Another week passed, and Bender found himself in school on a Saturday, but not for a detention. Bender was taking the GED inside. Outside, Allison waited around. She spent some time pacing, and some time drawing, but mostly just thinking about her current position. She couldn't think at home. Danny and Marty still weren't talking to her while always talking ABOUT her, so thinking, eating, pretty much anything except existing was out of the question in her home. For a late November day, it was actually fairly warm at almost 60 degrees. Allison enjoyed the mid-morning sun on her skin as she rubbed her stomach. It still wasn't ballooning up like she anticipated. Rather, her breasts were what was inflating (and they HURT too!). Her thighs were blowing up too. Allison, at the suggestion of Bender to gain a bit of healthy weight, had taken to eating 4 meals a day, the last one being the biggest one, the first one being just a small bowl of cereal or something. Allison was over the 100 lb minimum Dr. Wilson has suggested, but she was still, according to him "grossly underweight to be having a baby." He then told her that the ideal for her at her age was at least 30 pounds more. Allison wasn't really in the mood to eat anything, let alone 30 lbs worth of food. Dr. Wilson said she did have to change a few habits, or else the pregnancy would carry a LOT of complications for both mother and child. Allison had zoned out by this point staring at a diagram of a uterus on the wall.

Allison sat on the steps just waiting while Bender sat inside. How stunned would Dick be that Bender was skipping out on a Saturday detention to take a GED test? Allison giggled when she thought of the look on his face.

Man, how long did those tests take? Allison groaned, staring at the old watch she once stole from her father when he didn't get her one for Christmas. It was coming on 11 AM. She'd been waiting there for 3 hours now. Rudy and Tad were inside as well, but in detention with Dick. Allison groaned and went inside. What harm would it do to "check in" on them?

The look on the four kids' faces as she just walked into the library was priceless. Rudy and Tad were surprised as well. One of the other two was a distant cousin of Claire's, who used to always love to call Allison a Satan-worshipper. He was just too annoying. And Allison didn't even know the guy's name. Only that he was rich and associated with his cousin Claire. He spoke first when she came in.

"A little late, are we?" he asked with an evil smirk.

"Shut it off," Allison muttered. Rudy stood up, looking like he was ready to deal the guy a blow to the jaw, but Allison held up a hand and sat on the table in front of him and Tad. "I got bored," she said. Tad nodded.

"Johnny getting his PH.D?" asked Tad. Allison nodded.

"He's taking a really long time," Allison moped.

"Maybe he's holding up the custodian!" said the annoying freshman cousin.

"Oh fuck you!" Tad moaned. "My policy is, we don't know your name, we don't hesitate to kick your ass clear off you thighs!" Tad said, standing up again. The boy looked afraid for a moment, then bit his lip.

"Richard," said the boy.

"Last name for the record?" asked Rudy, raising an eyebrow. "Standish, is it?"

"No," said Richard. "My last name is….um….Cheese." Only he pronounced it 'shay-zee.'

"You're NAME is Dick Cheese?" asked Tad, giving a look of disbelief. The fourth detentioneer, a girl with a pixie-cut, snorted and turned away to hide her laughter. The boy was immediately shut up. Allison smirked and nodded a silent thanks to Tad and Rudy, ever her bodyguards.

Suddenly, someone appeared in the doorway. It was Bender, looking worn out.

"I had a feeling you'd be in here," he said. "Common, let's go down to the garage. Dingleberry, Spazoid, you guys are sprung," Bender said, pointing at Rudy and Tad respectively.

"You got Dick to let us go?" asked Rudy. Bender shook his head.

"Psh, no!" Bender shook his head. "He's staring at naked chicks in the pool again. Won't Petunia be shocked! Haha, come ON!" Rudy, Tad, and Allison followed Bender down the hall and out the back entrance to the school.

"How did you do?" asked Allison.

"I won't know for a few weeks, but who cares?" Bender said.

"That hard, huh?" asked Tad. Bender gave him a slight nod. Allison bit her lip. She didn't want Bender to have a breakdown on a count of her.

"Ernie, you son of a bitch!" called out Bender as he and Allison walked into the oily and smelly garage. The usual mechanics were going about their normal business, and none of them looked up as Bender and Allison walked in. Ernie was helping Mack and Lumberjack Joe fix a carburetor on a vintage sports car. He looked up and smiled is trademark grin when Bender called out.

"Dickweed! How goes it?" Ernie yelled, hugging his cousin. Allison laughed. Sometimes Allison wanted to videotape these two guys greeting each other. It was just too funny.

"Ugh, I ache in places I didn't even know I had!" Bender moaned. Ernie looked concerned.

"Got in a rumble?" he asked. Allison shook her head.

"He took a test," she said blankly. Ernie processed the words, and then laughed the huge belly laugh that gave Allison chills.

"Why does that not surprise me?" he laughed. "Hey Johnny Boy, I need to talk to ya for a second in the office," Ernie touched Bender's shoulder.

"Sure cuz…um, Al, go mingle for a few. We'll get a burger in a few minutes, ok?"

Ernie rose an eyebrow. "Hey what about Mingo?"

"Uh, Ern, I've had enough fried broccoli for one lifetime!" Bender said, rubbing his stomach. Allison nodded in agreement.

"If I eat much more, the baby's gonna be born made of MSG!" Allison rolled her eyes. Ernie nodded with an understanding smile as he led Bender into the small office and closed the door. Allison sighed and slowly began walking around the garage. The radio blasted a loud rock ballad from Def Lepperd. Allison sighed and went to sit down on a sofa in the band's corner. Putting her feet up and leaning her head back, Allison sighed. It felt good to get her weight off her feet.

"Hey Al!" Allison looked up to see Alden, a brown-haired college junior earning some extra tuition money as a helper in the garage, walking by her waving his hand.

"Hey Alden!" Allison waved back. As Alden passed in front of her, Allison could see Jerry at his station polishing the side of a red car. He seemed to be talking to someone. Allison smiled. Maybe she could sneak up on him and say hello…

"Hey Jer—" Was all Allison got out as she tapped Jerry's shoulder. Talking to him was none other than Liz Lembo. Liz was flaunting her curves (or lack thereof) with a pink sweater and tight jeans. She even wore golden high heels! Her usually stick-straight blonde hair was permed up about a mile high and then some. She looked about ready to peddle her ass on a street corner in Alabama. Almost like if Olivia Newton-John met Cindy-Lou Who. Liz gave Allison a sly smirk.

"Hello, Allison! I was just telling Jerry about how far back we go!" she grinned.

"She's so sweet!" said Jerry. "I had no idea you two were best friends!"

Allison rose an eyebrow and flashed a phony smile back. "Excuse us a moment," Allison said behind gritted teeth. She grabbed Liz's scrawny wrist and dragged her behind the car. "YOU!" she said, stuttering. "How did you…why did you…find here…COME here?" Allison felt herself grow red in the face.

"Heh heh," said Liz with a sugary-sweet voice (was she trying to pull off a fake Southern accent too?). "Let's not sweat the details!"

Allison groaned. "How can I not?!?!"

Liz put her fake acrylic nail over her lip in a 'sh' gesture. "Colleen's at oboe practice and Maria has a hair appointment. You're a girl, well, so to speak. What is a young lady to do on a lonely ol' Saturday?"

"Um…NOT trying to whore herself off in an AUTO SHOP?!"

Liz wiped the Barbie-doll look off her face. "Get real, I'm not here to flirt with these greaseballs," she said, blowing a curl off her forehead. Allison fumed.

"Then…GET. OUT," she said, like a dog protecting its' territory. Not that this was like her, but one reason Allison usually enjoyed weekends was the fact that she didn't have to put up with Liz's shit.

"Not quite yet…where's your friend?" she asked Allison, looking over her shoulder. Allison was confused.

"Who?"

"Your friend with the long brown hair! He planned to meet me here! He's gonna love me!" Liz said with a slutty smile. Allison's eyes went wide.

"You are such a liar!" Allison said. Liz threw up her hand.

"Alright, you called my bluff! He didn't plan to meet me here, I'll go…" Liz turned her back to Allison and began walking outside. But for a second, she pivoted on her heels and gave Allison a small, ominous salute. "…but I was right about something else!"

"What?" asked Allison harshly.

"…John Bender is gonna love me!" Liz winked and dashed femininely out of the garage and down the street towards the bus stop. Allison didn't know whether to explode into a huge red mushroom cloud of fury, or laugh so hard the baby fell out 7 months too early.

She did the former.

"JOOOOOHN!" Allison felt good reverting back to the way she'd act in front of a classroom….like a kook. She stomped her feet hard on the cement and oil-covered floor as she made her way to the office. That Liz! THAT LIZ! Of all the crazy things she'd tried! Now she had a thing for Bender?!?! Why now did Liz choose to add some of her signature drama to all the crap that already was drowning her? Many of the mechanics stared at her as she paraded through the garage. When she reached the office, she pounded so hard on the door that both Ernie and Bender jumped a mile off the ground when she knocked. Bender went as red as Allison was.

"What is it?"

Allison thought quickly to herself, she REALLY wanted to get out of the garage fast before she made an even bigger scene. Allison knew that Bender knew little enough about pregnancy that she could play the mood swing/hormone card.

"I'm hungry and I'm not waiting!"

Bender didn't say another word.

"So, wait! Your little hooker demon Liz has a crush on MOI?!" said Bender in McDonald's restaurant. Allison had calmed down quite a bit after she got a few fries and a veggie burger in her stomach. She nodded. Bender uttered a booming laugh that turned the heads of half the building.

"She's trying to knock me when I'm down," Allison sighed.

"But wait, why does that surprise you? I'm gorgeous!" Bender said, leaning back in his chair and showing himself off for Allison.

"It's just so…IRRITATING! And it takes a LOT to irritate me!" Allison said.

"Ah, chill! You're preggie! You've got an excuse for it!" Bender said. Allison nodded and slurped a little more soda. "You've got nothing to worry about! That girl is probably the LAST girl on Earth I'd date! No, I'd go out with BOYS before I'd go out with Liz Lembo! But—"

"—yeah?"

"Why are you so concerned with a bimbo having a crush on me?" Bender winked.

Allison was silenced. Why did she feel that way?

"You a bit jealous?"

Fuck no! Allison just shook her head.

"I think you a-are!" Bender said in a sing-song voice, smiling. Of course, he was just teasing her. But Allison was growing red in the face again. She shot up and stormed out of the building. Bender shot up and quickly followed her out onto the street. "Common, Al! I was kidding!"

"Bite me! Don't you think I've had enough?" Allison hissed. Bender grabbed her arm. Allison turned around to face Bender.

"Sorry, Al," Bender whispered. Allison and Bender just stared at each other a moment. Allison's lip shook. What was wrong with Bender? He was giving her a really weird look!

Suddenly, Bender randomly lowered his head to meet Allison's. His lips gently brushed hers. Allison felt her spine tingle. But then Bender abruptly pulled away, realizing how cherry-ish he was being. It was something Claire would have expected him to do!

But Allison gave him an odd look before subtly nodding at him with wide eyes, turning, and slowly walking off down the street.