Title: The Singer and The Stripper
Summery: Maureen always wanted to be a famous singer/actress, but, her parents told her that was unrealistic. So, she got a job as a drama teacher at an elite private school and coaches the school's show choir. Joanne was disowned as her teenager by her parents after revealing she was a lesbian, so, she turned to stripping to support herself, which led her to developing a drug addiction. One faithful night, these two lost souls meet. Will they fall in love or destroy each other?
Author's Note: I wanted to switch Maureen and Joanne's roles for once so Maureen was the responsible and monogamous one and Joanne was unstable and promiscuous. Also I LOVE the character Idina Menzel plays on Glee. I can totally see her actually coaching a show choir for real. So please read and review. Enjoy xD
Disclaimer: I do not own Rent or Idina Menzel's character on Glee. *Sigh*
High School is Hard for Adults Too
Maureen Johnson sat in the teacher's lounge of Milton Preparatory School, drinking a cup of cold black coffee and eating a few plain crackers. It was six-forty in the morning and she was sure that, besides the security guards she saw on her way in here, she was only teacher there. She wasn't suprised. Teachers were suppose to report to the school by seven-fifteen, since class started at seven-forty five, but most of them didn't show up til the last minute. Not her. Maureen took her job as drama teacher very seriously. She wanted to be prepared for the day's lesson and whatever questions her students might ask.
You know how when you ask graduating high school seniors what they want to do with their life and they give practical answers like doctor, lawyer, or teacher? Well, Maureen had said actress/singer. She believed that with hard work and determination, she would one day grace Broadway's majestic stage just like her idol, Julie Andrews, had done before her. She had even saved up some money from her job working as a waitress at a popular restaurant, so, she could take singing and acting lessons. Her parents, Martha and Victor, did not believe in their daughter's dream. They had told Maureen that there was no guarantee that she would ever make it to an off Broadway show, let alone an actual show on Broadway. Martha instructed her daughter to take the money she saved and put it towards college, so, she could have a real career, instead of spending her life starving and homeless just so she could chase an impossible dream. Reluctantly, Maureen obeyed her parents' wishes and went to college, majoring in drama and art. Upon graduating, Victor managed to pull some strings and got Maureen a job at Milton Prep. At first, Mauren did not enjoy working there. The students were stuck up, the staff was rude, and no one took the time out to even find out Maureen's name. But, after a few weeks, the sudents started warming up to her, the staff got friendlier(well, some of them, anyways), and before long everyone knew Maureen. She even made some friends. Mark Cohen, the film teacher, Roger Davis, the music teacher, and her best friend, Tom Collins, the computer teacher. Maureen had even bought the boys to her parents' annual Christmas party last year where Victor had bonded with them, but, Martha had given attitude to Roger and Collins. She had warmed up to Mark immediately, asking him a thousand questions, incuding if he liked Maureen in that way. Maureen was so humiliated, pulling Mark away before her mom could do anymore damage, but, when they had made their way to the dinner table, Mark had admitted that he did like her a lot. He even went as far as to say that he had actually cried the first time he heard Maureen sing at a show choir rehearsal. Maureen was flattered, but, she didn't see Mark as a boyfriend, but, she didn't want to lose him as a friend, so, she agreed to go out with him. Three months later, Mark was falling in love with her and Maureen was trying to survive the relationship as best she could.
Maureen was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of kids running through the halls and lockers slamming. She looked at her watch. Seven-ten. She added some sugar to her coffee, stuffed the last cracker in her mouth, and started towards the black box theatre, which is where she taught her classes. The black box was a room, painted all black, he size of about nine regular size classrooms put together. It took up most of the first floor, which the kids nicknamed "the basement" since you had to walk down a spiral staircase to get to it. The black box had a small stage, a small scale set of bleachers, which they called "Mt. Everest", and an office which was sealed off from the rest of the space. The black box was also attached to the school's dance studio. The doors to the girls' and boys' locker room lead to the dance studio and the black box. Besides those two classrooms, the only things left on the first floor was one of the two cafeterias and one of five computer labs. Maureen lucked out because it just so happened that Collins taught his classes in that computer lab.
Maureen passed a group of sophomore girls, who were gathered at the base of the staircase. They wore to much lip gloss and kept eyeing two senior boys (who Maureen knew were on the football team), but, the boys were checking out three varsity cheerleaders who were gathered around someone's locker, giggling over a picture. She rolled her eyes. It seemed like, no matter when you went to high school, everything was the same. As she walked towards the theatre's black double doors, she heard a crash come from Collins' classroom. Walking as quickly as she could without spilling her cold but sweet coffee, Maureen appeared in the computer lab's doorway in time to see Collins picking up a box of mouse pads.
Maureen scanned the room to see if any students had arrived. It was empty. She smirked, "Wow, it takes skill to knock over mouse pads." Collins looked up from his predicament and shot Maureen a mock glare.
"Shut up, drama queen. Shouldn't you be faking your own death in order to be with you true love?" She giggled, walking over to where Collins stood organizing the mouse pads on his desk.
"Isn't it sad that the only play you know is "Romeo&Juliet"?"
"Not my fault. Plays never really spoke to me."
"That's because, instead of expanding your creative horizon, you decided to spend to your time in doors, staring at a glowing box," Collins shook his head. Maureen then noticed that he was wearing a black skull cap with a white spider on it, "Cute hat. Where did you get it?"
"A guy from my Life Support group gave it to me as a gift," he shrugged. Maureen nodded, silently. Life Support was a group that helped those who were HIV positive or have AIDS. Collins and Roger went to a meeting every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night at six-fifteen. Collins had contracted HIV when he had sex with his last boyfriend. Apparently, the guy was scared that Collins wouldn't sleep with him if he knew, so, he didn't tell him at all. It had turned into full blown AIDS four years ago. Roger and his late girlfriend, April Stewart, use to do drugs when they were teenagers, they had met when they were buying heroin from the same dealer. They had fallen deeply in love and were only devoted to one another, so, Roger didn't think that it was a big deal if they used the same needle to shoot up. But, April had been sharing needles with strangers before she met Roger and that's how she got the disease. So, she had infected Roger. April had felt so guilty that she had infected Roger without him knowing that she had slit her wrists in the bath tub and had written her dying message on the bathroom mirror in purple lipstick. It had said, "ROGER, WE HAVE AIDS." Roger had been a mess after that. He went into a deep depression for two years, closing himself off from everyone he loved. After that, Roger agreed to attend a rehab so he could get clean. Thanks to the rehab, Roger was able to finish school and get his teaching license. Almost three years later, he had made amazing progress. Of course, Collins and Roger had told the school about their conditions when the applied for their jobs. The school saw no reason not hire them as long as they took the proper procautions to protect themselves and their students.
"Someone might have a crush on you," she teased.
"Shut up," he said, smiling, "By the way, where were you yesterday?"
Maureen hopped onto his desk and took a sip of her coffee. "Why? Did we have something planned?" Collins shook his head.
"No, Mark was looking for you. He called me last night, wondering where you were."
Maureen rolled her eyes. "Oh my God, are you serious? Rehearsal ran late last night. I literally went home and crashed. I was lucky enough to be able to shower and get myself here early enough to finish my lesson plan for today. I didn't know I had to report to him, too."
"Easy, tiger. I didn't say all of that. I just meant he seemed worried about you."
"He's always worried. Thats the problem. He's so suffocating. Mark thinks that, if I don't call him every night at the same time, that I'm cheating or I don't love him enough to want to talk to him. And you can laugh but you know it's true. I'm so sick of it."
"Then why not break it off?"
"I'm sorry, have you met my mother? She'll freak if I even consider doing that. Two days ago, when I had called her, she had said that if I married Mark, we could have a traditional Jewish wedding. How crazy is that? We're not even a year yet and my mom's picking out churches. I'm bonded to Mark for life."
Collins kissed her forehead gently,"It's okay, Mo. Just take a deep breath and relax. Everything will be fine, you'll see."
"God, I hope so," students started filing into the room, shooting questioning looks at Collins and Maureen who were sitting very close to each other on his desk, "Guess it's time for class. Meet you for lunch?"
"Of course," Collins gave her a bright smile. Maureen gave one last wave and walked down the hall to the theatre. She pulled open one of the doors and strolled in, the smell of perfume, cologne, coffee, and cigarettes hitting her immediately. She took a look around and smiled at what she saw. It seemed like every grade had secured their own place in the black box. The seniors took the stage, the juniors took the boys' locker room, since not a lot of boys took dance and it was always empty, the sophomores took some chairs and made a circle in the middle of the room, and the freshman took Mt. Everest.
Maureen took another sip of her coffee before setting down her mug on the small wooden card table near her office door. She clapped her hands together, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "Alright, everyone, I don't run a daycare. I have a class to teach, so, you don't have to go to class, but, you can't stay here."
A senior named Carrie Summers groaned, "Please, Maureen, can I stay? I have free and it's so BORING in the cafeteria in the morning." Maureen only allowed seniors to call her by her first name if they chose to do so. She figured they were practically adults already, so, why didn't they make themselves equal by being on first name basis? Everyone else called her Miss Johnson or Miss J.
She smiled, "Sorry, hun, but I'm teaching freshman right now. Come back third period and you can hang out. Alright, everyone who's not in my class please exit to the left," there was collective groans all around the room as students collected their things and headed out the side door of the theatre.
"Hey, Salem!" Salem Walker, a junior, walked over to Maureen, keeping his head down, "I know for a fact that your Math teacher wants to see you today so you can make up a test."
"H...how did you know that?" He stuttered.
Maureen smiled, "I know everything. Now, go and take your quiz."
"Yes, Miss J," Salem nodded at her and made his way out of the black box. Before the door could close behind him, a man in a UPS uniform walked in, carrying a crystal vase full of yellow and red flowers. Maureen looked at him, confused.
"Can I help you?"
"Are you Maureen Johnson?" The man asked. She nodded, "These are for you." He handed her the flowers, tipped his hat, and left. Maureen found a note in the middle of the bouquet. Ripping open the envelope, Mauren's green eyes scanned quickly over it. It read:
Maureen,
I hope you're okay. You didn't call me last night, so, I got worried. Let me know when you get this, okay?
Love, Mark
Maureen rolled her eyes. Of course the flowers were from Mark. She carried the vase and her cup of coffee to where the freshman were sitting on Mt. Everest. They all gave her a weird look. Cassie James spoke up.
"Um, Miss Johnson, are we going to use the flowers in today's lesson?"
Nicole Washington rolled her eyes, "No, stupid. Those are from her boyfriend." Maureen glanced from the flowers to her students, then a slow smile creeped on to her lips.
"Actually, Nicole, these are for our lesson. Everyone grab a flower and stand on the stage," the kids looked at each other then moved to take a flower.
Maureen sighed inwardly, 'It's going to be a long day.'
