Rent, prequel

Chapter 1: Coming to New York:

Mark: I just graduated from Scarsdale High School. Im going to New York University for film making. My parents don't approve they want me to go into the family business selling shoes. After a year my dad thought that I was hopeless so he cut me off. I had to drop out due to the fact that I had no job.

Collins: I was born to a wealthy family. They put me through college. Until my dad was caught embezzling. He and my mom went to jail and I left and moved to New York and with the money I had left I moved into a old building that used to be a factory.

Roger: Mark and I went to same school. He was two years ahead of me. We had been friends for years. In my freshman year I met my high school love, April. It has always been us three until Mark graduated and moved to New York. After April and I graduated we followed Mark to build on our duet career and Mark's film career. We found a flyer of a man name Collins who was looking for roommates. We then found our home and after dropping out of college a year later Mark joined us.

Mimi: My family is from Puerto Rico. We came over the American Border illegally when I was 3 months old. I grew up on a farm in California. I left home at age 15 vowing that I will get my family enough money to get our own home. I moved to New York by hitch hiking. I couldn't find a job until I met a man. He gave a job working at his strip club, the Cat Scratch Club. Of course I had to lie about my age. All the money I earned I wired back to my family in California. Working day and night for any amount I could possibly earn.

Angel: I grew up in a living family until I came out of closet. They put me through intense therapy trying to scare the gay out of me. In therapy I realized that my family wanted me to change. Ill do one for them but they have to except me for me. That's where I came up with my

motto "Today for you, tomorrow for me" It didn't work out the way I planned. I changed and pretended to be straight for them. They didn't believe me. The tortured me trying to get me to face god. They did get what they want. They did scare me but they scared me out of being a man. I entered my home as a man but left as a confident woman. I loved singing. I moved to New York City to be on broadway. But it didn't work out that way. I had to play drums on a bucket I had found and used that to earn money on street corners. I had music and my body. It was the only way I could afford to live in New York.

Maureen: I grew up in New York with two dads. Both were Broadway stars. So I grew up in theatre. I was in a few shows myself. I went to college at NYU to go into film. I enjoy the stage more than anything but I wanted to be a film star. So I lived at home going to college when I could.

Joanne: I grew up in D.C. I went Harvard. I experimented a bit in college. And then i moved to New York to be a Lawyer. That's about it. I was very privileged.

Chapter 2: Enter Benjamin Coffin III:

Collins: I now had 3 new roommates. But after I lost my job we were still short on the rent. So once again we needed to find new roommates. And that's when we met our new roommate Benny. But with the rent rising we were about to be thrown out in the street.

Roger: Benny had gotten me and April a gig at CBGBs, the Cat Scratch Club, and the Pyramid Club. It had gotten us money for our rent. Just another day in the land of neon and chrome.

Chapter 3: A.I.D.S:

Mimi: I worked day in and day every day. Don't get me wrong, I love my job but after a year of men grabbing at me I needed something to take the edge off. That's when I turned to drugs. I came addicted. Not my finest moment but it's a way to make a living. I slowly stopped wiring money to my family and all it went to getting drugs and the rent of my new apartment. I guess I was just born to be bad. I grew so addicted though that I turned to sharing needles so I would have more money for my addiction. But the good feeling eventually led to my diagnoses of A.I.D.S. It was just a small set back. I continued on with my every day life living as though the today was my last.

Roger: April had a troubled life. She was a drug addict at age 13. She was diagnosed with A.I.D.S. at age 18 from sharing needles right after we moved to New York. I kept it safe when we…got together. But much to my dismay the condom broke. I was diagnosed a year later. I didn't find out until April left a note saying "We got A.I.D.S.". I found it taped to the outside our door. I rushed in only to see a trail of blood leading to the bathroom. When I entered April was sprawled on the floor. She had cut her wrists. I got her to the E.R. A day later she died.

Angel: Since I was a hooker. The reason for my acquired immune deficiency syndrome was simple. Through sex.

Collins: I had gotten A.I.D.S. from a hooker I picked up when I was drunk. (S)he was also was wasted. I had gotten it from them. (It wasn't till later I had found out the peron was to be my true love, Angel.)

Chapter 4: Maureen:

Maureen: Me and my friend, Allison, worked at the Life Café. A group of three men always came in but never bought anything. I had frequent talks with them. One of them had asked me out, Benny. His friend Mark had asked out Allison. Which we went on a double date the next day. Mark and Allison didn't last long though. I had then moved out of Allison's place and moved in with Benny. So one day I crawl into bed and notice that it wasn't just Benny in there but another woman. So naturally I flip out and break up to him.

Mark: After Maureen broke up with Benny, I tried to comfort her. We hooked up much to Benny's dismay. We later find out that the girl Benny was cheating on Maureen with was Allison but he had called her Muffy to cover up who she was. So Benny moved out and moved in with Muffy. He then bought the building from Muffy's dad (we found out the Muffy turned out to be rich) and told us that we could stay for free. Until the power went off. We then knew he had betrayed us.

Chapter 5: Joanne:

Maureen: When I was working late at the café and I got totally wasted. I started talking to some lawyer. We hit it off and we went into the bathroom for a quickie. His name was Joe or something. I later find out that his name wasn't Joe but Joanne. I fell in love. Yes it was weird at first but I felt I could be myself around her. All I had to do was break up with Mark.

Mark: Maureen just told me the news that she was in love with another person. She left the apartment and moved in with her lover. In that moment I knew I would never find someone again. Everyone I dated cheated on me. I was to die alone but at least I had Roger and Collins.

Chapter 6: RENT:

Mark: The power went on and off depending if we could pay the rent. Collins and moved away temporally to work at M.I.T. I knew then that I had to get somewhere with film. So I was going to make a film for the next year. So I started the opening. "We begin…"