Andrew Clark, Front and Center

Monday, September 10th, 2018

My Apartment

Brooklyn, New York 11211

Dear John Hughes,

As you already know, I have been writing letters about your characters. The last one I wrote was to Mr. Vernon, and I thought it would make more sense because, duh. But now I want to write to you on a different, more relatable subject matter.

Andrew Clark. The “Jock.” This letter is about him, and how I relate to him just like I did with Allison... but I want to tell you a little story first.

Recently I had a very short “Breakfast Club” type love story. I don't believe it’s over, I’m waiting to see what will happen Monday morning. Though Monday has come and gone in my love story, I still have hope I will see him again.

I won't announce the name of my love, so I will just call him Amor. Amor is a Minor League Baseball player. Recently Amor had his dreams come true, he was moved up the ranks and got to start in his first Major League Game. While all this was happening... we met. It was crazy even for me. As we were talking, I only thought of us as friends. I have a golden rule: NEVER DATE AN ATHLETE (especially one on your favorite team). I honestly can't explain to you what happened because it still boggles my mind to this very moment, I’m a very spiritual person but when we officially met in person... it was like nothing I have ever felt before. I knew from the first moment I looked at him, there was no way we were just going to be friends; and I was right. But unfortunately it was fleeting. 2 months of pure bliss went by including teaching each other’s languages, trips to Philly to see him pitch and Tampa to see him when he hurt his shoulder. This young man showed me more love than anyone before him in a short period of time. Sadly, it all finally got to him, scared in a foreign country (he's from Central America), not being able to speak the language I speak or vice versa, and to add onto that, women were coming onto him left and right (because let’s be honest, bitches are thirsty for athlete money). So he left me. It is funny though; through our relationship, we knew it would be coming to a goodbye, but not to an end. Just like in this movie, we gave each other tokens of our love. He gave me his shirt he wore during his first major league game and his ball; his first pitch/strike out at Yankee Stadium. Though I did not let him see me cry (thank God the lights were out), I must tell you I did not take the ball; I couldn't. It was the sweetest gesture I’ve ever been given, but I had to make sure he kept this amazing accomplishment with him. Mine wasn’t as special, but for a token of my love, I gave him a bracelet to keep him safe, to protect him from harm as someone had already tried to harm him while we were together. I had my Breakfast Club moment, my “don't you forget about me”.

This short relationship opened my eyes to Andrew even more than before. Andrew, a kid who is the king of high school... the ‘Varsity letterman’ star athlete. He should be owning his place, but he hates his place. He wishes his knee would give so he wouldn't have to deal with his father anymore. He wants all the pressure to just end, but his one major flaw was that he couldn't think for himself. These parts of Andy are evident in the movie, but what I learned from Amor was why they were evident. Amor showed me how pressure can really change a person and make them fall victim to what others tell them to do. He also opened my eyes as to why Andrew fell for Allison as well. Allison saw Andrew for whom he was, she was the only one who noticed he wasn't being himself and was doing what other people told him to do. One of my favorite parts with the two of them is when they are headed to get everyones lunch. Andrew comes up with a bullshit speech to impress Allison and she sees right past it.

"Thats very interesting. Now why don't you tell me why you're really in here."

This is why I believe he fell for her. He loved that she saw him for him, and not as the jock (just as I saw Amor).

Let’s focus on Andrew not being able to think for himself. It is the reason you wrote him into detention after all. Andy is a good guy at heart. You can tell because throughout the movie, he constantly stood up for Claire and Brian, but sadly his friends change him. They make him believe he should be like them. This is why Andy tapes Larry’s “buns together”. He starts getting self conscious about the fact that he hasn't torn into anyone like his friends have and believes he must to continue his roll as the jock. Not only that, but he has his father screaming at him to win in the back of his head. During Andy’s epic monologue, you could see how destroyed he was for what he did. It was a major break through for him, realizing how much he lets other people’s opinions control his mind. I have to say that this is the only type of athlete that you date, because he is the type who will grow up and finally be himself whether his friends care or not.

As I said before, I always promised myself never to date an athlete, but I found my Andy out of the bunch. Sadly, he hasn't stopped listening to his friends though and I can't make him do that. Allison knew she wouldn't be able to do this either, that’s why you had her take a piece of his jacket at the end of the movie so she that she would always remember him, right?

I have to ask you, why do you believe we change for people? Why do people do what others tell them at the expense of their own happiness? I sit here as I write to you, wondering this. Andrew could have it all if he just stood up for himself. You can tell he loves competing but he hates the pressure that his peers and father put on him. We all go through this in life. I lost a love because of it and I personally go through it everyday as a model: constantly changing myself and looking good for others to get a job. I wouldn't say that I change for my friends though; if you don't like me fuck off, but for my job, everyday. I put on heels, I walk out the front door, and I go to a casting call and put on a face that I hope the director will like and hire me for. Why can't I just put on heels and walk out the front door and be myself?

You’re not here to see this but we live in a world where the Andrews of the movie have doubled. Not the jock aspect but the fake personas; the ‘How do I make everyone else happy?’, and the ‘Tell me what to do and I’ll become that’, with Instagram, Twitter and Facebook at the forefront of this change.

I really hope when Monday comes around, Andrew says, “fuck it” and says hello to Brian without cutting him up to his friends and still continues to be with Allison. We will never know, but I have hope for Andy. His character is so strong, even though he doesn't see it. I hope this day in detention you gave him makes him realize he has the potential to be who he is, and to have respect from his peers and father, if he just stood up to them.

Pressure can be a bitch of a thing. We all have to go though it in our day-to-day lives, some more than others. Andy and Brian probably had the worst amounts of pressures on them and yet they are polar opposites. This movie you created, a movie I love, doesn't just show we are all a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. This movie shows us we all have pressure put upon us. Some are just better at hiding it.

Sincerely yours,

Dani