34I DO NOT OWN THE BREAKFAST CLUB. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO JOHN HUGHES. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY CAREER, I AM DOING A COLLABORATION. MY BETA READER FOR MY PREVIOUS BREAKFAST CLUB FANFIC: POPPY471 WILL BE CO-AUTHORING THIS STORY IN CLAIRE'S PERSPECTIVE. IF YOU HAVE NOT CHECKED OUT THEIR STORIES, I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO DO SO. ALSO, YOU SHOULD READ THE ARTIST OF SHERMER HIGH BEFORE YOU READ THIS ONE.
Friday. March 30, 1984. Shermer High School. Clarendon Hills, Illinois.
(Luke)
I had never written anything so fast in my entire life. Somehow, I managed to finish the entire essay by the time lunch ended. I had written everything about my first two weeks at Shermer, including the formation of the Breakfast Club. I know that it seems a little cliche, but Mrs. Schmidt wanted to read about an event that had changed my life and that was exactly what she was going to get. I was also hoping that it would serve as both an explanation and an apology for my act of attempted thievery. The bell rang and I put the essay in my bag as I hauled ass out of the library.
The next period was science. I've never been very good at science stuff, but Brian was in my class, so that helped considerably. we got paired up to do a science project and it was a good chance for us to talk.
"So, Claire said that you're gonna be living with her now," he said as we started mixing chemicals.
"Yeah, at least until we figure out something long term," I replied.
"How do you think she managed to talk her parents in letting you stay with them?" Brian inquired in wonder.
"Well, she probably went out of her way to make them feel sorry for me," I explained. "Plus, her dad was on board when her mom vetoed the idea." Brian and I chuckled in spite of ourselves. If Mrs. Standish said that the sky was blue, her husband would say it was white just to piss her off. Claire told me that she had become skilled in playing both ends against the middle, but it still ailed her that her parents were playing tug o' war with her. They were using her and she was using them right back. That was just the way life works.
"Are you..,are you gonna go back to your house, at some point?" The Brain asked nervously.
"I have to, all my stuff is there," I relented. "My clothes, my art supplies, all my legal documents..."
"Legal documents?"
"Birth certificate, etc."
"Got it." Brian replied.
"Anyway, I'm gonna need that stuff so I gotta go back and get it," I told him.
"You can't go back there alone," Brian pointed out. "What if your dad's there?"
"First of all, I doubt it." I told Brian. "I was watching television in the hospital and he was on the 6'o clock news. The police are out looking for him. He'd probably going to find a flop house somewhere and just smoke his weight in crack hoping that this whole thing will blow over in a week or so."
"I heard there's plenty of flop houses downtown," Brian agreed.
"Second of all, I'm not going alone," I continued. "Mr. Standish is coming with me...and so is Claire."
"Claire's going to your house?" Brian asked in disbelief.
"We had a argument last night at the hospital. I don't want her to come, but she wants to be there for me. If you ask me, she's still guilty about caving to her popular friends." I explained.
"Look Luke, I've forgiven her...but still, that was really shitty of her," Brian insisted.
"I ain't saying it wasn't," I replied. "But she's with us now. Besides, she's seen my mom before so at least she had some idea of what she's walking into." After that, we just kept working on our experiment until the bell, trying to put of the end of the day for as long as possible.
Near the end of the day, I had English class with Mrs. Schmidt. I felt like the time was just ticking by slowly. If I'm being honest, I was sort of nervous about handing in my essay to Mrs. Schmidt. This story was very important to me and I didn't want her dumping on it. Finally, after an hour of reading Slaughterhouse 5, we were excused. Everyone handed their essays to Mrs. Schmidt as they passed her desk. I was the last to do so and she gave me a glare as I handed it to her.
"The Breakfast Club?" she asked as she looked at my essay. "Rather unusual title."
"I suppose so," I admitted as I walked out of the classroom. After just killing an hour in study period, the school day finally came to a close. I walked out of the school to find the other members of the Breakfast Club waiting for me.
"Too good to have lunch with us, Van Gogh?" Allison asked, her left hand intertwined with Bender's
"No man, had to catch up on some last minute schoolwork," I explained.
"It is amazing how far you can fall behind when you take a knife to the gut," Bender remarked.
"Take it easy Bender," Andy shot back.
"I can handle the criminal," I assured him as Claire squeezed my hand in hers. We said our good byes as Claire's old man pulled up in the BMW. I turned to my girlfriend.
"Look Claire, are you sure you want to do this?" I asked. I didn't want her to see how I had lived in such squalor. Normally, I don't give a rat's ass what people think of me. Her opinion though, meant everything. Claire gave me a sad smiled as she caressed my cheek.
"I want to be there for you Luke," she insisted. "I care about you." I leaned and kissed her, wanting it to be just her and me. At least for a moment.
NEXT TIME, WE SEE CLAIRE'S THOUGHTS ON LUKE'S HOME LIFE. REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED.
