Title: The History Assignment
Author: Girl Who Writes
Feedback: is beloved if you feel so inclined
Pairing: Angel/Collins, with a little bit of Mimi/Roger and Maureen/Mark, implied Roger/April.
Word Count: 4 550
Rating: PG
Genre: Humour, AU
Summary: The Junior History class is assigned a project, much to the dismay of Maureen, Mark, Roger and Angel, so they plan a study party. With not much studying.
Notes: I'm back! Apologies for being late; my ADSL died for a bit there. But I'm back with three new chapters! I also need some suggestions with the upcoming parts; would you like to hear more about their families? About Alison and April? I'd really love some input! So, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to show the review button some love.
Special Thanks: to my beautiful rabbits, Harriet and Blossom, who agreed to guest star in this in exchange for some parsley.
Spoilers: It's AU, so nothing much.
Warnings: Language.
Disclaimer: Rent and the related characters are property of the Jonathan Larson Estate and I make no profit from my fan-based ventures. Hazel Dumott and Mimi's brothers, plus all classmates and teachers are mine.

Maureen Johnson stormed through the halls of the school, her bag banging against the backs of her legs as she emerged outside in the quadrangle where students were finding their lunches and sitting down. A pair of seventh graders went to sit down at the picnic table that she traditionally sat at with her friends, but she slammed her pile of books down on it.

"Scram!" Maureen flipped her hair open and took a seat, pulling out her lunch – a slightly crushed juice box and a squished tuna sandwich, a dark look on her face. This was not happening.

"Maureen!" Mark jogged over to the table, tossing his books on top of hers and promptly making them all slide off the table and onto the concrete. "What's up?"

"What's up!" Maureen tossed down her sandwich, and leant over the table. "Mark Cohen, how can you ask me that? Mackenzie assigns us such a disgusting, abominating thing and then makes me work with April Ericsson? Are you high or just slow, MARK?"

"If you hadn't stormed out of history, you would have heard what she said at the end, Mo," Roger appeared behind Mark with Angel. "If we hate our partners that much, we can switch. Mark got paired with Nicola, and she almost had a screaming fit."

"I felt so loved," Mark began picking up the fallen books. "Anyway, Maureen, you're my partner now. Nicola's with April now."

"There's an assignment I'd like to read," Angel took a seat opposite Maureen. "Neither are the brightest lights in the room."

"Who did you two get paired up with?" Maureen asked.

"Me and Roger are working together," Angel pulled his history book out of his bag, the assignment sheet stuck in the middle of it. "We get to pick anything in the book from Chapters 1 to 3. We can submit a written report of three thousand words, or present a ten minute dramatic report that must include a speech that includes factual evidence – two groups can combine to work on a dramatic presentation, but we'll be marked on a harder scale if we do drama. So, what are we doing?"

"If you think I'm writing another god-damned paper, you're high," Roger said around a mouthful of potato chips. "Give me a sword and I'll recreate some war or battle."

"We could stick Maureen in a crown and recreate the fall of the Romanov dynasty," Mark suggested, sitting down next to Roger. At the three questioning looks, he rolled his eyes. "Russia? Chapter 2?"

"Oh."

"Dynasty?"

"A crown?"

"What's up, bitches?" Collins and Joanne appeared at the head of the table, both laden down with books. Joanne looked significantly less stressed out that she had when she first transferred, but still harassed.

"History assignment," Angel beamed up at his boyfriend, and motioned for Collins and Joanne to sit down. Roger looked up at Collins, like a cartoon character who'd had an idea, with a little light bulb hovering over his head.

"Hey, Collins, you're topping History, aren't you?" Roger gave him a broad grin.

"No, Davis, I am not writing your paper for you. I have enough work of my own to do. No amount of sexual favors will change my mind," Collins replied pleasantly, grabbing Angel's hand and squeezing it affectionately.

"My partner's your boyfriend."

"So, those sexual favors you were offering…" Angel swatted Collins' shoulder.

"We can write some sort of play about Russia this weekend," Angel said. "History's not exactly my strength though."

"If we combined all our class marks and worked out the average," Mark sighed, "We'd barely pass."

"You're what, second in the class, Cohen?" Maureen crushed her juice box and gave Mark a pouty look.

"Fifth."

"Who is top?"

"Uhh…"

"Um…"

"Say April and I'll hurt you all."

"Her mom's a history professor, Mo, of course she's got a perfect grade."

"Fuck." Maureen dropped her head to the wooden table. "If I don't get a better grade in history than last year, my parents will make me drop out of my theatre group."

"What mark did you get last year?" Roger snatched up one of Collins' cookies.

"A forty-three. Mackenzie called my father and read my exam paper out loud to him," Maureen mumbled. "Why does April have to have such a stunted personality, damnit!"

"She hasn't got a stunted personality!" Roger said defensively.

"Please, like you know about April's personality," Maureen scoffed, rummaging around her bag for her purse. "I'd be surprised if you even exchange pleasantries before you exchange bodily fluids." She flaunted off in search of ice cream, while all eyes were on Roger.

"She means saliva," Roger shook his head. "We have to use Maureen in this?"

"Yes," Mark said firmly. "It'll be easy – we write a plan and narrate it with statistics and stuff. It'll be easy. We can do it on Sunday, it'll take twenty minutes."

"We already established none of us are much good at history, Mark," Angel shrugged. "Unless… Collins, Joanne, are you doing anything Sunday…?"

---

Maureen returned from the cafeteria with an ice cream in one hand and Mimi following her, chatting animatedly about something.

"Mimi-chica!" Angel shuffled up so Mimi could sit down, and gave her a hug. "I haven't seen you all day!"

"Oh, I've been around," Mimi offered a shy smile in the direction of Roger, who smiled back at her, and promptly spilt Coke down his sweatshirt. "I met a really nice guy in the computer labs, too. A senior."

"Ooh, chica, what's his name?" Angel almost clapped his hands. Mimi had been trying to get over the fact that April had claimed Roger for herself, and move on, but anyone with eyes could see that they both liked each other very much. But despite the fact Angel pointed out that Roger liked her back, Mimi had simply said she didn't want to get a bad reputation at a new school that she actually kind of liked – especially since April was a Junior when Mimi herself was a sophomore.

"Benny Coffin?"

"Hate to tell you this Mimi, but I have Legal Studies with Alison Grey, and they've been together for three years now," Joanne looked sympathetically at Mimi. "According to others, Benny's a bit of a jackass and Ally's too… too gentle, I guess, to tell him to stop flirting with every female on campus."

"Agh." Mimi slumped next to Angel. "The ratio of guys to girls at this school is out of whack. Someone change the subject."

"You need food, chica," Angel patted Mimi's leg. "You bring anything?"

"No," Mimi's face darkened in annoyance. "My brothers cleaned out the kitchen this morning. I was lucky to get toast. You got any money? I'll pay you back at the end of the week."

"Come on, my treat," Angel pulled some money from his pocket. "Cupcakes and bright orange soda for both of us, because you keep picking ineligible guys and I've been assigned the mother of all history projects."

"Well," Maureen sighed, sitting up. "I've gotta go and see the Drama Department about the Spring Musical."

"What is it this year?" Joanne asked. "I'd like to help out behind the scenes; it's a lot of fun and looks great on your transcript."

"The students are lobbying for something written by the students, but the faculty wants to do something like Fame," Maureen shrugged. "The audition is on a day I have a singing exam, so I need to check that it's okay if I do mine the next day."

"So, are we coming over on Sunday?" Roger asked. "For History?"

"Sure," Maureen shrugged. "I'll be at theatre until ten, though."

"We'll be there around eleven then," Mark smiled up at Maureen.

"Great. Give everyone my home address. I'll see you guys in I.T." And Maureen flounced off in exactly the same manner she'd arrived, except with a smile on her face.