Gutsy: A John Bender (Breakfast Club) Story

Rule Breakers

I don't follow the rules, but not the same way as John Bender. Bender breaks the rules, I just find loopholes in them. He barely knew who I was before I became a member of the Breakfast Club. The whole school thinks I'm crazy, but weirdly enough they respect me. I choose not to fit in to any of their socialite groups. Instead, I choose to be friends with everyone. That's why I decided to learn more about John Bender.

John is smart, downright brilliant if you actually pay attention to him. You wouldn't know it though from his grades and what you hear from the teachers. He has a grudge against the world and hates conforming as much as I do. But unlike me he has a mouth like a sailor, a fiery temper, and no manners unless he chooses to.

The first time I saw John at school I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was going places. He held court over a group of druggies and goths, swearing up a storm while spelling out a tale of derring do. The story was crazy, pure nonsense, but he kept his audience captivated. That caught my attention. Then I realized something else, his peers actually believed him. Gullible people who believe horse hockey are not rare, but the people who get them to actually take the bait are. You have to be a real smooth character to manipulate the way John did.

I've always been drawn to those who are different and John was no exception. At that moment I had no idea who this obnoxious smooth talker was, but I wanted to find out. Over the years I had sort of made it my personal business to find out the who's who in school. Mostly because it's fun to watch what they do and learn from them...usually because I could exploit them much to my parents' annoyance. It doesn't help that I'm super smart either. I have perfected the deadpan smart comment and look like nothing in the world ruffles me.

My cold smarty pants act is what got me into detention. Actually, I wanted to get a detention. Yes, I know that crazy, but bear with me. I was the new kid at school, I had finally found out who the oddball in the hall was (John Bender, duh!) and I needed a way to study him further. Plus, when I found out that some of the school's high-end socialites would also be there it was obvious that I had to get detention too. It would be an excellent place to analyze all the echelons of the high school all at once.

There were six of us in detention that day. Claire, the princess and prom queen, Brian the nerd, Andrew the jock and all around athlete, Allison the basket case, Bender the criminal, and myself, Laura, the self-made brainiac and oddball. Detention changed us. I never would have guessed it, something that still annoys me. What's the point of being smart if you can't predict the future?

Vernon the principal is a class A jerk (and a lot of other unprintable names) with major self-esteem issues, but his identity crisis was the catalyst that brought the Breakfast Club together. Sometimes all it takes is a common enemy to bring people to an understanding. And in my case to get John Bender to know my name.

I like first names. They're more personal. People belong to their names and are shaped by them. Last names and nicknames annoy the heck out of me. So do titles like "Jock" and "Brain". Sheesh! It's like calling all Labradors, "Hey, Lab!" So stupid. That being said, I address everyone I meet by their name whether they like it or not. It's safe to say that when I spoke to John, and addressed him as "John," and not Bender, I got his attention. 

It weirded him out that I would even think to call him John. Something he wouldn't admit to me until the next Monday at school. I wasn't exactly sure what things would be like after that fateful Saturday, but I did know that I had a much better handle on what was happening inside the school. I hate to say it, but the epiphany for the others that they really weren't all that different was not a newsflash for me. All highschoolers deal with the same fears of insecurity and the unknown no matter what kind of background they come from. Everyone just feels like they are the only ones because people are 'too cool' to say stuff like that.