The Brooder - Andrew Clark

Chapter 4

 A/N: BOLD WILL REPRESENT PARENTS CONVERSATION THAT BENDER IMITATES.

Finally, everyone was settled down, but no one was at their original table. Bender was now sitting in front of Kayla and Brian. Andrew was sitting at the table next to them that Bender had occupied. Kayla was once again hiding her face in her sleeves, trying to make herself small when the door creaked open. She peeked over her arms and saw Andrew staring at her. However, he quickly turned around when he saw her looking. Blushing, she glanced away as Carl, the custodian, entered. After emptying the trash out of the office, he smiled at them. "Brian, Kayla, how you doing?" Kayla lifted her head slightly to smile at him and wave, while Brian looked embarrassed. Carl was always kind to them, saying hello and making bullies go away if he was near. It irked Kayla that Brian acted like he was. Any other time, he'd have smiled and said hello. Bender turned to look at them with a smirk. "Your dad work here?" He asked them. Kayla scowled as Carl seemed upset at Brian's behavior. She got even more irritated when she saw Andrew chuckling at Bender's remark. Not twenty minutes ago, the two were fighting, and now they were acting like buddies. Kayla shook her head and hid her face again, missing Andrew's frown at her reaction. He didn't like it when she got mad, especially if she was upset with him. He'd always liked the girl, but never had the guts to talk to her. Bender once again attempted to stir the pot as he addressed Carl. "Uh, Carl?" He began. She heard Carl respond, asking what he wanted to which Bender replied, "Can I ask you a question?"

Kayla peeked over her arms again as she watched the interaction. "Sure." Carl said simply, waiting for whatever Bender wanted. "How does one become a janitor?" Bender asked. Carl scoffed and leaned on the counter as he regarded Bender. "You want to be a janitor?" She watched as Bender shook his head and said, "No, I just want to know how one becomes a janitor. Because Andrew here is very interested in pursuing a career in the custodial arts." She frowned as Carl shook his head. "Oh, really? You guys think I'm just some untouchable peasant? Peon?" he asked. "Huh? Maybe so but following a broom around after shitheads like you for the past eight years I've learned a couple of things...I look through your letters, I look through your lockers...I listen to your conversations, you don't know that, but I do...I am the eyes and ears of this institution my friends. By the way, that clock's twenty minutes fast!" Kayla laughed as she waved goodbye to Carl, hearing Allison chuckle behind her as well. She watched as Brian looked at his watch and swore, just now realizing that the clock was, in fact, fast.

Another fifteen or so minutes later, Bender began whistling the "Colonel Bogie's March." After a few notes, all of them began to whistle with him, which is how Mr. Vernon found them when he walked in. When Bender saw him, he switched it up and whistled the first part of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Vernon glared at Bender but didn't respond to the whistling. "Alright, girls, that's thirty minutes for lunch." Kayla sat up as Andrew scoffed and asked "Here?" Vernon glared at him and nodded. "Here." Vernon confirmed. Andrew sat back in his chair and replied, "Well I think the cafeteria would be a more suitable place for us to eat lunch in, sir." Vernon was easily irritated as he placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Well, I don't care what you think, Andrew." He responded. Bender chimed in then with a smirk. "Uh, Dick? Excuse me, Rich...will milk be made available to us?" Andrew nodded in agreement and smiled as he said, "We're extremely thirsty, sir." Claire licked her lips and joined in softly. "I have a really low tolerance for dehydration." Andrew fought laughter as he nodded and said, "I've seen her dehydrate sir, it's pretty gross." Kayla pursed her lips and fought laughter as she turned her head away from the scene. Bender started to stand up with another smirk. "Relax," he said. "I'll get it."

Vernon wasn't having it as he stepped forward and pointed at Bender. "Ah, ah, ah grab some wood there, bub!" He exclaimed. "What do you think, I was born yesterday? You think I'm gonna have you roaming these halls?" Kayla watched as he gestured at Andrew and said, "You." Kayla watched as Vernon glanced around and saw Andrew point towards Claire, making her roll her eyes. Vernon pointed directly at her and said "You." Causing Kayla's mouth to drop open. He then pointed at Allison behind her and said, "And you! Hey! What's her name? Wake her up! Wake her up!" he said loudly. "Come on, on your feet missy! Let's go! This is no rest home!" As the three of them climbed to their feet and began walking towards the front, Vernon spoke again. "There's a soft drink machine in the teacher's lounge. Let's go!" Allison grabbed Kayla's hand while they watched Andrew sulkily begin to walk with them.