The Mute - a Breakfast Club story - John Bender x Original Character

Chapter 3 - The geniuses

When she breaks out, it's because she hears the dreaded voice of Mr. Vernon calling to everyone. She slams her book shut, making a thud echo through the library. Immediately she senses the tension in the air, and Bender stares at her for another second. This time, however, she manages to rip her eyes away from his and look down the hallway to see Barry Manilow-- Uh, Mr. Vernon, working at his desk, shaking his head. Probably about something Bender said, Edith thinks, and looks around the room carefully, trying not to disturb anyone or call attention to herself. 

The jock, Edith thinks his name is Andrew, mutters something to himself and Bender very visibly rolls his eyes. Edith would smirk at the way they so actively hate each other, but it seems that Andrew's now looking at her with contempt, and so she begins to stare at the bookcases. She can make out a couple titles, but nothing more. Edith stares at the door, clenching her jaw and wishing it would just slam shut, never to be opened again. Until they had to leave, of course, then she would like to get out of the library at some point. 

As if Bender could hear her thoughts, he spoke up, making Claire groan. "What do you say we close that door?" He shoves himself out of his seat, something metal on him jingling with every step. "We can't have any kind of party with Vernon checking us out every few seconds."

"Well, you know the door's s'posed to stay open..." the nerdy kid, Johnson, says. He looks visibly nervous talking to everyone, and Edith shakes her head lightly. Just don't talk to anyone, then. 

"So what?" Bender retorts from his newfound place on the library stair railing.  

"So why don't you just shut up? There's four-- five other people in here you know." Edith groans as he flicks his gaze back to her, inadvertently raising an eyebrow when their eyes meet.

"God, you can count. See, I knew you had to be smart to be a, a wrestler." His face twists to a mocking one, and Edith purses her lips to keep from smiling. Bender glances at her briefly and smirks, then turns back when Andrew, the infinite resource of knowledge, opens his trap again.

 "Who the hell are you to judge anybody anyway?" He asks, Claire tacking on a "really" to it, just as Edith thought. She doesn't have anything real to say, but she feels the need to be a part of the conversation. Interesting, Edith thinks as she wonders what that would be like.

"You know, Bender...you don't even count." Edith furrows her brow as Andrew continues talking. "I mean, if you disappeared forever it wouldn't make any difference. You may as well not even exist at this school." Edith scowls, and it seems Bender is wearing a matching expression. Great, she's so glad she has to spend the rest of the day with this genius named Andrew Clark. 

"Just because they don't care about every in and out of your fucking life doesn't mean they don't matter..." Edith mutters to herself. The library's so quiet, however, that everyone proceeds to turn in their chair to look at her. 

"Did you say something, sweets? I didn't know you could do that." Bender asks, jumping off the railing to walk over to her table. She continues staring down at the cover of her book, picking at the strings wearing away. 

Everyone in the room waits for an answer, but she doesn't give one. He scoffs and returns to his place on the stairs, continuing the previous conversation like nothing ever happened. Good.

"Well. I'll just run right out and join the wrestling team." Andrew and Claire glance at each other, smiles evident on their faces and snickers making their way to Edith's ears. Bender merely turns to Claire, continuing to speak and cutting off their giggles.

"Maybe the prep club too! Student council..." 

"No, they wouldn't take you." Andrew says, taking this all to seriously. Bender responds quickly, snipping off the end of his statement.

"I'm hurtin'."

"You know why guys like you knock everything?" She begins, annoyance painted all over her face.

"Oh, this should be stunning." Bender mutters, rolling his eyes again. That's really all you can do when you're talking to the populars, Edith thinks. 

"It's cause you're afraid." She finishes, looking proud of herself for making the smallest attempt to understand another human being. Bender continues his act of a 15 year old kid who absolutely loves Claire and Andrew, playing it to a tee. Edith would know, she sees hundreds of them every day.

"Oh, God! You richies are so smart, that's exactly why I'm not heavy in activities!" He grins a little at Edith, but the moment is short-lived since she quickly glances away. Claire continues, unfazed but getting unfortunately louder. 

"You're a big coward..." She narrows her eyes and stares at Bender with a withering, condescending expression. 

"I'm in a math club." Nerdy Johnson states to no one in particular. Edith turns to him, staring for a bit. He eventually met her gaze, glancing around nervously until she gave him a small smile. He nodded, both of them a bit awkward but clearly enjoying the no-pressure communication. Eventually, though, they turned back to the ever-more-interesting conversation at hand. 

"See, you're afraid that they won't take you. You don't belong so you just have to dump all over it." Claire keeps talking, even though Edith is sure almost no one is interested.