This story is based off the musical "RENT" by Jonathan Larson,and more specifically, the movie released by Sony Pictures. It is a sequel to the musical, and I have attempted to write my own songs for it, to keep with the theme. The story switches from story to a play-type format, to avoid confusion whenreading the songs. They aren't as good as the original, and there's no music, but I think they add a nice touch to the story. I did not create any of the characters mentioned in this first part.
RENT
2
Mark Cohen trudged up the stairs to his New York apartment. He had a job now, sure, but he just couldn't leave the old hang out of his friends, and his home for years.
He slid the metal door open and found what he usually found every afternoon nowadays.
Roger. And Mimi. Making out.
Mark rolled his eyes and passed his friends who were entangled on the couch together. He pulled his camera out of his backpack and cranked the handle, and began to videotape them.
"And here is the mating ritual of the average horny New Yorker. Notice the way they seem to mesh together, as if trying to swallow each other's mouths. What a great day and age we live in," Mark said, as if he were narrating a nature show. Roger and Mimi stopped their 'mating ritual' and turned to the blond man.
"Jealous, aren't you? Never even seen what this is like!" Roger said, grinning, and Mimi chuckled. She got off the couch, her long black hair swaying behind her, and walked over to Mark.
She then grabbed his camera, opened it up, and pulled all of the film out.
"Hey!" Mark yelped, trying to grab for it, but Mimi tossed it to Roger.
"You can film whatever you want," Mimi said with a smile, "EXCEPT for that."
"I had a whole day's worth of stuff on there…" Mark whined, looking pathetically at his camera.
"Oh c'mon. You'll get plenty of stuff. This is New York, weird stuff happens every day," Roger said.
-Go With The Flow-
MARK: I guess you're right. There's plenty of crap.
ROGER: …and plenty of romance!
MIMI: Oh, you're such a sap.
MARK: This city's just great, but where do I go
When I'm down on my luck, and have nothing to show?
MIMI: That's life! Believe me, I certainly know.
ROGER: She's right. Sometimes, you just gotta go with the flow.
We all know about those times, good and bad.
But they always come and go like a passing fad.
MARK: I wonder what to do – maybe I'll just leave!
MIMI: Oh, now don't you go anywhere! You've got films to conceive!
MARK: Conceive? I'm not the only one to do that around here!
ROGER: We're being careful; you've got nothing to fear.
MARK: I'm just teasing! Geez, you're very uptight.
MIMI: Guys, chill! We're going out tonight!
MARK & ROGER: (Spoken) Huh?
MIMI: Sometimes, you just gotta go with the flow.
We all know about those times, good and bad.
But they always come and go like a passing fad…Listen!
The three friends stopped bickering as they heard that someone had called them and was now leaving a message.
"So, Joanne and I thought that maybe you'd want to get together and celebrate! We're going to be at Sam's Diner at six if you want to join us!" There was a click, and Maureen had hung up.
"Celebrating? Celebrating what?" Mark asked.
"If you two had been LISTENING, you would've heard that Collins is back in town…and he has a new job!" Mimi said with a grin.
"Well then, what are we hanging around here for?" Roger asked excitedly, and headed for the door, grabbing Mimi by the waist on the way out. Mark grabbed his back, put his camera lovingly inside it, and ran after them.
It was December 24th. The time of year when everyone seems to get together. Mark had noticed this, and realized how fast another year had gone by.
Their friend Angel had been dead for over a year. And it was two Christmases ago when they had first met.
1991. What a year.
Not too different from the eighties, actually. Maybe things wouldn't change so much after all.
Mark was interrupted from his thoughts when he realized that they had arrived at the diner.
The small brick building had twinkling Christmas lights on it, and there was a little tree inside by the front door as Mark, Roger and Mimi stepped into the cozy little restaurant.
"Hey guys!" Mark heard a voice scream, "Over here!" The pale brunette that had called their names was waving wildly at them, and the curly haired woman next to her was rolling her eyes and smiling. They headed over to the table where Joanne and Maureen were sitting, and made themselves comfortable. Collins, however, was not there.
"You guys know where he is?" Roger asked as he put his arm around Mimi.
"He said he had to stop and see an old friend before he got here," Joanne said quietly, and everyone understood.
A/N: Please let me know what you think so far. Any suggestions or comments on Lyrics would be appreciated.