Saturday evening finally rolled by, and our doctor tried his best excuse to get out of attending his invitation.

"Hey Collins, look. I can't come out with you tonight. I have some brain scans that I really need to look at today."

Collins sighed on the other line. "Mark, you've been really looking at those brain scans for the last three weeks. I've seen them too, so I know. C'mon, don't make excuses. If you don't wanna come, then just say so."

"Ok fine, I don't wanna come," said Mark indignantly.

"Ok then. But I'm going," said the professor, with a smile in his voice. "But I know you really want to."

"Shut up, Tom," snapped Mark. He looked at his watch on his desk. "Ok I need to go now. Seeya at home." Collins said his goodbye and hung up the phone. Mark rubbed his eyes and sighed. Two hours later, he gathered up his files, the brain scans and his briefcase and left his office. He got into his car and drove himself home, which was empty. Collins must have just left, he thought., Once he got inside, he poured himself a glass of orange juice and sat at the table with the brain scans in front if him.

"Ok we have a blood clot here…..and the blood vessels…….and the tumor seems to be exerting substantial pressure on the brain and destroying her respiratory function……" Mark blinked at the scan in front of him, as he stated the obvious facts. "So it looks like…….we have……a glioma." He paused, thinking of what to do next. Finally, he sighed and removed his glasses, tossing them on the tables. He couldn't bring himself to concentrate on his work, no matter how hard he tried. His eyes slowly traveled to the window outside, where the Life Café was. He picked up the scans one more time, but when his concentration still didn't come to him, he finally got up from the table and went to his bedroom. He chose a pair of blue jeans, a green sweatshirt and a brown jacket from his closet, which he put on. He reached out to pick up his car keys and then suddenly stopped. What if someone steals it while I'm inside? he thought, and so decided against it. He exited the apartment and made his way to the station, where he caught the subway. He got off at the right stop and walked towards the Life café, where he found Collins standing at the door.

"Well, look who's here," said Collins with a big grin.

Mark scowled. "Shut up, Collins. I'm just here because I couldn't concentrate on my work and I needed a break." He shifted from one foot to another. "What are you doing outside anyway?"

The professor grinned. "I was waiting for you, since I knew you were gonna come." Mark sighed.

"Whatever. Let's just go in."

And so the two of them entered the Life Café. Mark's jaw suddenly dropped when he saw the whole place filled with young kids dressed like hippies or bohos, drinking beer and talking loudly across the room. Scanning the room, his eyes suddenly fell on Roger and a bunch of people arguing with the manager about the tables. After a quick squabble, they all started pushing the tables together and sat down. Roger giggled with some of his friends when his eyes suddenly fell on Mark and Collins.

"Hey Doc, Collins, you came!!" he greeted them with a huge smile. "C'mon sit down. I want you to meet my friends." Mark and Collins walked closer to the table where Roger shook each of their hands.

"Roger, how are you?" mumbled Mark and he shook Roger's hand.

"Ohhh, I'm good!! Man, that was a great show!! Here." He beckoned to a bald, skinny black man sitting across the table. "This is my friend and roommate, Benny. You remember him from the ER room, don't you?"

"Of course. Hello Benny," said Mark to him. Collins shook his hand and greeted him too.

"Pleased to meet you guys," said Benny courteously.

Roger then brought a beautiful, Hispanic girl, who looked no more than 20, with long, wavy black hair, and wearing a short skirt, black sweatshirt and black leather boots. "This is my ex-girlfriend. She helped me bake the cookies."

The girl smiled shyly. "Oh Roger, you flatter me too much," she said in mock-modesty. "Hey guys."

"Hi there. I'm Mark and this is my friend Collins," said Mark hesitantly as he took in her appearance. She's probably either a stripper or a hooker, Mark thought with a shudder.

"Hi. Nice to meet you. They call me Mimi," she said demurely with a smile. "I work at the Cat Scratch." From behind her emerged another form dressed in loud, flashy clothes.

"Oh, and this is my friend Angel Dumont-Schunard," said Mimi as she introduced the newcomer. "She likes to be called 'she'"

"Hey guys!!" said Angel as she gave them a warm smile and a wave.

But Mark and Collins just stood there with their eyebrows ten feet in the air and their jaws hanging wide open. This 'girl' was clad in a flowery dress, red jacket, green tights and huge platforms, with a short black wig and perfectly applied makeup. She looked amusedly at the two of them.

"What?!?" she said with a giggle. She looked directly at Collins. "You okay honey?"

"I'm afraid so," said Collins, who suddenly came out of his stupor. He shook his head rapidly. "I'm Tom Collins. But friends call me Collins."

"And I'm Mark," said the doctor hesitantly. "Umm, are you….?"

Angel giggled. "Technically, I'm a drag queen, which means I'm a guy, but I'd prefer to be a girl, as you can see," she said with a wink.

"Well, you look really nice as a girl," said Collins dreamily.

"Why, thank you," said Angel with a smile and a small blush.

Roger suddenly broke the silence with a clap. "Ok guys, let's have some drinks!!" he yelled, and the six of them all settled themselves at the table. Mark sat next to Roger; Mimi sat on his other side with Benny, and Collins sat across from them next to Angel. The waiter then approached the table and said:

"Ok guys, what're you ordering?"

Roger ordered a cheeseburger, Collins ordered spaghetti with tofu balls, Angel got a Caesar salad, Mimi ordered nachos, Benny ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and Mark, unsure of most of the items on the menu, just ordered a garden salad.

"And what'll you have to drink?" he asked as he scribbled the orders on the pad.

A loud chorus of "WINE AND BEER!!" resonated throughout the café, which startled Mark. Roger giggled and patted him on the back.

"Us folks are pretty cool and laid-back around these parts, Doc. They may act kinda crazy sometimes, but don't worry, they're harmless. You can just relax."

Mark crinkled his forehead as he sipped his wine. "But how can you be so relaxed all the time?"

"Because that's what we do," said Roger, chugging down his beer. "We're bohemians." Just then their food came. Roger picked up his cheeseburger and took a huge bite. "We live La Vie Boheme. The Bohemian life."

"Yeah!!" echoed Mimi, while chewing on a corn chip. "No rules, no laws, no society, no race, no boundaries. We can do whatever the fuck we like!!" she yelled the last bit out.

All the patrons of the restaurant yelled "YEAAHH!!!" to her comment, followed by a few whistles and cheers. Mark shook his head and speared a piece of tomato into his mouth. He looked over to Angel and Collins, who were smiling and buried deep in conversation. He smiled at them and continued eating his salad. The rest of the meal was spent in small, pleasurable chatter.

Once the meal was over and the plates were cleared, Angel picked up her wine glass, jumped up and yelled, "Ok guys!! Time for toasts!!"

One Asian girl in a fuzzy pink top picked up her glass and yelled, "To Maya Angelou!!"

Another young man lifted his glass and yelled, "To rice, beans and cheese!!"

Angel lifted her glass and yelled, "To yoga!!"

Mimi jumped on the table and yelled, "To the stage!!" and did a little booty dance, which caused everyone to wolf-whistle at her.

Roger was next to jump on the table and he yelled, "To Langston Hughes!!" and chugged some more beer.

Collins, unable to resist, jumped on the table and yelled, "To Actual Reality!! Act Up, Fight Aids!!!" This made the crowd cheer uncontrollably.

Roger motioned to Mark to come up on the table, but Mark refused shaking his head. He just stood quietly at the corner of the table and watched the rest of the gang go crazy. Roger grinned and then yelled, "To Bob Dylan!!"

Another young girl yelled, "To Buddha!!"

Two guys with their arms around each other yelled, "To sexual freedom!!" which got the crowd whistling again.

Roger and Mimi looked at each other with huge grins, and then yelled, "VIVA LA VIE BOHEME!!!" and then Roger finished the last of his beer and slammed the glass onto the floor, where it broke into numerous pieces, which got the hugest round of applause from the crowd. Everyone then jumped off the tables, totally oblivious to the café manager's rants about the mess and the commotion.

Roger walked up the Mark, who by now had his mouth hanging wide open in shock. "See, told you we were crazy folks. But not to worry," he said, slipping an arm around his shoulders. "We're nice folks."

Mark suddenly shook his arm off and stared at him, yelling, "I can't believe you!! You made me come all the way here for this freak show??"

Roger stared at him in disbelief. "But….but….I……."

"Don't even start, Roger. You really think I'm gonna fall for this uncouth rowdiness?? I can't stand this place, I can't stand the noise and the people and the smell, but most of all, I can't stand you!! " he bellowed. This caused Mimi, Angel and Collins to turn around and look at them.

"I'm sorry, Doc. I didn't mean to," mumbled Roger, his head hanging.

"Whatever. Just get out of my sight. I've had it with you," growled the young doctor. Roger looked over at his friends, then at Mark, then just quietly slunk out of the café and onto the street without saying a word.

There was an awkward moment of silence amongst the small group. Mimi and Angel exchanged glances and walked away. Benny stared at the floor. But Collins' glared at Mark.

"I can't believe you," said Collins.

Mark stared at him. "What?? What are you talking about??"

Collins approached him, his footsteps sounding in rhythm with the thunder that rumbled up in the sky. "I just can't believe you did that. What the fuck is wrong with you, Mark?? Why did you have to hurt him like that??"

"Why not? The guy just pissed me off and I hate him anyways!!"

Collins snorted. "Hate him?? Ha!! You really expect me to believe that bullshit?? You like him, Mark!! That's exactly why you yelled at him. You just don't want to acknowledge your feelings for him."

"For your information Collins, I'm glad I yelled at him. He's a prick!!"

"Yeah! A prick who was nice enough to bring you cookies, and take you on a fun date, and give you a toy that he won, and go to the opera with you, and actually help you whenever you needed it! Oh, I'm so glad you yelled at him!"

"Shut up, Collins!!" yelled Mark, who was now really angry. "For once in your life, just shut up! I do not like him!"

"Oh really? Then why don't you go and tell him?" taunted the young professor.

"What?"

"You better go and tell him yourself that you don't like him, Mark, or else I'm not gonna believe you."

Mark stiffened. "Okay, fine," he huffed. He shoved his hands in his pockets and pushed open the café door. He stood outside in the rain and thought about how he felt. He shuddered at the sound of his own words ringing in his ears. Do I really hate him that much? He thought to himself.

Of course I do.

Don't I?

Should I go and tell him then or not?

So, what should Marky do now?? Review me and I shall bring