The Dream Sequence No One Asked For:
Claire Standish knew exactly what she was going to do come Monday. Her friends have always controlled every decision she makes. Even though high school popularity is only powerful between the walls of the building, it does have power. She doesn't want to make their lives harder by talking to them. She doubts people like Janie, Olivia, and Tia will go easy on them if their Prom Queen starts dating a geek and hanging out with the school unpopulars. She spent all evening thinking over every possible situation that could happen and realized that only one thing could be done. Ignoring them was the only option. Sure, she'd talk to Andy if he approached her first. But Brian and Allison? She couldn't. She never would have even glanced at anyone in that room except for Andy before Saturday. She knows they deserve better, of course, they do. They deserve better than to be treated like shit by the entire student body. They deserve better than Shermer High. They deserve better than her. She would leave them alone. It's the biggest favor she can think to give them. Because Bender was right, she is a bitch who cares more about herself than others, and they deserve better than that. And John, he is complex. His life has not been easy and he is struggling just to get by. She wants to be able to understand it fully. She wonders how hard the decision was for Andy. She stood in front of her mirror, applying a layer of Noxzema on her face.
On the other hand, she doesn't want her friends controlling her life anymore. She rinses her face and finishes in the bathroom. While lying restlessly in bed, she dreads falling asleep. She knows she will most likely have a lucid dream - She has them at least once a month, more when she is stressed and today was one of those days.
Eventually, she falls asleep and, in the dream, Claire is floating. Suddenly she is in a spacious and posh apartment. The apartment reminds her of Foley Square in the Upper East Side of New York. She is a beautiful adult woman, a movie star. Her name is on the marquee and she has millions of fans who adore her. She travels to the best places and has the nicest things that money can buy, but she is not happy. She is surrounded by people who agree with everything she says because that's what she pays them to do. She drinks too much to numb her emptiness and does not eat enough because she is always competing with the next movie star. In her later years Claire has gone under the knife a few times; it's a required part of the occupation says her manager. She marries the love of her life, a tall and handsome French actor who is lusted upon by women and envied by men. He cheats on her constantly with younger women and denies it. She hates him for humiliating her, but wouldn't dare leave. She cannot stand up to anyone and their net worth is over ten million. Years go by and she often wonders what would have happened if she had only stood up for herself when she was given the chance.
Brian Johnson wished he was more like Bender. That John Bender had that 'fuck you' attitude down to an art. For now, he sees himself as a weakling whose failed shop project prompts him to attempt a public and spectacular suicide. He desperately wanted to be the type of guy who wasn't afraid of her snobby friends. She had given him her phone number by writing it on his hand using a permanent red marker.
On the way home he made sure his bratty little sister didn't see his newly acquired digits by rushing to his room. He hurriedly wrote her number down in his journal. He would have to find a way to call Claire despite being grounded. Still, he liked having her number on his hand so he faked washing his hands at dinner. His father made him go to bed early and tonight he was happy to oblige. The day had worn him out and he wanted it to be over. Brian fluffed his pillow and tried not to think about the pile of chores his father had given him to do as punishment for his detention. His first detention and his father grounds him for a month.
He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. His idle hand has a mind of its own and finds its way into his boxers. He works his dick quickly with his hand, Claire's pretty face coming to mind, and he wants so badly for it to be more than just today. Would she want more? Would she touch him? Maybe she'd guide his hand under her skirt, under her panties even. He'd love to taste her on his fingers and make her gasp. He might be the first guy to get to see her tits. He thought she had this perfect princess life and he's no prince charming…but if a princess kisses a frog…He pictures her here with him, smiling and free like she was when she danced. Maybe they'd get some of Bender's weed and get high or maybe just make out, but as he jerks his dick, he imagines getting her undressed and he comes with a smile on his face. Fuck he's got it bad. He can't wait to see her on Monday.
He smiled, falling asleep, while dreaming of her, his new friend and possible girlfriend. Brian turns and sees himself in the mirror as a young strapping adult. He finally got out of his parent's house and is unpacking in his new apartment. He stumbles across his yearbook and it makes him think of The Breakfast Club. He was devastated when they all decided to ignore each other that Monday causing Brian to lose his nerves in pursuing Claire. He watched her date jock after jock, and a bunch of preppy snobs and then graduate, never to have spoken to Brian again. Still, he misses her and just wants one chance.
While working in the computer lab in his first year of grad school he encounters a pretty sorority girl who can't figure out how to find Astronomy 101's online syllabus. He shows her how to use Lynx and then routes the syllabus to the connected dot-matrix printer. As the printer screeches the two-page syllabus over the next half hour, they talk. She thanks him and smiles. He is smitten. What he doesn't know is that she has just come away from a bad relationship with a classic Alpha male and that she wants to give nice guys a try. They go out. Brian worships her. They marry. Brian never goes for his PhD. He teaches high school shop to send his wife to law school. Although she married a nice guy, she never gets over her attraction to Alpha males. Now a successful attorney, she cheats on him constantly. But he does nothing to stop it. He is a fragile man made of porcelain. He wishes that Claire Standish would have given him the time of day on Monday as she did on Saturday.
Allison Reynolds is comfortable with herself. Despite that, she was lonely. She has not had friends since junior high. Her best friend moved to Oregon freshman year, leaving her alone at Shermer High. Allison removed the lacy-white ribbon from her hair, wondering if 'The Breakfast Club' would ignore her on Monday. If they did, she would understand. None of them have it easy. She wouldn't wish what they were going through upon herself, so if the group couldn't stand up to their friends and ignored her, she would forgive them. Still, Allison wanted friends and Andy was cute and a fantastic kisser. She sat on her bed and fondled the letterman patch while curling up in a blanket. The cat quickly hops up and joins her. She pets her furry friend and watches the sunset and the full moon rise. She smiles, feeling that it is symbolic of her and Andy. He is the Sun and she is the Moon their union was a lunar eclipse. She closed her eyes sipping her steaming hot chamomile tea while picturing Andy's icy hot gaze on her. The feeling relaxed her entire body, heating her core. She finished her tea and felt the pull of sleep take her.
She was floating down the halls of Shermer, accepting the dreams for what it was. It was symbolic, foreshadowing. She entered the library and watched them, 'The Breakfast Club'. The group that made her Saturday a little less lonely. They've moved on and she isn't accepted by the group when she is dressed in her black layers. Andy turned his nose up when she still had her ratty coat on, and the shitty shoes and bag filled with everything she could ever need, ever. She realizes that until she's prettied up and made "normal', she won't be noticed and certainly won't be accepted. So, she gives in. It's uncomfortable at first, but she likes the attention. Who doesn't like being approved of? So, Allison suppresses her uniqueness, the core of her identity. She covers it with the 'appropriate' makeup, fashion, and accessories and is pulled into the world of white-bread suburbia. She goes to a state college and joins a sorority. She graduates and takes a job in an office. The work is tedious, but the people are nice and they like her and it feels so wonderful to be liked.
As she gets older she longs for long-term male companionship. So she tried dating, even though every word of the profile that matched her with her eventual husband was a lie. She gets married eventually, but it doesn't last. He's a nice enough guy, and he treats her well, but they want different things and there's no passion. She lives in a vanilla world and she yearns for a little spice.
While flipping through the channels, Allison encounters music that hits her like an orgasm. She is considering moving to Seattle, where the music is called Grunge. She almost buys a long-black skirt and oversized coat. She almost trades in her stiletto pumps for a pair of combat boots. She almost does a lot of things, but in the end, she stays where she is and gets back to her paperwork.
Years pass and Allison takes a long look at her choices and she isn't proud of many of them. She makes herself a cereal sandwich. It tastes amazing. She lets in more cats. She dyes her hair black and puts on some black eyeliner. She puts on her favorite rock band t-shirt and dresses like she used to. She goes to a concert and the concert makes her feel sad. She's old. Everyone there is old. She looks back and tries to see herself in her earlier years, but she can't make out her face. It's hidden by makeup.
Andrew Clark went home that Saturday afternoon and barricaded himself in his room. His dad called him down for dinner and the family, sensing the tension ate in silence. After dinner, Andy disappeared to his room closing the door behind him and leaning against it for support. He knew that if he did not stand up to his father, coach, and some of his friends on Monday, his heart would eventually die inside. He needed to tell them how he felt about the pressure they put on him. Allison's sweet voice echoed in his mind and her words of encouragement to do just that. He closed his eyes and could see her deep piercing gaze at him. She looked as if she could see his soul.
Still leaning against the bedroom door, He reached into the back pocket of his jeans out of habit. He was surprised to feel a tightly folded piece of paper. He opened the paper and smiled. It was Allison's drawing. She must have 'planted' that there when they kissed. He chuckled knowing that the 'snowflakes' were dried hairspray flakes. It was perfect, just like her. He found a thumbtack and hung it right by his bed, that way it would be the first thing he saw when he woke up every day. A reminder of what needed to be done.
Andy falls right asleep. He dreams that instead of talking it out he just drops out of sports altogether and coasts through the rest of his senior year. He and his father don't speak much after that. His parents are mostly concentrating on his younger brother, who's got a hell of an arm for a twelve-year-old, and let everyone tell you he's already settled good at reading a defense.
He and Allison fool around for a couple of months, she's a great kisser but he can't open up to her. This makes her feel ignored, and he knows that's a feeling she hates. She says she's okay when he says he just wants to keep it casual, but she won't look him in the eyes. They see each other less and less, and then the summer is over and she's at college. That is the end of 'The Breakfast Club' and he never sees Allison again.
His scholarship, which was tied to football, is withdrawn. He goes to a local college, but he can't make a go of it. He has a tough time focusing, and he doesn't much care for reading. The owner of the local Chevy dealership is a Shermer alumnus and knows Andrew from football. He offers him a job selling cars. With his personality and good looks, he's a decent salesman so he makes a good living.
A few years pass and then one day a man comes roaring into the dealership, shouting at Andrew and threatening him. He accuses Andrew of sleeping with his wife. It's true, but Andrew denies it. This guy is so loud. Andrew's getting angry. If he could just calm the guy down, keep smiling, keep smiling. Andy says to himself and then the guy throws a punch and Andrew's athlete reflexes kick in. Not knowing his strength he hits the guy back and drops him with a punch to the gut. While on the ground, Andy kicks him in the side for good measure. The guy shits himself, has a broken rib, and spends the next year being treated for PTSD. Andrew spends a couple of weeks in jail. After pleading no contest in the civil suit, Andrew owes fifty- thousand dollars in damages. He won't make that much money in two years. Feeling defeated, Andrew goes to a sports bar to watch football. His team loses. He's drunk and angry. And even though people try to cheer him up he gets angry at them. He smashes TVs and throws beer mugs. In a blind fury, he punches a patron, the bartender, and the manager. It lasts only a couple of minutes, but when it's over, he is hauled off to jail, and this time he is looking at doing time in the pen.
John Bender had purchased a hotdog and soda from the gas station and was hanging out at a friend's house late that Saturday night. He hoped he could stay a little later so he wouldn't have to go home. He wanted to wait until his dad was asleep. His dad always got wasted on Saturday nights and when his dad was drunk, Bender stayed away.
He's in luck tonight, and when he gets home, he's surprised. His dad was sleeping in the bedroom and not on the couch surrounded by beer bottles and cigarette buts. His mother had cleaned the place up and even had some groceries in the house. Bender opened up the box of Pop-Tarts and took two out. He's a little stoned, so he eats one now and puts the other in his coat pocket for breakfast.
He plopped onto his bed, let out a yawn, and smiled; he was looking forward to Monday. He wanted to see if the couples would stand by each other in front of their friends. Bender decided that he would engage if they came to him first, which he didn't expect to happen. But if it did, he'd demand that his friends play nice. They could only make fun of the bunch of dweebs behind their backs.
He drifted off into a deep slumber and dreams. He's thirty-something and he works at a factory, packing auto parts for nine hours a day, but it's okay because the money is decent and he has a nice place to call his own. He even has a hot and busty blonde who's an interior designer intern and they are shacking up. He quickly proposed and everything was going great.
Then one day he ran into an old buddy from high school. The buddy asks if Bender wants to spark up a doob. He hasn't done that in years. No thanks. The buddy persists, and Bender starts thinking he hasn't hung out with anyone in a long time. The Breakfast Club went on to college and even his friends moved away or went to jail. He was left hanging out with only her group of friends and they were total yuppies.
He hasn't had a rowdy guys' night out since high school. So, what the hell? The next day at work, the manager approaches Bender with some paperwork. Random drug test. He fails and it's not his fault. Why can't they leave the working man alone? He can't tell his hot high-maintenance fiancé he lost his job. So, he buys her a necklace he can't afford. He puts it on the credit card. Money is getting tighter. He starts hanging out with his old friends. They float him a bag of weed and he sells it to some high school kids. He manages to pick up some meth, and some coke and he's moving it in small quantities, being careful. The debt's getting smaller and smaller. Just a couple more scores and he and the fiancé will be okay and they can plan for the wedding. Then the factory closes. Thank God. This sells the lie. He never has to tell her that he lost his job.
Then she gets a decent promotion and is making better money and starts buying all types of shit they cannot afford. But what can he say? He loves her, and he's being too careful so that he doesn't get caught. Since she is making good money at the design firm, John gets out of the drug business. Then the worst day happens, the firm closes. The fiancé becomes depressed about losing the job she loves and realizes her husband is a criminal, not to mention the financial peril they are in. They marry but can't afford her dream wedding. She takes a job at a furniture store to pay the bills.
Years pass and Bender is still doing the only thing he knows how, but it's getting him nowhere fast. She's been looking through old photos of the nice dresses she used to wear. Thumbing through catalogs of furniture they can't afford. She's drifting away. He's losing her, and he can't stand it. Still, money is a problem. He needs to think, he needs a drink so he goes to the local bar. He sits down and orders a beer. He notices a familiar face across the bar.