Categories > Movies > Breakfast Club > Of Big Shots and Bohemians
The doctor in charge of Andy's surgery had told his "fiancée" Allison to wait in the waiting room until Andy awoke. The surgery was finished and Andy would pull through, but the agony from the beating was still so severe that he was given pain killers to knock him out for the night. Allison, knowing he'd be alright, willingly chose to spend the night in the waiting room. Only two other people were in the small area. They were a little girl and what appeared to be her father. Allison smiled at the girl. The girl waved back. She and her dad looked to be of Asian descent. The father looked up at Allison.
"We're waiting for my sister. She's giving birth," informed the man (who turned out to be an uncle, not a father).
"I'm gonna have a baby brother!" announced the little girl. Allison smiled and looked up at the clock. It was closing in on midnight. Allison managed to arrange two chairs so that she could curl up and make a semi-comfortable bed for her. She semi-consciously watched the waiting room for another hour. Within the hour, the uncle and girl had gone in to see their new family member and left, and the secretary changed shifts. Allison was alone. She rolled over on the "bed" and sifted through her big purse (which was more like a tote bag). Allison took out the photo taken ten years ago. Times had been so happy. Even if three of them were gone, Allison knew now what had to become of her relationship with Andy: She had to resurrect some of the happiness she'd felt while in The Breakfast Club. She and Andy had the power to do it too. They were invincible.
Then Allison reached for the envelope. The envelope she swore never to open. She smiled and kissed a corner of the brown paper, sealed tight. Allison never thought the day would come, but it was vastly approaching. Tomorrow morning, she would do the impossible. Tomorrow morning she would open the envelope. The envelope which had been the only thing other than the photograph that she'd brought from her old life in Shermer to her new life in New York City.
~~~~~
"Andrew Clark?" crooned an angelic voice.
Andy felt like his head was ready to spontaneously combust. But the parts of his body from his hips down seemed painless, almost detached. His chest felt shallow, but also somewhat painless. He blinked his eyes open. Looking down at his right hand, he found an IV line pierced the back of his hand. The room was pure white. He was in a hospital gown and in a stiff hospital bed under a single layer of starched hospital sheets. His stomach was agonizingly empty. He wanted food. He NEEDED food. What he wouldn't do for a cheeseburger and fries!
"Andrew Clark?" the voice repeated. Andy's sight sharpened as he saw the source of the voice: a nurse with a round pleasant face and a few wrinkles under her eyes. "Andrew Clark?"
"I'm awake-" Andrew replied. Why was his throat sore?
"You're voice is still a little raspy. That's from the tube they put down you're throat during surgery last night, dear," said the nurse. Andy nodded. It all came back to him. The woman's voice and the paramedic's voice, the trio of brothers Vanessa sent to hurt him. Andy knew he had to be in the hospital.
"Am I okay?" Andy asked.
"After about three days we'll X-ray you again, and after that hopefully you'll be free to go home, alright?" asked the nurse. Andy nodded. "By the way, Mr. Clark, if you're feeling well, your fiancée is here to visit!"
Andy's heart leapt in fear. Oh no, why would Vanessa come here? She wasn't even still his fiancée! Andy did not want to see her now. But the nurse had already shown her in. But his eyes had still not fully come to. He felt a warm, comforting hand slip over her, and instantly he knew it wasn't Vanessa. His eyes finally cleared to reveal Allison sitting by his bedside, her hand over his.
"Allison?" asked Andy. Allison smiled and nodded silently. "What's this about you being my fiancée?" he asked.
"They wouldn't let me see you otherwise!" she informed. "I lied to them to get in to make sure you were okay," she said.
Andy blushed. "I thought you hated me for putting you through so much!"
Allison shook her head. "Andy, while you did hurt me in a thousand ways, all I want to do is put all this behind us. We've been a team for ten years," she said. Andy nodded.
"I'm so stupid. I should have known you wouldn't accept my proposal," said Andy.
"Don't feel so dumb. We can't get married. Not now. We still have so much to work through before any commitment can be made. But I think we can do it, Andy. I really do!"
Andy grinned as wide as he could without wincing. "Do you think there could be a possibility that one day we could, you know..."
"I definitely think if we're willing to help each other get through the rough things we need to solve then yeah, of course there's a possibility." Allison nodded, looking at Andy's two black eyes. No matter how imany njuries he got, it still didn't take away from the piercing look they gave Allison.
"But nothing's set in stone?" Andy asked. Allison shook her head.
"Nope," she replied. Andy nodded, understandingly. They stayed silent for a moment. Andy looked at Allison, who suddenly tore her hand away from Andy's to get something out of her purse. First she set a photograph...THE photograph, of the two of them as teenagers on the hood of the car. Andy remembered the day he first saw that picture. It was the day he took Allison back to his place.
"I kept it all these years," Allison informed (of course she was unaware Andy had seen it while she was dressing). "I know it sounds obsessive, but something inside me told me never to throw it out," she said. Andy began laughing. "What's so damn funny?" Allison demanded to know.
"I kept mine too!" he said between laughs. Allison smiled and beamed.
"Really?" she asked. Andy nodded.
"It's been in a drawer of my desk at my office!" Andy said. Allison joined in his laughing.
After the laughing subsided, Allison remarked, "Even I can't believe I dressed like that!"
"I looked like such a dope-head back then! And I was. I had no idea how to think for myself. I mean, up until then I had my father and my coach to think for me, then in college Vanessa took over the thinking for me," said Andy.
"Are you pressing charges against her and her brothers?" asked Allison. Andy shook his head.
"Nawh. Well, against her three asshole brothers yeah I will charge battery and assault. But Vanessa...well, she's got her own problems. She may seem entirely evil, but she was really just heartbroken over me. You know what THAT'S like, Allison," Andy said. Allison nodded.
"Heartbreak makes you literally go insane," said Allison, nodding in agreement.
"Yeah. So I'll leave her be. I'll punish her my own special way," said Andy.
"How's that?"
"I'm gonna sell my office and move into the closest apartment I can get to yours!" declared Andy. "Selling the office will royally piss her off, considering she worked so hard to get it for me! All her work in vain, all the money she'll lose, she'll regret ever messing with either of us!" Allison smiled. Andy had a way of thinking sometimes.
"But what will you do? You need a job," said Allison. Andy nodded.
"I'll go back to school. Become a sports anchor like I always wanted to be!" said Andy. Allison smiled and gently embraced her Andy. Suddenly she remembered the envelope. Allison dug it out of her purse.
"What's that?" asked Andy. Allison smiled and broke the seal of the envelope, pouring its contents onto Andy's lap. A large circular patch and a note on loose leaf paper tumbled onto the bed. Andy took the patch first. It was the "State Champion" patch Allison had ripped from his jacket that day in detention 10 years ago! Andy shook his head and snickered. Allison took the paper.
"This was a note I wrote to you when you didn't come home for Christmas '84. At that point I'd gotten pretty sad but still clung to hope that you'd come home. I wrote you a letter and intended to send it to you along with the patch, but I never got the chance to." Andy took the piece of paper from Allison and unfolded it. The words were written in Allison's sprawled handwriting, and elegantly lined holly-borders gave the paper a festive touch. Andy read:
Dear Andy,
I'm really sorry you never made it home for Xmas this year. I understand if you're too busy to call too. I know you wouldn't forget me. I trust you and love you very much. I am still so proud of what you're accomplishing at Ohio State! I'm sending the patch along too. I can't afford any presents, but I really wanted you to have something. So I guess this was it. Andy, no matter what we go through, not matter what happens to us, we have a bond that will remain unbroken until we both die. Even if we both get married to other people and end up a poor bum living on a street corner, or end up some big-shot with money to throw around like nothing, we will always have that bond that nothing can come between us. We are one, Andy. I know that sounds deep and almost disturbing, but it's true. True relationships, romantic or not, last forever. Merry Christmas, my Andy!
Love always and forever,
Allison Portia Reynolds
Andy was in tears by the time he finished the letter. Allison nodded again. "I didn't send it off because it was around that time that Bender left Claire for California and she needed me. Eventually, when I gave up on you and decided to move east, I took nothing but my bag, the clothes on my back, the picture, and this envelope. I vowed I'd never open it unless I found you again. And I did." Allison explained.
"Exactly how did you make it east?" asked Andy. Allison smirked.
"I hitchhiked," she said weakly. Andy gasped.
"You didn't!" he exclaimed.
"I did!" retorted Allison. Andy smiled at Allison. She was right. There was an eternal bond between them that would last forever, came what may. Andy and Allison took hands again, and Allison leaned down and kissed Andy again on the lips. Andy kissed back.
He made a silent vow to himself as they kissed. He vowed he'd never lose what he loved most ever again. Allison was yin and he was yang. The two of them existing together brought balance and harmony. He wouldn't let himself be corrupted and driven away from the most important thing in his life anymore.
Andy sealed that vow with a kiss.
"We're waiting for my sister. She's giving birth," informed the man (who turned out to be an uncle, not a father).
"I'm gonna have a baby brother!" announced the little girl. Allison smiled and looked up at the clock. It was closing in on midnight. Allison managed to arrange two chairs so that she could curl up and make a semi-comfortable bed for her. She semi-consciously watched the waiting room for another hour. Within the hour, the uncle and girl had gone in to see their new family member and left, and the secretary changed shifts. Allison was alone. She rolled over on the "bed" and sifted through her big purse (which was more like a tote bag). Allison took out the photo taken ten years ago. Times had been so happy. Even if three of them were gone, Allison knew now what had to become of her relationship with Andy: She had to resurrect some of the happiness she'd felt while in The Breakfast Club. She and Andy had the power to do it too. They were invincible.
Then Allison reached for the envelope. The envelope she swore never to open. She smiled and kissed a corner of the brown paper, sealed tight. Allison never thought the day would come, but it was vastly approaching. Tomorrow morning, she would do the impossible. Tomorrow morning she would open the envelope. The envelope which had been the only thing other than the photograph that she'd brought from her old life in Shermer to her new life in New York City.
~~~~~
"Andrew Clark?" crooned an angelic voice.
Andy felt like his head was ready to spontaneously combust. But the parts of his body from his hips down seemed painless, almost detached. His chest felt shallow, but also somewhat painless. He blinked his eyes open. Looking down at his right hand, he found an IV line pierced the back of his hand. The room was pure white. He was in a hospital gown and in a stiff hospital bed under a single layer of starched hospital sheets. His stomach was agonizingly empty. He wanted food. He NEEDED food. What he wouldn't do for a cheeseburger and fries!
"Andrew Clark?" the voice repeated. Andy's sight sharpened as he saw the source of the voice: a nurse with a round pleasant face and a few wrinkles under her eyes. "Andrew Clark?"
"I'm awake-" Andrew replied. Why was his throat sore?
"You're voice is still a little raspy. That's from the tube they put down you're throat during surgery last night, dear," said the nurse. Andy nodded. It all came back to him. The woman's voice and the paramedic's voice, the trio of brothers Vanessa sent to hurt him. Andy knew he had to be in the hospital.
"Am I okay?" Andy asked.
"After about three days we'll X-ray you again, and after that hopefully you'll be free to go home, alright?" asked the nurse. Andy nodded. "By the way, Mr. Clark, if you're feeling well, your fiancée is here to visit!"
Andy's heart leapt in fear. Oh no, why would Vanessa come here? She wasn't even still his fiancée! Andy did not want to see her now. But the nurse had already shown her in. But his eyes had still not fully come to. He felt a warm, comforting hand slip over her, and instantly he knew it wasn't Vanessa. His eyes finally cleared to reveal Allison sitting by his bedside, her hand over his.
"Allison?" asked Andy. Allison smiled and nodded silently. "What's this about you being my fiancée?" he asked.
"They wouldn't let me see you otherwise!" she informed. "I lied to them to get in to make sure you were okay," she said.
Andy blushed. "I thought you hated me for putting you through so much!"
Allison shook her head. "Andy, while you did hurt me in a thousand ways, all I want to do is put all this behind us. We've been a team for ten years," she said. Andy nodded.
"I'm so stupid. I should have known you wouldn't accept my proposal," said Andy.
"Don't feel so dumb. We can't get married. Not now. We still have so much to work through before any commitment can be made. But I think we can do it, Andy. I really do!"
Andy grinned as wide as he could without wincing. "Do you think there could be a possibility that one day we could, you know..."
"I definitely think if we're willing to help each other get through the rough things we need to solve then yeah, of course there's a possibility." Allison nodded, looking at Andy's two black eyes. No matter how imany njuries he got, it still didn't take away from the piercing look they gave Allison.
"But nothing's set in stone?" Andy asked. Allison shook her head.
"Nope," she replied. Andy nodded, understandingly. They stayed silent for a moment. Andy looked at Allison, who suddenly tore her hand away from Andy's to get something out of her purse. First she set a photograph...THE photograph, of the two of them as teenagers on the hood of the car. Andy remembered the day he first saw that picture. It was the day he took Allison back to his place.
"I kept it all these years," Allison informed (of course she was unaware Andy had seen it while she was dressing). "I know it sounds obsessive, but something inside me told me never to throw it out," she said. Andy began laughing. "What's so damn funny?" Allison demanded to know.
"I kept mine too!" he said between laughs. Allison smiled and beamed.
"Really?" she asked. Andy nodded.
"It's been in a drawer of my desk at my office!" Andy said. Allison joined in his laughing.
After the laughing subsided, Allison remarked, "Even I can't believe I dressed like that!"
"I looked like such a dope-head back then! And I was. I had no idea how to think for myself. I mean, up until then I had my father and my coach to think for me, then in college Vanessa took over the thinking for me," said Andy.
"Are you pressing charges against her and her brothers?" asked Allison. Andy shook his head.
"Nawh. Well, against her three asshole brothers yeah I will charge battery and assault. But Vanessa...well, she's got her own problems. She may seem entirely evil, but she was really just heartbroken over me. You know what THAT'S like, Allison," Andy said. Allison nodded.
"Heartbreak makes you literally go insane," said Allison, nodding in agreement.
"Yeah. So I'll leave her be. I'll punish her my own special way," said Andy.
"How's that?"
"I'm gonna sell my office and move into the closest apartment I can get to yours!" declared Andy. "Selling the office will royally piss her off, considering she worked so hard to get it for me! All her work in vain, all the money she'll lose, she'll regret ever messing with either of us!" Allison smiled. Andy had a way of thinking sometimes.
"But what will you do? You need a job," said Allison. Andy nodded.
"I'll go back to school. Become a sports anchor like I always wanted to be!" said Andy. Allison smiled and gently embraced her Andy. Suddenly she remembered the envelope. Allison dug it out of her purse.
"What's that?" asked Andy. Allison smiled and broke the seal of the envelope, pouring its contents onto Andy's lap. A large circular patch and a note on loose leaf paper tumbled onto the bed. Andy took the patch first. It was the "State Champion" patch Allison had ripped from his jacket that day in detention 10 years ago! Andy shook his head and snickered. Allison took the paper.
"This was a note I wrote to you when you didn't come home for Christmas '84. At that point I'd gotten pretty sad but still clung to hope that you'd come home. I wrote you a letter and intended to send it to you along with the patch, but I never got the chance to." Andy took the piece of paper from Allison and unfolded it. The words were written in Allison's sprawled handwriting, and elegantly lined holly-borders gave the paper a festive touch. Andy read:
Dear Andy,
I'm really sorry you never made it home for Xmas this year. I understand if you're too busy to call too. I know you wouldn't forget me. I trust you and love you very much. I am still so proud of what you're accomplishing at Ohio State! I'm sending the patch along too. I can't afford any presents, but I really wanted you to have something. So I guess this was it. Andy, no matter what we go through, not matter what happens to us, we have a bond that will remain unbroken until we both die. Even if we both get married to other people and end up a poor bum living on a street corner, or end up some big-shot with money to throw around like nothing, we will always have that bond that nothing can come between us. We are one, Andy. I know that sounds deep and almost disturbing, but it's true. True relationships, romantic or not, last forever. Merry Christmas, my Andy!
Love always and forever,
Allison Portia Reynolds
Andy was in tears by the time he finished the letter. Allison nodded again. "I didn't send it off because it was around that time that Bender left Claire for California and she needed me. Eventually, when I gave up on you and decided to move east, I took nothing but my bag, the clothes on my back, the picture, and this envelope. I vowed I'd never open it unless I found you again. And I did." Allison explained.
"Exactly how did you make it east?" asked Andy. Allison smirked.
"I hitchhiked," she said weakly. Andy gasped.
"You didn't!" he exclaimed.
"I did!" retorted Allison. Andy smiled at Allison. She was right. There was an eternal bond between them that would last forever, came what may. Andy and Allison took hands again, and Allison leaned down and kissed Andy again on the lips. Andy kissed back.
He made a silent vow to himself as they kissed. He vowed he'd never lose what he loved most ever again. Allison was yin and he was yang. The two of them existing together brought balance and harmony. He wouldn't let himself be corrupted and driven away from the most important thing in his life anymore.
Andy sealed that vow with a kiss.
Sign up to rate and review this story