you think Michelle will get busted for drugging you?" Luke asked.

"Daddy didn't say anything about it, he just woke me up long enough to drink some water." The idea of Michelle getting away with this made me burn inside. Those girls, they had done so much to me. Michelle, Anita, all of them. I wasn't a vengeful person ordinarily, but I would have given up all my Ralph Lauren clothes to get back at them. I couldn't imagine a fate bad enough for them.


Monday. April 16, 1984. Shermer High School. Clarendon Hills, Illinois.

It was the talk of the school. Michelle Harding's garage had burnt down, and arson was suspected. On my way to my locker, I overheard some princesses discussing it. Apparently, her bedroom overlooked the garage and had sustained smoke damage.

When Allison and Bender joined me at my locker, I found they had already heard the news.

"Yeah, we saw Michelle. She was crying because all her clothes smelled like smoke and she had to borrow her sister's clothes," Bender said. "Boo hoo. Looks like there's karma after all."

Allison looked a bit disturbed, but I assured her, "Michelle deserved it, after what she did to me. Don't feel bad for her." I laughed. "Her little sister is a Madonna groupie, she'll hate wearing her clothes."

This happy idea carried me through the morning. I stifled a giggle when I saw Michelle in the hall, dressed in torn jeans and a neon green lace shirt. All she needed was costume jewelry and a pair of fingerless gloves. I hoped she was mortified.

Then I saw Tricia putting up posters for the prom and my happy thoughts were dashed. I wouldn't be helping decorate. I wouldn't be on the planning committee. I wouldn't be on the ballot for prom queen. I wouldn't be involved at all. I was shut out. Usually the freedom of being with the Breakfast Club made up for the rejection and exclusion of the activities people. But this still hurt. I'd been looking forward to Senior Prom as far back as I could remember.

Well, I could still get a beautiful dress. I knew more about dressing stylishly than all the princesses put together. I would outshine them all. I needed to visit Chicago Couture. Perhaps Madam Henri could fit me herself. She was a magician.

But would I be going at all? What if Luke couldn't afford tickets and a suit? What if he didn't want to go? He objected so strongly to the popular kids, he might not want to have anything to do with prom. And he'd never ask for help if he couldn't afford it.

I ruminated on this topic through English class and it got me what worry usually got me… nothing but a headache. When I made it to the caf for lunch, the Breakfast Club was all collected. Luke, Bender and Andy were laughing at the punchline of Bender's apparently lewd joke. Brian looked like he didn't know if he should laugh or not. I sat next to Allison, who was busy with a quick sketch of the group of guys. She put the finishing pencil stroke on it and turned to me. Michelle was walking by, looking thoroughly embarrassed by her borrowed clothes.

"Psst… Alison, look at Michelle." I gestured with my chin. "Have you ever seen a princess more humiliated?"

I was surprised by Allison's concerned look. "You're not still worried about Michelle's garage? She totally deserved that." I laughed. "I wish I was the one who had done it."

Allison looked even more disturbed. What was wrong with her? Before I could ask her what was up, Bender interrupted us. He called across the table to Allison, "Hey, baby, wanna go to prom with me?"

Allison blushed and tried to respond, but all that happened was that she opened her mouth and closed it again. After a bit of a struggle, she nodded her head vigorously.

Luke was sitting next to me, so he didn't need to shout. "Claire, do you want to go to the prom? With me?"

"Of course I do." I gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"I wasn't sure if you'd still want to go, with the princesses running the show."

"I wouldn't miss being taken to the prom by you for anything in the world. I love you."

Being his usual loud self, Bender once again called across the table, to Andy this time. "Sporto, got our limo booked?"

I thought he was joking, until Andy answered him quite seriously. "I gotta talk to Rod. It's all lined up and I just need to give him the deposit."

"A limo?" I was quite surprised. "How can we afford a limo?"

Luke explained. "They're not as expensive as you'd think, and we'll be splitting it between four couples."

I was confused again. "Four couples?" There were only two couples in the Breakfast Club.

"You don't expect Andy and Brian to go alone, do you?"

"Oh! Who do they want to go with? Have they asked them yet?" I was all alive to the excitement in this development.

"I don't know about Andy, but Brian has liked Hannah Dwyer for a long time. He's going to ask her. If he can ever get the courage up."

We spent the rest of the lunch period talking about prom. I found that the excitement of going with the Breakfast Club wiped out my lingering hurt and anger towards the princesses. I couldn't wait to see Bender in a tuxedo. I thought Luke would look very good in one, too. I was sure we would all look good. Allison would definitely be unique in her choice of gown, but she was so pretty under all that hair, I was sure she'd look good, no matter what she chose.

WE ARE NEARING THE END OF THIS STORY. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.