Five hundred twenty-five thousand. Six hundred minutes. Five hundred twenty-five thousand Moments so dear. Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes.
How do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee, in inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes: How do you measure a year in the life? How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love…Seasons of love. Seasons of love!
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes! Five hundred twenty-five thousand journeys to plan. Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?
In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried. In bridges he burned, or the way that she died!
It's time now to sing out, tho' the story never ends…let's celebrate: remember a year in the life of friends Remember the love! Remember the love! Seasons of love!
Oh you got to got to Remember the love! Remember the love, you measure in love know that love is a gift from up above Seasons of love. Share love, give love spread love Measure measure you life in love!
December 24th, 1989, 9 PM, Eastern Standard Time. From here on in: I shoot without a script. See if anything comes of it. Instead of my old shit. Life isn't exactly easy here on the streets. Tennant city. "Home" is the last thing on my mind to call this place. It hasn't been good lately. My filming career isn't working out the way I anticipated it. Living with my best friend, Sonic, is all good but in the end, the rent comes up.
Heh. Rent. The one thing that's putting all of our dreams on hold. We barley have any money to get food for ourselves. Every since Shadow left, he's been really hard on Sonic and me. He used to be a pretty cool guy but now, it's all about the benefits for him. He's a cheapskate. He'll pretty much do anything to get attention. That just pisses me off. I hate this life that I have.
Oh sorry. Where are my manners? I'm Miles Prower. Friends call me Tails. I'm a two-tailed kitsune fox. I do photography and filming. It's always been a passion of mine. Well, not always…but it's a good thing to do when you get bored. Just you and your camera…snapping some pics of the "entertainment" around you.
But quite frankly, getting mugged and beat up isn't' exactly entertainment. Almost Christmas too...just great…we don't' have any money at all to get presents. Sigh….well it's no biggie. Better get to work. It's going to be a long night.
An old bum sprayed some liquid on a car. "DID YOU HEAR ME OR NOT?" yelled the man in the car. The bum wiped the liquid off the car. "I SAID MY CAR IS FINE!" He drove off in a huff. Off the corner, a figure sighed. He put his miniature camera down on the front of his small bike. "Well this is going to be easy…" the figure chuckled. He hopped onto his bike and entered the highway street.
The figure had on a brown jacket with a nicely made plaid T-Shirt underneath. He was a fox/humanoid with yellow fur. Some of his white chest hair crept out of the top of the T-Shirt. He wore jeans with two cuts on the back for his two tails to come out. He looked no older than 19 at the least.
How do you document real life when real life's getting more like fiction each day? Headlines, bread lines blow my mind and now this deadline "Eviction - or pay" RENT!
He sped past bums and oil barrels of fire. He and his friend lived together in a small apartment and neither of them had enough money to pay their rent. Eviction was only a few days away and things wouldn't be good. In the apartment room was another figure. He sat on the leather couch with a finely tuned guitar in his hands. He was a blue hedgehog/humanoid. He wore a black denim jacket with bluish pants and red gym shoes. His emerald eyes glowed slightly in the dark.
How do you write a song when the chords sound wrong, though they once sounded right and rare? When the notes are sour, where is the power you once had to ignite the air?
The light had shut off. The hedgehog hopped of the couch and made his way to a control box. He flipped a few switches. The fox entered with the bike fitted nicely on his shoulder.
And we're hungry and frozen.
Some life that we've chosen.
How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay? Last year's rent?
The phone rang. The fox made his way to it and picked the receiver up. "Hello?" he said. "Hey guess who's back in town? It's Knuckles man! Throw the keys down Tails!" Tails smirked. Knuckles was a very close friend of Sonic and Tails'. Tails walked to the balcony and looked down. Below him was another figure. He was an echidna/humanoid with red fur.
He had dreadlocks and two NIKE swish style white stripes on his chest. He wore white gloves with spikes on the top. His attire consisted off a bandanna hat, a dark brown trench coat, dark brown pants, and spiked style boots. Tails tossed the keys to Knuckles who caught them with ease. The echidna made his way to the alleyway leading to the backdoor.
Unfortunately, some gangster wolves were waiting for him. One of the wolves made an attempt to grab Knuckle's jacket. With a swift move of his feet, the echidna fired a rapid set of quick punches and kicks. "What the hell is your problem man?" yelled one of the wolves. Knuckles made a run for it. Before he was even halfway down the alleyway, Knuckles was tackled to the ground and mugged. The wolves tore off his jacket and one of them punched him twice in the stomach. They ran off, like the cowards they were, leaving Knuckles badly beaten and hurt on the ground.
Meanwhile inside the apartment, Sonic and Tails were busily tearing off sheets of paper and throwing them inside a barrel.
How do you start a fire when there's nothing to burn and it feels like something's stuck in your flue?
How can you generate heat when you can't feel your feet?
And they're turning blue!
You light up a mean blaze!
With posters!
And screenplays!
How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay? Last year's rent?
How do you stay on your feet when on every street it's "trick or treat" and tonight its "trick"? "Welcome back to town" I should lie down everything's brown, and uh-oh…I feel sick…
Where is he?
Getting dizzy
How we gonna pay?
How we gonna pay? How we gonna pay? Last year's rent!
"The music ignites the night with passionate fire"
"The narration crackles and pops with incendiary wit"
Zoom in as they burn the past to the ground!
And feel the heat of the future's glow! How do you leave the past behind when it keeps finding ways to get to your heart? It reaches way down deep and tears you inside out 'Til you're torn apart…Rent!
As this was going on, a black car drove up to the middle of the street. The tenants surrounded it, forcing the man to get out. He was a hedgehog/humanoid as well just like Sonic except his fur was black, his quills had red streaks in them, his chest had white fur on it, and his eyes were red.
How can you connect in an age. Where strangers, landlords, lovers, your own blood cells betray! What binds the fabric together when the ringing, shifting winds of change keep ripping away!
Draw a line in the sand and then make a stand!
Use your camera to spar
Use your guitar
When they act tough - you call their bluff
We're not gonna pay
We're not gonna pay. We're not gonna pay! Last year's rent! This year's rent! Next year's rent Rent, rent, rent, rent, rent…We're not gonna pay rent! 'Cause everything is RENT!
The black hedgehog sighed. "Didn't need to make a full scale song out of it…Hey bum! Get your ass of the RANGE ROVER." The bum moved with a grunt.
"Hey Shadow! That attitude to the homeless is exactly what Amy is protesting!" yelled Tails from the balcony. "Amy is protesting losing her performance space! Not my attitude!" Yelled back Shadow. "Come down. I want to talk to ya." Tails left. Sonic looked down and his eyes caught a sexy batgirl beneath him. She looked up back at him and winked at him. Sonic sighed and left.
Shadow drove his car up to the curb and parked it. He climbed out and proceeded to rip the signs off the garage door nearby the apartment. Tails came out with his camera. "Close up. Shadow Coffin III. Our ex roommate who married Cosmo Gray of the Westport Grays. His father in law bought several buildings on the block and a nearby vacant lot, home to tent city. Shadow hopes to evict all the homeless from Tent City and build a cyber studio."
Shadow smirked. He turned to the bleu hedgehog. "Sonic. You're looking good for a guy coming off a year of withdrawal." Sonic glared. "What do you want Shadow?
Shadow tore another poster off. "Well my investor-"
"You mean your father in law?" interrupted Tails. " Right. He read about Amy's performance in the VILLAGE VOICE. He got pissed and sent me here to collect the rent."
Tails looked at Sonic then back at Shadow. "What rent?" Shadow chuckled. "This past years rent, which I let slide." Sonic slid off the truck hood that he was sitting on. "You said we were golden!"
"When you bought the building." Shadow shot back. "We were roommates! Remember, you lived here?" said Tails. " How could I forget? You, me, Knuckles, and Amy. How is the drama queen?" said Shadow as he tore down another poster. "She's getting ready for a performance."
"I know." Said Shadow. "Still her production manager?" he asked. "Not exactly." Replied Tails. "Still dating her?" Tails sighed. "I was dumped." Shadow stopped. "She got a new man?"
"Well….No." Shadow turned to the fox and hedgehog. "What's his name?" Sonic and Tails spoke at the same time. "Sally." There was an awkward silence that Shadow broke by laughing. "Well thanks for being so understanding….." remarked Tails. "You expect sympathy from a guy who shut off our power on Christmas Eve?" remarked Sonic. "Got your attention, didn't' it?" said Shadow.
What happened to Shadow? What happened to his heart and the ideals he once pursued?
And the owner of that lot next door has a right to do with it as he pleases
Happy birthday, Jesus!
The rent
You're wasting your time
We're broke
And you broke your word - this is absurd
There is one way you won't have to pay
I knew it!
Next door, the home of Cyberarts, you see and now that the block is re-zoned. Our dream can become a reality! You'll see boys! You'll see boys! A state of the art, digital, virtual interactive studio. I'll forego your rent and on paper guarantee that you can stay here for free if you do me one small favor…
What?
Convince Amy to cancel her protest
Why not just get an injunction or call the cops?
Yeah, I did, and they're on stand-by but my investors would rather I handle this quietly.
You can't quietly wipe out an entire tent city then watch "It's a Wonderful Live" on TV!
You want to produce films and write songs? You need somewhere to do it! It's what we used to dream about! Think twice before you pooh-pooh it! You'll see boys…You'll see boys…You'll see: the beauty of a studio that lets us do our work and get paid. With condos on the top whose rent keeps open our shop. Just stop the protest and you'll have it made. You'll see - or you'll pack.
A/N How am I doing so far? Hopefully this will be much better later on. For now...enjoy what you have.