I don't own the Breakfast Club
Enjoy!
Susan wasn't sure which pieces of her drawings John had looked through. At least he didn't rip out a page and kept it for himself…did he? Just in case, she flipped through the pages and noticed that everything was intact. Susan couldn't believe how careless she had been for leaving her pictures unattended. Phew she thought everything is still there.
John remained unfazed by not respecting Susan's privacy. Those drawings that she had were very expressive. He didn't know much about art that she did, but he could tell the emotions that were drawn on the paper. The one that stuck out the most to him was the woman with the flames of fire coming out of her mouth. The woman's expression stuck out to him. Whatever frustrations she was facing were tormenting. That's how John felt most of the time. There were days when he just wanted to explode and there were days where he just wanted to hide away and never return to this reality. There was one way of a good escape from reality and he had it stashed in his locker. He got up from his seat and walked over to the doors.
Andrew looked up and fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Bender, where you going?" he asked him.
John stopped walking and slowly turned around to face him. For someone that didn't believe about his family life, Andrew was quite curious to know of his whereabouts. "If you must know Sporto, I'm going to make a quick trip to my locker."
"You're gonna get in trouble," Claire spoke up.
Prom Queen is concerned John thought and fought to urge to smirk at her. "You're welcome to join," he said to the group. "It will be a good change in atmosphere. We've been here for more than five hours."
Claire and Andrew exchanged a glance with one another. Andrew shook his head 'no' to her but Claire's mind insisted on her following John along. It would be a great sense of a Saturday detention adventure and trying to avoid Vernon. She pulled back her chair and followed John.
Andrew fell back in his seat and shook his head. If there was one thing that he learned with his team, it was to never leave any member behind. He pushed back his chair and joined them and upon that, it was enough to cause Brian, Allison, and Susan to join them.
John leaned against the doors and heard Vernon muttering, "…everything is polluted. The coffee's polluted…the kids are polluted." He opened the library door and noticed Vernon walking to the opposite side of the hall. He quickly slipped out of the library followed by Claire and the rest of the group.
John rounded a corner and took the lead. It wasn't long until Claire caught up and walked alongside him. "How do you know where Vernon went?" he asked her.
"I don't," John simply answered.
Claire shrugged her shoulder, "then how do you know when he'll be back?"
John's almost smiled at her question. "I don't," he said to her and then faced her, seeing the look of concern upon her eyes. "Being bad feels good, huh?"
Behind Bender and Claire, Brian and Andrew walked alongside one another. Andrew was irritated that they were doing this, fearing that he would get into trouble if Vernon caught them. As for Brian, he felt uneasy with the idea of Vernon catching them. "What's the point of going to Bender's locker?" he asked Andrew.
"Beats me," Andrew answered.
"This is so stupid," Brian commented, "why are we risking getting caught?"
"I don't know," Andrew said as he turned his head and looked at one of the classrooms, as if Vernon was going to jump out at them.
"So then what are we doing?" Brian asked him.
Another way that they would risk being caught was if Vernon heard Brian's constant questions. "You ask me one more question and I'm beating the hell out of you," Andrew threatened causing Brian to apologize.
Behind Andrew and Brian, Susan and Allison walked together. Brian had made some good propositions about this. It wasn't as if John needed a whole group of his classmates to escort him to his locker. She heard a chuckle next to her when Allison heard Andrew's threat towards Brian. "Not funny Allison," Susan whispered to her, causing the girl to smirk even more.
It wasn't long until the group reached John's locker. He opened the door of his locker and a guillotine fell onto a sneaker, cutting off the tip. Andrew looked at the contraption and then at the mess inside his locker. "You're such a slob," he commented.
"My maid's on vacation," John answered him and took out a bag within a bag within another bag.
A strange aroma came upon Brian's nose as he sniffed the air. Upon his realization, his eyes widened at John. "It's drugs!" he exclaimed.
"Screw that Bender, put it back," Andrew ordered him. Like he expected, John pocketed the marijuana and walked away from the group.
Brian pointed over at John and looked at Claire as she walked past him. "The boy has marijuana." Andrew shook his head and walked away from Brian until it was just Allison and Susan staring. "Do you guys approve of this?" he asked them.
It didn't matter what the answer was, John had a mind of his own. Brian walked away from the girls to join the group and before Susan and Allison joined, Allison reached over and took off the lock from Bender's locker. He was not going to need that anytime soon. Susan glanced behind her shoulder and gave Allison a slight smile. "First his switchblade and now his lock? What do you need it for?" she asked.
Some things did not require an explanation. Allison gave Susan a slight shrug of her shoulders and they caught up with the group.
"We'll cross through the lab and we'll double back," John whispered to the group.
"You'd better be right," Andrew reproachfully stated to John, "if Vernon cuts us off, it's your fault."
"What did he say?" Brian asked, "where are we going?"
The group passed by a couple of lockers and John stopped in his tracks when he noticed Vernon walking at the other end of the hallway with his back facing them. Damn it! John thought as he broke into a sprint and the rest of the group followed him. They ran in another direction, only to come upon Vernon's presence once more.
"Wait, wait. Hold it," John stopped in his tracks with the rest of the group, "we have to go through the cafeteria."
"No," Andrew shook his head, "the activities hall."
"Hey you don't know what you're talking about," John said.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Andrew shot back at him.
Allison let out a squeak as if to tell them to stop fighting before they were caught by Vernon.
"Now's not the time," Susan worriedly said as she looked from one boy to another.
"We're through listening to you," Andrew continued, "we're going this way. You go where you want mother hen." He took off down the hallway as Brian, Claire, and Susan hurried after him.
John stood his ground. Going that way, they were bound to get caught. Allison wanted to say something to him but all she did was hold her arms out and stomped backwards as if to tell him to follow them.
The group made their way down a couple of stairs and they came upon a gated hallway. John grabbed onto the gates and gave them a desperate pull as if he had the strength to pry them open. "Damn it!" Andrew said.
"Great idea," John sarcastically said to him.
"Screw you!" Andrew defended himself.
"Screw you," Claire shot back at Andrew, "why didn't you listen to John?"
"We're dead," Brian commented. Another Saturday detention he thought to himself.
Just because John had offered for his classmates to join him, that didn't mean that they needed to be punished because of his actions. He glanced over at Claire and saw the forlorn look upon her eyes of getting into trouble. "No," he said, "just me."
"What do you mean?" Brian asked him.
"Get back to the library," John told the group and then stuffed the marijuana bag inside Brian's pants. He took off into the hallway while screaming, "I WANNA BE AN AIRBORN RANGER!"
Susan slowly shook her head. "He's sacrificing himself for us," she commented.
Claire took a deep breath upon John's action towards the group. For someone who was the criminal of the school, he knew when to put on his act of chivalry. Claire wondered if this was his way of not only getting the group but also her out of trouble.
"Come on Claire," Andrew said as he gave her shoulder a slight push for her to follow the group back to library.
On their route back to the library, Claire was quiet. Brian was animated as he spoke to the group of how he didn't expect John to do such a thing, let alone give him that joint of marijuana to hold onto.
Susan gave Brian a smirk. "Looks like John trusts you more."
Once they entered the library, the group settled in their original seats and remained quiet, expecting Vernon to march through the doors. After a while, and as expected, John was the first to walk into the library with Vernon behind him.
Vernon gave John a push, almost causing John to trip. John regained his balance and exchanged a looked with Claire as he made his way towards his table. "Get your stuff let's go," Vernon said to him, "Mr. Wise Guy has taken upon himself to go to the gymnasium. I'm sorry to inform you, but you're going to be without his services for the rest of the day."
Susan didn't think that Vernon was sorry about that. In her mind, he was willing to do anything to ensure to get John into trouble.
"B-O-O-H-O-O," John sarcastically said and sat down on his original seat.
Vernon did not appreciate this kind of attitude. At this point, he could expect anything from John Bender, but he was livid after what he had just done. "Everything's a big joke, huh Bender? The false alarm you pulled on Friday…false alarm are really funny aren't they? What if your home…what if your family…" even to Vernon, that sounded a bit extreme, "what if your dope was on fire?" he asked him.
"Impossible sir," John immediately answered him, "it's in Johnson's underwear."
Brian was aghast that John was snitch on him like that. Both Andrew and Susan snickered.
Vernon looked from Andrew and then at Susan. "You think this is funny? You think this is cute? Is that it?" he asked them. "Let me tell you something. Look at him."
Oh here we go John thought as he prepared himself for the name calling.
"He's a bum," Vernon continued, "you want to see something funny? You go visit John Bender in five years. You'll see how goddamn funny he is."
Susan was shocked to hear Vernon say such things about a student. It was like a whole other persona of him. She wasn't a stranger to his lectures, but this had gone too far. "Don't you think you're taking it too far?" she asked him.
"I expect you to stay out of this Susan," Vernon warned her, "you're in enough trouble enough already."
Did she do something else that would get her into more trouble or was he trying to save her from landing another detention…not that he would do such a thing. "I'm not doing anything," she replied to him. "I'm sure John wasn't doing anything out of order either. I mean what else is there to do in an empty school on a Saturday?"
How could Susan consider John breaking the detention rules to go and play basketball in the gymnasium as being not out of order. "Watch it young lady," Vernon said to her. "Anyone that breaks the detention rules will face the consequences."
"He's not doing anything now," Susan motioned to John with her head, "he's already here…in detention," she looked over at Vernon, "like the rest of us. I mean, this is where you wanted us to be right?"
John was caught off guard when Susan spoke up for him. Let alone that she made Vernon look like a complete fool in the eyes of his classmates. He looked over at Vernon and noticed that stern look upon his eyes. What he had overheard between Brian and Susan was evident enough that Vernon was just as hard on her as he was to everyone at the school. No special treatment involved.
Vernon didn't understand where Susan got this sudden urge to backtalk to him. He could feel his patience starting to wear thin. First John's rambunctious behavior then Susan's insolence. "Let's go," he said and motioned for her to stand up.
Susan wasn't expecting that. Was he going to punish her the same way that he was punishing John? She looked over at Allison, who quietly stared back at her as she gathered her things.
Vernon reached forward and took a hold of John's hand. Upon that touch, John pulled his arm and stood on his feet. "Keep your hands off me!" he yelled at Vernon. To Susan, it looked like John was going to punch her uncle to the ground. "I expect better manner from you, Dick." John reached into his pocket and set a pair of sunglasses on Andrew's table. "For better hallway vision."
Susan looked over her shoulder towards Brian. She gave him a small smile, hoping that whatever Vernon was going to lecture her about, wasn't going to take too long.
John was the first to enter Vernon's office and Susan waited right by the door. Vernon ordered for her to wait outside the door as he went inside to have a conversation with John. Susan knew better than to eavesdrop on their conversation, but she couldn't resist hearing what her uncle was saying to John.
John was sitting at the end of the room, avoiding any eye contact with Vernon. He felt that it was going to be the same speech repeatedly. He didn't care how angry Vernon was. All he cared about was just getting the hell out of this place.
"That's the last time Bender," Vernon said to him. "That's the last time you ever make me look bad in front of those kids."
It's all part of an image John thought. Isn't that what life was anyway? Maintaining an image that no one cared about by the end of the day?
"Do you hear me?" Vernon continued, "I make $31,000 a year and I've got a home and I'm not about to throw it away on some punk like you.
Good for you John thought. At least you don't have a deadbeat dad who waits until you get home to beat the hell outta you.
"But someday when you're out of here, and you've forgotten all about this place and they've forgotten about you and your wrapped up in your own pathetic life I'm gonna be there."
John slowly looked up at Vernon when he said that.
"That's right," Vernon continued. "And I'm going to kick the living daylights out of you. I'm gonna knock you in the dirt."
Out of all the consequences that Vernon had thrown to John in the past, this one baffled him. He felt that he wasn't facing the vice principal that he knew, but someone that was all too familiar with. "You threatening me?" John managed to ask him.
"What are you going to do about it?" Vernon asked him. When John didn't react, he continued, "you think anybody is going to believe you? You think anybody is going to take your word over mine? I'm a man of respect around here. They love me around here. I'm a swell guy and you're a liar and everybody knows it."
Outside of the doorway, Susan couldn't believe the insults that Vernon was throwing at John. Just then, something clattered against the doorway and she took a step back until she heard Vernon yelling, "get on your feet pal! Let's find out how tough you are! I wanna know how tough you are, come on!"
Don't do anything John Susan thought. Don't do it. There was no noise that came within the room and Susan didn't know if that was good or bad. She took a step back when the handle on the door swung open and Vernon walked out. Before he turned his attention on Susan, he locked John within the room.
Vernon let out a sigh. Dealing with one kid to another back and forth. "Now what has gotten into you?" he asked Susan, "has spending detention gotten to your head that you think you can act like that?"
Susan didn't think that she had done anything wrong. That is unless her uncle worried too much about what people thought of him. "I was just standing up for a friend," Susan said to him. "Isn't that what you taught me? To stand for myself and my friends." When she had stood up for herself, she got detention. When she stood up for John, she was close to getting another detention. It seemed like a mixed message in her head.
Vernon pointed his finger at her. "Bender is not a friend. He's a—"
"I heard what you said," Susan said to him, "you don't need to repeat it. I think you're being very tough on him without any good reason."
"Enough with the backtalk!" Vernon shouted. He couldn't help but think that with her being in one room with John, he had rubbed off some of his personality onto her. "This is a serious matter. Now I gave you that detention to think about what you did, not to have you rebel like this."
Rebellion was a term that was probably foreign to her uncle. Susan's form of rebellion mostly centered around painting and how much she wanted to vent at this moment. Susan remained quiet as Vernon walked around his table and sat down, exhausted from everything that was going on.
"You know what the problem is Susan?" Vernon asked her. "You didn't have someone that was stable enough to raise you. I get it. It's not your fault, but I'm trying to do all I can so you don't go down that route. I don't want you to be like Bender…or your mother in this case."
Susan felt her stomach drop at the mention of her mother. How could he use her so cruelly in this conversation? "My mother was a nice woman," Susan defended her.
"Who made bad choices," Vernon continued. "Do you think that I supported her decisions eloping with the first guy she met after getting pregnant with you and then neglecting her only daughter to chase her dreams to become an artist? No," he shook his head at her. "She didn't make a name for herself and she died with nothing."
Her mother may have made terrible decisions. Even ones that cost her life. "I am not my mother," Susan told him, trying to keep her tears at bay.
"Same blood line, same passion for art," Vernon said to her. "I should have confiscated your art supplies when I still had the chance. Then you wouldn't be in this mess."
Susan shook her head. "Do not touch my supplies!" she said a little too loudly than she anticipated, "it's the one thing I love!"
"Art will get you nowhere," Vernon sternly said to her. "You managed to bring your grades back up and I see that you're failing physics. I know you're better than than Susan. Focus on what's important than this silly little hobby."
Silly little hobby? Susan was shocked. That was the reason why she never shared her drawings with anyone that she didn't trust. "You don't understand," Susan said, trying to keep her tone as calm as possible. "Art has helped me in so many ways."
"Like what?" Vernon asked her.
"It's been like another friend, waiting for me to get home. I can escape this messed up world, I can draw a place and imagine myself in there. I can make things whatever color I want them to be. It has helped me vent my emotions; it has made me feel like I belonged somewhere…it has made me deal with my mom's death." She hadn't meant to cry but she felt the tears beginning to sting her eyes.
Vernon was silent for a couple of beats. Whether he felt empathy for her, Susan wasn't too sure. He was a tough man to decipher and she felt that she shouldn't be too surprised if he was apathetic. "Why didn't you say anything?" he asked her.
Susan took a deep breath, surprised by the gentleness of his voice. Don't fall for it she warned herself. He could feel sympathy now but he may go back to his old ways later. "Because nobody understands. Art is a part of me, it's who I am. When you took my supplies for those bad grades, it was like you took away a part of me that defined who I am. The same thing happened on Monday when Jennifer poked a hole in my canvas. It was a stab to the heart…but no, you decided to give me that detention."
When Vernon discovered what the fight had been about, he had been shocked that Susan was involved. Jennifer had her ways of getting out of detention, but for Susan he didn't want to show his colleagues that he gave students special treatment, even if they were family. He could tell that Susan was never going to let this go. This back-and-forth argument wasn't going to get them to a solution anytime soon. "Take your things and go back to the library," he said to her, "but we are not done discussing this."
Susan clutched tightly onto her bag. They didn't come to a solution about this. In the end, Vernon wanted to be right about everything and it seemed like she had him in a corner. She gave him a brief nod of her head and headed out of the office. She looked up and saw the doors of the library in front of her and then she looked at the west wing that would lead to the art room. It sounded like heaven to be in an isolated room with nothing but art equipment and she could escape just for a little while…then there would be more consequences if she was caught.
Letting out a defeated sigh, she opened to doors and headed inside the library.