I know I'm the umpteenth (or umptwentieth) person to say this, but I loved this story. My first thought was: "Breakfast Club" slash? People write that? This just brought me right back to the days when my friends and I had seen this movie enough to recite all the dialogue. In fact, I *still* remember a lot of it. I still can't see a turkey pot pie without remembering Bender's trip down his family memory lane.

One of the things that I like about the story is how you take small details from the movie (like Brian playing with the pen or Claire giving Bender her earring) and use those to give the characters a sense of continuity.

Bender changes a lot from the beginning to the end, but in a way that feels real and believable and very interesting.

Thanks for the great story.