Bender and Allison spent Friday in Chicago, wandering most of the time…stopping twice in a convenience store, the first time for slushies, and the second time for nachos for lunch. Bender drove them around after lunch in his old El Camino. By the end of the day, they'd made their way out of Chicago and found the coast of Lake Michigan. They sat in the car trying to make small talk that had nothing to do with relationships (which was very hard).

"Do you know what time's he's leaving tomorrow?" asked Bender, lighting up a cigarette between his teeth.

Allison shook her head. "I would assume early," she said, sulking.

"You should go tell him goodbye before he leaves," Bender advised. Allison shook her head.

"What about his dad?"

"What's he gonna do, sue you?" asked Bender. Allison grunted and slipped down in her seat, crossing her arms. She could barely see above the dashboard. What she could see was a red sky reflecting over the lake. It was a breathtaking site. She had once witnessed it with Andy in her arms. They'd argued over what red skies at night meant. Allison had favored it meaning a sunny day the following morning, while Andy thought that the sailor's rhyme was reversed when over land, and it would rain the next day. As it turned out, Allison's theory held true, and the following day was just as beautiful as its predecessor. Thinking about this memory made a tear come to Allison's eye. She quickly wiped it away so Bender wouldn't notice it.

"What about you and Claire?" Allison asked back.

"She's finally come to her senses," Bender said. "She's meeting me on the commons for lunch tomorrow. I think she's gotten over Dickface," he said. Allison smiled, though not fully. At least ONE of the Breakfast Club's relationships wasn't going down the toilet. Good to know that while she and her own lover were being ripped apart, Bender still had his beauty queen to joke around with. "And you're going to meet us there after you say farewell to your 'Knight in Tights'," Bender demanded.

"I don't WANT him to leave! He just….PISSES me off so much sometimes! Why doesn't he want to speak to me?" Allison moaned, frustrated. Bender jumped a mile off his seat, as if Allison saying 'pisses' scared the shit out of him. She had literally screamed the word.

"But if you don't tell him goodbye, then if he does come back, what'll happen?" Bender asked seriously. Allison groaned.

"Since when did YOU become Dr. Bleeding Heart, John?" Allison snapped. "Just because you have your girlfriend back, you're acting like such a shithead!" Allison threw a fit and quickly got out of the car. Bender rolled down his window and stuck his head out.

"Where the hell are you going?" asked Bender.

"I'm taking the bus!" she yelled back, storming away, leaving Bender alone in the car with his cigarette, speechless.

"Kenosha-bound Clarks, coming through!" giggled Leigh Clark as she, her older sibling, and her parents, all huddled in the Bronco, began pulling out of the driveway. Andy sat next to her, looking out the window as the car crept to the edge of the driveway. He held a piece of folded paper in his hand, not knowing what to do with it. He unfolded it and stared at it again, sighing. The Bronco suddenly came to a halt. George grunted.

"Is the hose broken? The engine temp's too high and we haven't even gotten on the road!" he growled, stumbling out of the car to pop the hood and take a look. Andy felt his heart pound. He needed an excuse to get out of the car. No…he couldn't just hop out, leave the paper, and get back in without George seeing him, or worse…the paper.

"Andy, what's that?" asked Leigh with a bratty singsong voice. Andy shot her a deadly look. Why was HE next to Leigh? Corinne was the quieter twin, but Kathleen had driven Corinne up to Kenosha to stay with her older brother Adam Clark the night before, so the Bronco could have more room for possessions (Andy's dumbbells in this case…George expected him to tone up his biceps with 100 reps each side before arriving in Kenosha around dinnertime). Leigh reminded Andy of Brian's little sister, Janey, (although Leigh was at least 4 years older than Janey) who annoyed Brian just as much.

"Why don't you mind your own business before I make it my business to put you in a headlock?" Andy said, more exhaustedly than threateningly. Leigh gave a 'hmph!' and leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms.

Andy saw his father shoving his head and upper-body into the hood of the car. Kathleen bit her nails nervously in the front passenger seat. She called, "Do you need help, George?"

"I left the goddamn monkey wrench in the garage! Get Andrew to get it!' George demanded. Andy lifted his head hopefully ands refolded the piece of paper in his hand. Kathleen turned to him.

"You heard your father," she said. Andy nodded and shot out of the car. This was his only chance.

Pretending to head into the garage, he instead shuffled through the old toolbox inside the door to the house, found a roll of tape, and stole a piece about the length of his thumb. He then turned to the outside of the door again and unfolded the piece of paper, sticking it to the door with the tape. He then managed to bolt into the garage with just enough time to grab a monkey wrench. He then ran and handed it to his father, and after that got back into the car, panting for breath.

In about 10 minutes, George had fixed whatever was wrong with the car and was ready to hit the road again. Andy bit his lip. This was it. Would Allison be able to find the paper? Or would the movers take it off the door when they came to move the bigger pieces of furniture? Still, it was all Andy could do. He sighed and then held in his breath as the Bronco pulled out into the street and began driving north.

Allison couldn't remember whether Andy lived on Polaris Path or Princess Place. Or was it Princess Path? Or Polaris Place? Ugh…

She'd woken up that morning at the crack of dawn (a hardship for her) and gotten dressed. She wanted to get to her neighbor Miss Perry, who lived in apartment #18, next to hers, before she left the house. Allison wanted to bum a ride to Andy's place off Miss Perry, but unfortunately, she had missed Miss Perry. It was 7:45 when Allison stupidly made the decision to run to Andy's house…4 miles away. Allison was NOT a fan of running, nor was she good at it. She didn't want to wait for a bus. It could take to long. Every second she wasn't moving towards Andy's house could be the moment Andy pulled out of his driveway and headed off for Kenosha. So no matter how she hated running, Allison had been doing so for nearly 3 hours. She thought she was close…until she realized the richie street-naming committee seemed to forget that there were other letters to the alphabet besides the letter "P." She was lost in the rich part of town. Allison had never felt so out of place.

Out of breath, she finally started seeing familiar houses, and knew that Andy's house was close by. Good, she was starting to sweat and feel winded. She wanted to walk up to his house casually instead of at a run or jog, so she slowed her pace. She needed to look 'cool' in front of George Clark…maybe he wouldn't be so quick to turn her ass around and ship her back home. Allison looked at the old watch on her wrist. It was almost 11 in the morning. Andy's house was coming up, just a few more steps.

Once Allison walked into the driveway, she immediately felt a huge weight fall on her heart and shoulders.

Andy's father's Bronco wasn't there. The garage was open and empty. A moving truck was parked on the opposite curb, and a few buffed-up moving men were working to store the last of the furniture and appliances in the truck. Andy had left already.

Or maybe he hadn't. Allison walked onto the front lawn as the team of moving men worked busily around her. One of them looked up from his work and noted the strange presence of a girl dressed completely in black standing in the middle of the property. He had long brown hair and a round face.

"Hey Chuck! We gots a visitor!" he said. A man dragging a love seat behind him looked up. He must have been Chuck.

"Yeah, Judd! Lookie here! Missy, whatcha doin' here?" he asked. Allison hated strangers…especially jerky man-strangers.

"Did the family who lived here leave yet?" Allison asked, standing tall and proud.

"Yeah, two hours ago," said Judd. "Why, they forget you?"

Chuck laughed. "Or were they moving away from you?"

Allison shook her head, scowling. "I was dating their son."

"Seems weird, they weren't gonna move for at least a month. Anyway, they're gone and not comin' back now," said Judd. Allison felt her chest cave in. Never again? What happened to the month deal? Allison slowly began to realize that Andy had lied to her. Why would he tell her he would only be gone a month? Or make it seem less painful? Either way, the fact that it was a LIE made it all worse for Allison. She let the tears come (never mind the moving men) and sank to the grass, which was dry and felt like needles penetrating her skin.

"Aww…Missy, we're sorry. How's about we take you to Club Jupiter to make you feel better?" asked Chuck. Allison shot up and tried to recompose herself.

"No," Allison said meekly. She wanted to get off the grass. She relocated herself to the front stoop and laid on the steps, looking up at the overcast sky. A small brush of wind rustled something taped to the door. It was probably a "for sale" note on the door, or a message for the movers. Nonetheless, she sat up and brought herself to a standing pose, eye level with the paper. It was just a group of numbers…a phone number?

(203) 451-9566

Allison felt her chest begin to reinflate. Could this be Andy's new number in Kenosha? In the corner was an upside-down smiley face. Allison found a renewed hope well up inside her. It was Andy's and Allison's "special symbol." It was based on an inside joke Andy and Allison had over the summer. It was! What else could explain it?

Allison ripped the sheet off the door and folded it along the creased by which it had previously been folded. She placed the paper in her left front pocket and started for home. She was sad, but hopeful.

Just as she had been on Friday, March 23, 1984.

Her parents still weren't home from their trip as Allison made her way back into the apartment. She sighed and stared for a long time at the paper. Andy wouldn't be in Kenosha yet. She'd wait a day. She put the paper by her clock on the desk. Allison saw Fritz in the corner of her room and fell to the floor, bidding him to come over. Fritz obeyed, and Allison spent a good hour crying silently, petting Fritz (and Ingrid too, who couldn't stand not being the center of attention).

A phone number WAS better than nothing, wasn't it?

The phone rang at about 2 in the afternoon. Allison picked it up. She didn't expect it to be Andy. It couldn't. He'd still be on the road as of now, probably decently south of Milwaukee. But nothing prepared Allison to hear Brian on the other line.

"Allison! It's Brian!"

Allison nearly dropped the phone. "Brian? You're…not at NYU…" she said certainly. She heard a siren through the phone, and that same siren was blasting out her window in perfect synchronization. Brian was in Shermer.

"No. I was given a scholarship for a freshman internship and I was sent to Chicago for a week to look for places who'd sign me so I can come back in January," Brian explained quickly. "But that's not the point—"

"—then why do you sound so panicked?" Brian's voice made him sound like he was hyperventilating or having an asthma attack. She knew Brian didn't have asthma.

"I'm over at John's house," Brian said. Allison pulled on her shoes. She had a feeling she was needed.

"John? What about him? What's wrong with him?" asked Allison.

"Al, you need to come over, and fast. I think John's gone crazy."