Early Monday morning, Brian had just finished brushing his teeth and was tiptoeing down the hall towards his room, his hand clasped around his towel to keep it closed as he darted behind his door and shut it as softly as possible. Yesterday, before the weed had taken full effect, he'd set his alarm to wake him up an hour early so he could duck his parents and walk to school. He usually took the bus but he'd always seen Bender and Allison walking to and from. Brian sure wouldn't mind that kind of solitude before he got to the fulltime job that was his high school career and figured it was worth waking up an hour early.

He pulled on a white t shirt that he tucked into his khakis. As he was threading his belt through the loops in his pants he had an idea. He walked to his dresser, opened the drawer he kept his pants in and began shoveling through the pairs and pairs of identical khaki pants until he found what he was looking for. He held up a pair of blue jeans that he only wore when he was at home doing chores. They were faded, with paint stains and thin spots in the knees that had begun to fray. He thought about it for a minute after which he took his khakis off and pulled on the blue jeans which were comfortably worn in, airy and loose in places the other pants definitely weren't. He had to admit, the jeans made him feel good. They made him feel tough and more masculine even. He put his belt on and began to tuck his shirt in but decided to just leave it as is. There was no way his mom would ever let him go to school like this which made him all the more eager to leave before she and his father were done getting ready for work.

He grabbed his jacket, hat and his backpack and crept toward the front door. He gripped the handle and turned it slowly, wincing every time it made a sound. He pulled the door open just enough to get his body through and then repeated the process in reverse on the other side.

The sun had just started to peek over the horizon as Brian started off down the street toward the school; nervously peering over his shoulder periodically to make sure his mother wasn't there.

Claire stood at the end of her driveway waiting for her friends to pick her up. She didn't really want to ride with them but they came to her house everyday like clockwork and she didn't want to stand them up either. So she waited. She'd decided to just try to play it cool until she got to school and if she felt like she couldn't handle it she'd convince her friends to ditch with her again. She could see the headlights of her friend's car coming down the street and she adjusted her hair and clothes.

"Good Morning, gorgeous" one of Claire's friends said as the car pulled up next to her. Claire bent down and looked in the car to see who was inside. Her friend Becky was driving like always but other than Claire herself the passengers were never the same for two days consecutively but always people from within their circle. To ride in Becky's car was sort of a status thing. Like the girls who rode along were Becky's favorites for the day; something Claire did every day since she and Becky were especially close friends. Today their friends Katherine and Danielle were in the back seat and both waved to Claire when she got in. She was relieved that it was people she could stand to be around. Sometimes Becky gave rides to people neither her or Claire could really stomach just for the sake of being nice.

"Good morning, ladies" Claire was good at acting like nothing was bothering her. On the way to school Becky asked, "Why didn't you call me Saturday like you said you would?"

"I was in detention Saturday dumbass" Claire answered, a little bitter about the fact that Becky had also been caught for ditching but didn't have to go to detention. Becky's head jerked back at Claire's reply, "Your dad couldn't get you off the hook?"

"He said he couldn't but I don't think he tried" Claire said as she stared out the window. "I got him back though."

Everyone's curiosity mounted and Danielle spoke up first, "How?"

"I kissed this guy right in front of him when he came to pick me up" Claire stated smugly, realizing only after what she'd just admitted and nearly threw up. The car erupted with the voices of the other three people. Danielle said, "Gross! In front of your dad?" Becky and Katherine asked simultaneously, "Who the hell did you kiss?!" Claire's face once again came close to the shade of her hair and the three couldn't contain their laughter.

"Jesus Christ you're getting red" Becky pointed out. "Who was it?" she asked.

Claire kept her head turned toward the window and said nothing but instead held her breath and hoped they'd drop the subject on their own. After a couple seconds of silence Becky realized that it was probably somebody Claire didn't want everybody knowing she'd kissed and decided that it would be best not to prod further. But the other two were far from finished.

"It was someone you were in detention with, right?" Danielle persisted. Claire remained silent.

"Was it someone we know?" Katherine joined in. At this Claire laughed, "I think so…"

Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds were backing down the driveway about to begin their morning commute to their respective jobs when Allison sprinted out the front door and came barreling down the driveway after them, coat and bag in hand. Mrs. Reynolds noticed Allison giving chase and told her husband to wait. The mop of Allison's thick black hair pushed through the open window as she asked, "Do you think you could give me a ride to school?"

"Sure. Would you like to get some breakfast on the way?" asked her father.

Allison opened the rear passenger door and tossed her bag in, "No thanks. I'm too excited to eat."

She sat down and shut the door. Her heart pounded, partially from running through the house and down the driveway to catch her parents but mostly because of the suspense of the upcoming day. She was going to walk but thought it'd be better to just get there and get it over with. She was tired of waiting.

"We had no idea you were so passionate about academics" her mother said, to which Allison gave no response. She was so nervous she'd begun to sweat in spite of the cold. She chomped on her fingernails as she thought, 'Great, now I'm really going to look like shit.'

Andrew sat in his truck outside Shermer High. He hadn't been able to sleep and decided to leave early, arriving at school before the sun came up and waited. Though he still worried about how the day would pan out he was rather calm. Probably from being tired. Slowly the school buses starting pouring in and he watched everyone come off and gather around their usual hanging spots on the sidewalk and steps out front. Some kids walked into the front door. A few others headed around back toward the bleachers. No sign of Brian. He looked over at the entrance of the parking lot and saw a few cars coming in. Becky Blake's convertible hadn't come in yet so that meant no Claire either. He looked for Bender walking in from possibly any direction but didn't see him anywhere and figured that he'd probably be late if he showed up at all.

For lack of anything better to do, he got out of his truck and headed for the front of the school. He was so enveloped in thought he didn't realize he'd walked past his friends.

"Hey Clark! You too cool to hang with us or something?" Andrew picked his head up and turned around. His two friends Kyle and Rodger wore lettermen jackets identical to the one Andrew chose not to wear today. He walked back to them and said, "Sorry guys. I'm a little out of it today. What's up?"

The two shrugged at each other before Rodger responded, "What's up? What's up with you? Why'd you bail Saturday night after your match?"

Andrew chuckled lightly, "I was a little out of it that day too."

Kyle tapped the shoulders of both boys, pointed behind them and said, "The nerd caravan has arrived."

Andy and Rodger both turned around and saw a group of brainy kids storming out of a bus, scattering out in different directions once they saw the trio. Kyle dropped his bag and burned off after a couple of the horrified honor students.

"Kyle! Fuck those kids, man! Let's just go inside!" Andrew called out.

Rodger set his bag down and slapped Andy on the arm saying, "Come on Drew. This is just what the doctor ordered." He also began pursuing a frightened teen leaving Andrew by himself on the steps of Shermer High. Being a jock suddenly didn't feel so cool.

Bender sat in his room, ready to go to sleep once his dad left for work. He stared unflinchingly at the wall, watching the sunlight slowly creep across it, over rusty nails, small nicks and scuffs, the only method by which John could keep track of the time. There was an inscription on the wall that he'd carved one night after a particularly harsh flogging that read, 'Fucking drunken Nazi TRASH!' Once the light touched the last exclamation point it would be around 6:40am. The light was now about 6 inches passed it and that was evidence enough that his father didn't plan on going to work today. John was irate about going to school just to get 40 winks but anger didn't hinder his decision whatsoever. It's not like his father cared if he went to school or not but John couldn't spend another minute in that house if he was chained to the floor. He couldn't handle an entire day of heavy, board creaking footsteps, the carbonated hiss of beers being opened, the ping of bottle caps hitting the floor, farts, belches, drunken laughs, curses, slammed doors and broken glass. He heard too much of that on a regular day. A prison cell would have been more ideal.

Wearing the same clothes he'd worn the day before, duster and sunglasses in hand, he crawled through the ground level window, into the yard and into the face of a very vicious looking dog. Bender's body went numb as he stared into the snarling maw of sharp teeth. The dog carried an air that seemed to suggest, 'You're mine now.'

Bender gulped hard as he reached into his pocket and fished out a bag of chips leftover from the day before, opening them slowly under the gaze of the fierce canine. He held out the bag and waved his hand carefully in front of the mutt's face until it's nose was buried in bag, devouring the greasy snacks until there was nothing left. John waited for the next move, one arm holding his window open in case he had to dive back in. Skidmark just stood there. He didn't growl or snarl or bark. He just stood with his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he breathed in and out quickly like he'd forgotten to do it while he was eating.

Bender had never seen him so composed before. He almost looked friendly. John stood up and started walking toward the street never taking his eyes off the dog which glance back at him in a similar way. After John was about halfway down the block he turned around to face forward as he walked. There was something surreal in walking away from that mutt since all the years Bender had lived there he'd never known the dog to be docile in any way. He started to wonder if it would just stand there all day so he looked back and noticed that it had moved. It now sat next to a telephone pole about 20 feet down the road behind him. Bender eyed him for a while until he felt confident enough to ignore him and continued. After another few minutes he turned around again and the dog had scooted a little further up the street and now sat in the grass of someone's yard.

"I don't fuckin' believe it" John said after figuring out he was being followed…

Back at Shermer High, Andrew remained on the steps of the school watching buses roll in. He didn't want his friends to catch Brian so he figured he just try and give him a heads up when he arrived but the influx of buses had thinned and he began to wonder if everybody but him had decided to just skip today, a notion that quickly passed once he spotted a bright blue convertible with a black top. When he squinted he could see a mane of red hair through the glass of the windshield.

Inside the car, Claire sighed heavily when she saw Andy on the steps outside school. 'At least it's Andrew' she thought, not knowing how she'd react had it been somebody else from detention. After the car was parked, the girls walked toward the school in an impenetrable formation that parted several groups of people and received stares from many more from within its wake. As the mass of kids on the stairs split to make way, there stood Andrew Clark, unfazed by the relentless march of debutantes. They made sure to wave and bat their eyelashes as they all rang out in unison, "Hi Andyyyy." Andrew smiled and nodded almost out of habit. Laughter ensued as the girls passed but Becky stopped when she realized something was amiss. Claire hadn't said hi or laughed at all and upon inquiry Becky realized that she was no longer walking next to them. She spun around to see where Claire had gone and saw her standing near Andrew. She smiled as she remembered what Claire had talked about in the car, 'Maybe that's who she meant.' She snapped back to reality in time to see Katherine and Danielle walking toward them. She moved quickly to intercept the two, pulling them back toward the schools' entrance.

"What are you doing?" cried Danielle.

"Don't you want to see what that's all about?" asked Katherine pointing at Andrew and Claire.

Becky herded the girls through the front door and replied, "We'll catch up with her later. Let's leave them alone for now."

Outside Claire was asking Andrew if he'd talked to anyone else yet. "No. I was just waiting here" he told her. Claire chuckled, "Just waiting here? Are you going to act like you're not nervous?"

"I'm sure it'd be more noticeable if I weren't tired" Andy chuckled back.

It was getting close to first period and there was still no sign of Bender, Allison or Brian. "It probably wouldn't be so bad if we all met up out here. Nobody would know what to think. People wouldn't have a chance to judge" Claire said as she and the jock stood on the tips of their toes to look over the heads of incoming students, keeping a lookout for a pair of khakis with a Christmas sweater or an overstuffed bag or a pair gloves without fingers. By the time the mob had made their way inside Claire couldn't wait any longer, "Let's go inside. We'll see them later."

Andy turned around but didn't leave his spot, "I'm going to stay here a few more minutes."

"Are you sure?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, I usually sleep through first period anyway" he said as he waved her on.

Claire smiled and said, "Alright. I'll see you at lunch then" before shuffling into the building.

Andrew turned to see if anyone else was walking up when something caught his eye over near the edge of the parking lot. He saw Kyle heading for someone who'd just come in from the road. Andy started heading that way and could hear Kyle saying something to the kid but he couldn't make out what it was. It sounded bad though. The closer he got to them the more familiar the stranger became until he realized who it was and ran over to the two in time to stop Kyle from grabbing hold of Brian. "What's up guys?" Andy made his presence known to the fellow jock who stopped as if he'd forgotten his objective and replied, "Nothing."

Andrew handed Kyle his bag and said, "I think that chick Carrie-Anne was looking for you." The jock's eyebrows snapped upward and he checked his breath before saying, "Hell yeah. I'll catch you later, Clark" and ran toward the side entrance of the school. Andy had a chuckle at the simple yet effective ruse and turned to Brian who looked quite flustered, "You look different" he commented on the brain's choice of clothing.

"These are more comfortable" Brian stammered, his hands still out in front of his body from his encounter with Kyle moments earlier.

Andy laughed as he looked his friend over, "Looks cool, man. Don't take this the wrong way but you don't even look that dorky today."

Brian became less tense, adjusted his backpack and said, "Thanks, I guess." He was pretty amazed that Andrew had approached him in front of one of his regular friends. It wasn't something he was prepared for but it was a pleasant surprise none the less. The two said nothing, instead taking in the fact that they were interacting at school while there were other people there. There was hardly anyone around to see it but the two friends began nodding in satisfaction as they looked around at the few stragglers who were running to get to class before the bell rang, more than likely oblivious to the fact that a jock was mingling with a brain and not because he was paying him to do his homework.

Brian laughed as someone passed right by them, "Not so bad, right?"

"Nah, this is fine" Andrew replied.

Their expressions turned grim as the attendance bell rang and both sprinted toward the main building. Andy reached the giant door first and ripped it open. Brian ran through the entrance without cue followed by the jock. Inside classrooms, the screech of shoes gliding on linoleum could be heard accompanied by occasional laughs as the two accidentally plowed into trashcans, slammed into walls of lockers or tripped and slid across the floor trying to avoid what few student were still trying to get to class. While approaching another junction, Brian tagged Andy's shoulder and said, "We're actually doing this, man."

Andy smiled as he looked around, "Too bad no one is paying attention to us."

Brian looked around and said, "I guess you're right."

Upon reaching the next intersecting hallway Andrew said, "I'll see you later either way" as he headed off down the hall to the right.

"We'll see" Brian said as he turned left and went down the hall in the opposite direction.

He opened the door to his classroom just as his teacher was taking attendance. "I'm here!" he huffed trying to catch his breath, "I'm here."

The portly, middle aged teacher looked at Brian over his reading glassed and replied sarcastically, "Oh. Well thank heavens. I wasn't sure how I was going to teach without you reciting all of the correct answers, Mr. Johnson." The class began to chuckle before he finished, "Since it is not a common occurrence, I will not mark you down as tardy but know that this is not an exception I will make twice. Now take your seat."

Brian thanked the teacher and started walking to his desk. On the way, he felt his jacket snag on something. He looked down and saw Becky Blake lightly tugging at the copper zipper of his coat. He gulped audibly as she gave him a devious smile and said, "Run faster next time… Mr. Johnson." She let go as he passed and he sat down behind his desk, feeling very fortunate that he hadn't worn his tight fitting khakis…

"I hope we're not going to make you too late" George Reynolds said as he looked at his watch.

"It's ok. I appreciate the ride" replied Allison in the backseat. She looked out the window and saw Bender being followed by one of the ugliest dogs she'd ever seen. She stuck her head out the window and waved to him. It took him a second to recognize her but once he did he threw on an archetypal, 1950s, Ozzie & Harriet smile while he aimed his middle finger at the car which was now so far down the street Allison couldn't tell if Bender was waving back or pointing and laughing. She pulled herself back in and pressed her back against the cracked vinyl of the seat, letting the cool wind fling her hair up and down like tiny, dark fingers tracing the features of her face. Her stomach began to tighten when, in the narrow space between her father's headrest and the roof support, she saw the school. She leaned toward the window for a better look and noticed that everybody was inside already but wasn't sure if she should be relieved or upset. The car came to a stop in front of the steps leading up to the front door as Allison's mother tried to explain that they would not be off work in time to pick her up so she would have to walk.

"That's fine. Thanks for the ride" was all she said before exiting the car and quickly walking around to the side entrance to avoid detection by hall monitors. Her parents simply shrugged and drove off.

Once inside, Allison walked through the hallways as stealthily as her squeaking shoes would allow, peeking into classes as she passed them, looking for anybody. She came across one room that had a math class going on inside. She combed the group of kids with her eyes and recognized the back of Claire's head almost immediately. 'Damn, she's lucky. I wish I had math for first period and not have to worry about it the rest of the day' she thought. She looked up at the room number before leaving to peek through more doors, '216, 216, 216.'

As she was about to round another corner she heard the sound of squeaky shoes, someone else's squeaky shoes. She stopped and listened to the footsteps get closer and closer and in a panic began looking for a place to hide, silently walking along a row of lockers until she found one with no lock. She opened the door, climbed in and closed it behind her in time to see a kid with glasses and a bright orange sash round the corner and walk past her as she watched through the slits at the top which seemed like they were made for this exact purpose. Once he was well enough down the hall she opened the door, carefully stepped out and began walking in the opposite direction.

She looked around the corner of another hall and saw a different hall monitor walking away from where she was so she began tiptoeing across when her shoe let out an abnormally loud squeak that echoed through the long corridor and roused the attention of the patrol she was trying to avoid but by the time he turned around she'd already crossed the hall and was now walking hastily toward the end of the next, periodically looking over her shoulder to see if she had been discovered. After looking for a third time she saw the hall monitor following her and calling after her. She looked forward and quickened her pace, ignoring the 'hey you's and the 'you need a hall pass's. She could hear his pace quicken as well and adjusted her own accordingly until they were both at a mild jog. She turned a corner and entered the first door she came across…

Outdoors, Bender had stopped outside the schools perimeter and taken another bag of chips out of his pocket. Skidmark sat and eyed the bag with his jaw hanging open and drool cascading from the corners of his mouth. John waved the open bag high out of the dogs reach and said, "I'm glad you're not trying to eat me anymore but it's high time that you fuck off." He then tossed the bag as far as he could and watched the dog run after it in a drool dripping frenzy waiting for it to come down. He then took the opportunity to leave and disappeared behind the main building heading for the bleachers.

Under the bleachers there were several people that John saw almost every day he actually came to school but rarely spoke to. Some kids got up and moved when they saw him while others respectfully nodded to which he generally responded with a nod, some of the kids didn't even go to this school and were just there to hang out with friends but everyone kept to themselves. Everyone came here to avoid something so it went without saying that the peace had to be maintained and that bullshit or grab ass of any kind would not be tolerated. Bender had no problem with this since he was almost always holding and today was no exception. He sat down in his usual spot and lit up a cigarette, taking a deep drag and letting it roll out of his nose and mouth as he leaned back against a support beam and let his head rest on the cold steel. To him it was totally normal to feel more comfortable here on the ground than at home in the basement…

Allison had ended up in what looked like a large supply room. She saw a set of stairs that led down into the basement so she went down to lessen the probability of being discovered. All was dark at the bottom of the stairs but she noticed light coming from a room about 30 feet away. She crept through the dark, sliding along the wall as she tried to forget about her memories of "A Nightmare on Elm Street." She could hear music as she got closer to the doorway of the room but she didn't realize how close she was to a shelf and bumped into it; knocking a couple things off it and making her heart skip at the same time. Inside the room she heard something stirring and a looming shadow came into the doorway.

"Who the hell is that?" a voice called out as bright overhead lights came on and illuminated the room. Allison looked up from the fetal position she'd assumed and saw Carl, the janitor, standing in the doorway. "Jesus, are you alright kid?" he asked as he stepped out of the room a little to check on the frightened basket case. Allison noticed a can of beer in his hand which he quickly swung behind his back and said, "Uh… You shouldn't be down here. It's cool if you're ditching class, I won't tell anyone but it really isn't safe down here."

Allison stood up and said, "Sorry. I was just curious to see what was down here. I'll leave."

"Hey" Carl called out as she turned to leave, "You're one of those kids that was here Saturday for detention. What the hell did you guys get into? There was a hell of a mess for me to clean up."

Allison chuckled unintentionally and said, "I'm really, really sorry. We didn't mean to wreck the place."

Carl smiled and said, "Eh its ok. I'll let you guys have that one for free. But if you do it again you're staying and helping me."

Allison smiled and nodded before she started to leave. Carl took a sip of his beer and called out to her, "Hey, if you walk up the stairs, take a left and go out the door all the way at the end you'll come out near the bleachers, if you're trying to ditch class that is."

She took his advice and was soon outside near the bleachers. Underneath, she could see someone lying down in the dirt on the far end and knew it could only be one person. Some of the people there didn't even stop talking to look up at her when she passed while she could feel the eyes of others following her every move. A few kids played cards and some drank liquor hidden in soda cans and a couple simply read books. There was a boy and girl making out next to a water fountain and some more kids huddled in a circle puffing joints. The whole thing kind of reminded Allison of an old west movie where the stranger walks into a safe haven of outlaws. She was an outsider here but that's how everyone here had started out. She shuffled through the dirt until she came across a familiar flannel-clad burnout that was passed out on the ground with a cigarette burnt down to the filter hanging out of his mouth.

She nudged Bender's leg with the toe of her Chuck Taylor and received no response. She nudged a little harder but John remained motionless on the ground, evidently in a deep sleep. Allison huffed, at a loss of what do to. She slung her bag off her shoulder and it dropped onto the ground next to Bender's head. She took a quick look around before kneeling down to sit. She pressed her shoulder against the steel beam next to her and suddenly a gloved hand moved in front of her face so quickly that she couldn't react or see what it was holding until she heard a click and saw a blade fling out about six inches from her nose. She jolted backward, landing in the dirt and looked up at a wide awake John Bender who was viciously staring back at her. She caught her breath as he folded the blade back into the handle and put it in his pocket.

"You're not the only one with quick hands, just remember that" he said as he lied back down, lifting his head once more to say, "And watch who you poke with your shoe. You're lucky you didn't lose a toe." With that his head hit the dirt and he was once again out cold. Allison's jaw twitched as she shifted back into a comfortable position. Could she really call this a successful first encounter? He hadn't told her to leave. He woke up, took his knife and went back to sleep. She started to wonder if everything about John Bender was that simple.