A/N: I'm thrilled to hear that you were inspired by my suggestion in your Allison/Andrew conversation about Larry! Andy's confession is complex; his actions are cruel, yet he seems very caring. I love exploring and having the perspective of a character like Allison—she has so many layers that interest me deeply. I'm looking forward to reading your current story soon!
"Where do you think you're going?" Carl said, smirking at the surprised look on the boy's face.
Gus turned, his brows rising in a surprised arc, then rolled his eyes when he saw it was just the janitor. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm going to see Mr. Vernon," Gus said, quickly turning and walking away.
"That's an automatic detention, but go ahead," Carl laughed at the cocky kid. Gus paused mid-step and turned to face Carl again. "I think Mr. Vernon will want to know what's happening right under his nose."
"What makes you think he doesn't already know?" Gus paused, unsure of what to say. He just stood unblinking, trying to process what had just been told.
"Why would the principal allow…" He finally mumbled, wondering if it was a trick question. It seemed like one, but he didn't know what to think.
"Allow kids to spend a day talking with kids they'd otherwise ignore or treat like shit?" Carl said.
Gus was stunned, his eyes growing impossibly wide before blinking with disbelief.
"Look, I'm just the janitor, but I know what I know. If you go that way, you'll get another detention. If you go that way, you may hate it, or maybe, just maybe, you might learn something that the books don't teach."
Gus blinked slowly, taking it all in. Without a word, he turned and walked back into the library.
Inside, he noticed the couples. Brian and Claire were getting high. The honors student was entertaining the prom queen with his improvisations of Eddie Murphy. Claire's unique-sounding giggle echoed in the Library. Angela was failing to convince Bender into an extra credit assignment for English literature that would bring his GPA up to at least a C minus. He rolled his eyes, his lips pinched together in a hard line, "Boring…" he mumbled and went to the desk where the book by Harper Lee sat. She didn't see it, but he smiled, too. He'd bent over the desk, carving their initials into the wood.
Allison and Andy approached Cameron. "You don't have to sit over here alone," Allison said. "Come sit with us?"
He looked at them with a mixture of duplicity and uncertainty. "Why would I do that?" He tugged at the collar of his shirt, the fabric feeling constricting against his clammy skin.
"Look, bud, we're all stuck here today, we might as well try to make the best of it," Andy said with crossed arms and a level tone.
"Easy for you to say, you aren't stuck in a room full of people who want to kill you." Cameron set the trig book on his lap, and he kept casting his eyes down and turning his head away.
"No one wants to kill you, I promise, Cameron. Let me prove it. Come over," Allison smiled, instilling some reassurance in the hesitant boy.
His hands shook as he placed the book in his backpack before zipping it. He took a deep breath before standing. "Okay," he said, glancing at Allison warily. He slowly followed them.
Andy sat at his former seat on the couch as Allison moved her bag and cleared a space for Cameron. "Please sit," she motioned with a wave of her hand.
"What's he doing here?" Brian said, his eyes narrowed.
"He's ruining my buzz, that's what he's doing," Claire scrunched her nose as if she smelled something offensive.
"Ang, say the word and I'll drop this dork like a sack of potatoes," Bender stabbed the table with his knife and stalked over from the desk, his dark eyes blazing murderously. Cameron flinched and looked as if he was going to faint.
"John, please sit down," Angela beamed and patted the seat next to her. Bender's gaze went lax as he slid into his former seat. Angie already knew that he let his tough guy act down around her. She wanted to see more of that.
"To answer your question, Bri, I wanted to prove to Cameron that you guys just want to know why he said those awful things, to hear his side," Allison reasoned.
A look of guilt and shame washed over Cameron's face. Could he admit why he did it? He defensively crossed his arms. It offered him little comfort.
"I'd like to know why…" Brian sneered, "You hurt me, man," Brian admitted. With the weight of that lifted, his chest expanded, and his shoulders pulled back, making him look bigger and fiercer.
Cameron's shoulders slumped. "Brian, you just stopped talking to me, you stopped hanging with the usual group of nerds." It was easier to blame than to admit.
"That's because you kept asking me about The Breakfast Club."
"Because you would smile and shrug it off every time," his face flushed. But he was determined to speak his mind now.
"You acted like I had tricked the Mathletes somehow. What am I supposed to do, give you all the deets in honors physics class?"
"You've changed—hanging out with the guy who tormented our friend and dating a girl whose friends treat us like garbage."
Andy flinched at the comment. Larry Lester remained a sore spot in his relationship with Allison and his friendship with Brian. They avoided discussing it, leaving Andy uncertain about how to address the issue properly. Larry deserved an apology, but Andy didn't want to ambush him or cause further harm.
"Cameron, you're right. Larry deserves an apology. It's not easy to say sorry after doing something so horrible. So, I guess you and I have even more in common than detention after all," Andy's voice trembled with emotion. Speaking the words made the weight of his actions feel real again.
Allison often found herself lost in daydreams, but even she couldn't have imagined this. Andrew Clark continued to surprise her; he defied any predictable pattern. Even Brian, momentarily speechless, was deeply moved. Cameron realized they cared, and that meant something to him.
There was a brief silence before Cameron gathered the courage to meet Angela's gaze, despite Bender's menacing glare. "Angela, what I said was ignorant and offensive. I hope you can forgive me. I'll never speak garbage like that again," he said, his voice wavering slightly.
"I've moved on, but I accept and appreciate your apology." Angela smiled. The warmth in her eyes lifted a burden that haunted him. He nodded and turned to Claire.
"I'm sorry for spreading those rumors. You're not one of those girls, obviously," he glanced at Kristy and Cindy. Both girls were watching them. Cindy salaciously licked her lips at him. He turned away, not before blushing. "I promise I'm done with spreading lies."
Bender was temporarily moved. "I'll call off the hit I had planned for you Monday morning," he said dryly. Angela laughed, dropping her pencil into the crack in her notebook.
After Cameron sincerely apologized to Brian, Claire, and Angela, Brian invited him to the Friday night arcade hangout with the guys. Andy asked him to join them on Monday at lunch. Cameron was grateful for the invite but never promised he'd hang out on either occasion. The group respected his wishes.
Not long after, Vernon made his rotation and escorted everyone to the restrooms.
"Hey Angela, there's water on the floor. Can we use your nappy hair to mop it up?" Kristy said, looking into the mirror while brushing her long blonde mane.
Angela felt her stomach tighten into a knot. She snatched a paper towel from the dispenser and silently dried her hands, tossing the trash into the bin without averting her critical glare from the girl.
"It's better than what guys use your hair for," Claire said, bursting out of the stall. She daintily turned on the faucet to wash her hands. "I would call you a whore, but I think you and I both know nobody's ever going to pay for that shit."
Laughter erupted in the restroom stalls. Everyone was laughing except Kristy, who was seething. Her gaze was fixed, unwavering, as if trying to bore holes into the other person, her stare radiating a palpable, venomous energy.
Even Cindy from inside the stall could be heard laughing at Claire's comeback; she thought Claire was the best at being a best friend. She tried to hide her laughter as she emerged from the stall.
Allison shuffled out of her stall, sneering at the blonde. She knew why the girl was in detention. Kristy had cruelly put gum in her rival's ponytail in class. The poor girl had to cut her hair. Now Kristy had the longest hair in school.
"You're just an out-of-touch rich bitch driving daddy's Benz," Kristy said, flipping off Claire. Every fiber of her being seemed to tense with loathing.
"Congrats on making an ass of yourself again," Claire spat out the words.
Angela clapped her hands vigorously. "Yes, congratulations on proving yet again just how much better I am than you with that pathetic attempt at insulting me. It must suck being so bitter." Angela knew that girl wanted her guy, but he'd never again look her way. With her head held high, she strolled out of the restroom.
Claire stopped and faced the girl. "I'd love to stay and insult you some more, but judging how your life is going, it appears you're suffering enough," she flicked her hair and exited the girl's restroom.
Allison clapped too, still glaring disapprovingly, as she walked by the girl. "Yep, lost cause," Allison concluded.
"These are the best!" Andy exclaimed, devouring his sandwich with his usual voraciousness. Angela and Bender were sitting on the floor, leaning against the railing on the other side of the large statue. Andy still didn't know what the statue was supposed to be. Cameron and Cindy joined them as they ate, while Brian and John entertained them with jokes.
"What do pregnant women, frozen beer, and burned pizza have in common? An idiot who forgot to take it out in time," Bender quipped, causing soda to fly out of Andy's nose from laughing so hard.
After the laughter subsided, Brian said, "A priest, a rabbi, and a vicar walk into a bar. The barman says, 'Is this some kind of joke?'" He looked at Claire, who threw her head back in an explosion of laughter. He laughed too and lit another doobie.
After lunch, Cameron and Cindy disappeared and didn't reappear for quite some time. Everyone smirked when they were later seen leaving the media room, with Cameron looking flushed and wet-lipped while Cindy reapplied her lipstick. They both studied for a while before returning to the media room for another make-out session.
Kristy looked disgusted with her friend and ignored her and everyone else for the rest of the day. Gus never talked to anyone either. He ate a lunch that made Andy's former lunch look like a kid's meal. The quarterback remained stoic in his assigned seat. After he ate, he listened to his Walkman, occupied with what Carl had said... Vernon already knew what was happening. That means someone has to be telling him. He worried it must be Andy's girl. He now recalls having seen her witness his nefarious actions towards so many students. He's got his scholarship to think about. Besides, he even got bored of the terrorizing sometimes, so why not stop altogether?
"You know," the Prom Queen tilted her head, "Cameron is right. Angela and I sat by and watched our friends treat students who weren't popular like crap."
Allison shook her head. "You both were more bystanders than anything else. I was invisible, so I saw a lot. You never went out of your way to hurt people."
"Besides, we've paid the price," Angela said with a shrug. "We've been tarnished, shunned." The Homecoming Queen smiled, knowing that this was what she'd wanted for a while. She never felt like she truly belonged with them anyway. This is where she belongs—with John, Claire-Bear, and The Breakfast Club.
"Do you ever wonder," Andy said, "why we decided to be friends with them? I mean, I hung out with those guys. I thought they were good people. How did I not realize they're complete assholes?" He glanced over at Gus, who was minding his own business.
"I think we knew they were," Claire said. "We just didn't care. We were also assholes."
Andy threw his arm over his eyes. Thinking about what he did to Larry two weeks ago, "But why? Why did we pick them when people like Alli, Brian, and Bender are out there?"
"The way I remember it, they picked us. We were in middle school and we just wanted to fit in," Angela said. "Also, John is a king in his own right."
"Can't deny that," John said. He wasn't popular in the traditional crowd, but outside of it, he was like a king—a burnout with a crew.
"It's funny," Claire said. "The two of us were in line to be prom king and queen before the detentions. That used to be my whole world, campaigning for the prom court. I wanted it so bad."
"I wonder who will win now," Angela said. "Maybe Jane or Tia, they've become the 'top-notch girls' now that Claire and I are dethroned."
"I honestly don't even care anymore," Claire said. "It'll still be fun at the prom regardless."
With a look of longing in her eyes, Allison leaned to Andy and whispered, "Andy, we have about 30 minutes until dismissal. Let's go..." The group could not hear everything.
When he turned to look at her with an awestruck expression, his reply was, "Right now…" He was cut off when Allison suddenly grabbed him and pulled him against her. Andy responded with one arm wrapped around her back while his other hand cupped her cheek.
"Whoa," he heard Brian say, but it barely registered in his mind. Damn, but Allison was… thorough. She finally let him go, licking her lips, leaving Andy completely out of breath. Andy was getting more flustered by the second.
John and Brian were laughing in tears. "Oh man, you're whipped," Bender choked out between laughs.
Andy blushed slightly but flipped him off anyway. "And you're an asshole."
"No news there," Bender said from the upper staircase, smirking. He gave Angela a lust-filled gaze to challenge her.
There was no additional membership to the Breakfast Club, but there were breakthroughs and second chances as usual. Cindy was rethinking her choices with friends. Gus was on the slow reform. Cameron had abolished bigotry and gossipmongers and found a new, unlikely hookup/friend.
It seems that Shermer High had changed for them when six people decided to change the course of their lives despite their differences. The eyes of scrutiny would be on them for the following days. It didn't matter anymore what they labeled them as. Let them judge. What's important is that they are who they are—free.