Chapter 2

We see the same room that we saw before. It's exactly like it was before, except now there's five women in the room. There's one woman lying on the floor, unconscious, in each corner of the room. The fifth woman is sitting in a wheelchair in the center of room, also unconscious. Three of the women have white skin, and the other two women have caramel-colored skin. The girl in the wheelchair looks to be about eighteen. One of the girls with dark skin looks to be about nineteen, and the other girl with dark skin looks to be about twenty or so. The two dark-skinned women are lying in the lower left and right-hand corners of the room. In the upper left-hand corner of the room is a girl who looks to be about eighteen. And in the fourth corner is a girl who looks to be about eighteen as well. All five girls are very beautiful. The girl in the wheelchair has long, curly, brown hair. She's wearing a long, short-sleeved pink dress, and pink sandals. The girl in the lower left-hand corner of the room has long, curly, black hair. She's wearing a short, sleeve-less, low-cut, black dress with a black belt with a silver buckle. She's wearing two bracelets (one on each wrist), and earrings. She has on a black collar, and black tights. Her arms are covered by fabric designed to look like sleeves. And to complete her outfit, she's wearing tall, black boots. The girl in the lower, right-hand corner of the room has short, curly, black hair. She's wearing a long-sleeved, black turtleneck, long, brown jeans, black boots (that are almost completely covered by her jeans), and a long-sleeved, dark tan jacket with white fur on the inside, and on the collar and cuffs. The girl in the upper, left-hand corner of the room has short, straight, brown hair. Lying near her is a tan cap that looks like something a newsboy would have worn. She's wearing a short-sleeved, white shirt, a light tan skirt, a brown belt, a long, dark tan overcoat with lapels that ties in the front at her waist, and brown, flat-soled shoes. And the fifth woman has long, honey-colored hair that's pulled back into a long pony-tail, and she's very slender. She's wearing a short, sleeve-less, white dress, and white ballet slippers. The five slowly start to stir, and then open their eyes... The girl in the wheelchair has light blue eyes, the girl in the lower, and the other four girls have brown eyes. They all freeze, and then the girl in the lower, right-hand corner runs across the room to the girl in the left-hand corner. They grab each other's hands, and it becomes apparent that they know each other. Meanwhile, the girl in the wheelchair, wheels herself into the now vacant corner. They stare at each other in fear for several more seconds, and then the girl who had abandoned her corner breaks the silence…

"Mimi?" she whispered. The girl next to her replied, "Yes, Joanne?" "What the hell happened to us? Where the fuck are we?" "I have no idea, Joanne." Addressing the other girls, "Who are all of you?" The girl in the wheelchair wheeled herself half-way across the room, towards Mimi and Joanne, and extended her right hand. "I'm Nessarose Thropp," she said quietly. "Although, everyone calls me Nessa. Who are you?" Mimi walked over to her, extended her right hand, and shook Nessa's hand. "I'm Mimi Márquez." she said. Then she half-turned and gestured towards Joanne. "And that's Joanne Jefferson." Nessa nodded. "So you two know each other?" Mimi nodded. "Yeah. We're friends." Nessa nodded again and smiled. And then she said, "It's nice to meet you, Mimi!" "It's nice to meet you too, Nessa!" "And you as well Joanne!" Joanne smiled, came forward, shook Nessa's hand, and replied, "It's nice to meet you Nessa." They all the turned to the other two girls, who had been watching the whole exchange in silence, and who hadn't moved from their corners. Mimi moved out to the center of the room, but Joanne and Nessa stayed put, watching her. Mimi glanced at each girl, and then said, "Who are you guys? What are your names?" The girl on her right stepped forward and said, "I'm Meg Giry." Meg went over to Mimi and extended her right hand. Mimi smiled, took Meg's hand in he right hand, and shook hands with her. "It's nice to meet you Meg!" she said. "It's nice to meet you too Mimi!" Nessa and Joanne came forward then, and they both shook hands with Meg. "It's nice to meet you Meg!" they said. "It's nice to meet you girls too!" They all smiled at each other, and then turned as the fifth girl came over to them. She extended her hand to Mimi and said, "My name's Eponine Thénardier." They all shook hands again, and then an awkward silence followed. Mimi broke the silence when she asked, "Does anyone care if I smoke?" They all shook their heads, and Mimi turned to Joanne, who pulled out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. She took one of the cigarettes and handed it to Mimi, lit it for her, and then put the lighter and the cigarettes back in her pocket. Mimi inhaled deeply, took the cigarette out of her mouth, and then exhaled a cloud of foul-smelling smoke. They were silent again, and then Mimi said, "What's wrong, Eponine?" The other three looked at her, and they saw that she had tears in her eyes. Eponine shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm just fine." She tried to smile, but couldn't. Nessa slowly wheeled herself over to her and took Eponine's hand. "We're not going to judge you Eponine!" Nessa said gently. "Tell us what's bothering you!" Eponine took a deep breath and folded her arms across her chest. She was silent for several minutes. Finally she said in a voice choked with tears, "It's Marius." Pain shot through Eponine as she said his name. She bit her lip to hold back the sob that was dying to escape, as tears filled her eyes once more. "Who's Marius?" Meg asked quietly. "He's the man I'm in love with. But he's married to a very pretty, very rich girl named Cosette… I've been in love with Marius for several years now, but he never notices me. And I've never told him. I've never told anyone before. And, as crazy as this might seem, I actually helped him be with Cosette… I showed him where she lived so he could meet with her and talk to her… It killed me inside, but he was happy…" "Why would you do that?" Mimi asked. Eponine stared at her with tear-filled eyes and a set jaw. "I did it because I knew he and Cosette loved each other, and because I wanted him to be happy." "But that doesn't make any sense! Why would you willingly let him go?" "Because," Meg said quietly. "sometimes if you really, truly love someone, you have to find the strength inside of you to let them go, even if it kills you…" Meg's voice was thick, and her eyes were glistening with tears. The other four were staring at her. "Who have you had to let go of Meg?" Eponine asked quietly. "His name was Erik Destler…" Meg's voice caught in her throat, and her eyes filled with tears. "What was he like?" Meg smiled. "He was sweet and kind and gentle and handsome. Half of his face was deformed, but that never mattered. He had a hasty temper sometimes too, but he would usually calm down if you were patient and firm with him. And gentle too. I loved him for years, and I always hoped he would help me become a star at the Opera Populaire in Paris, France, but then he fell in love with Christine Daae, who was my best fiend, and all my hopes were shattered… He coached her instead, and everything he did, he did for her… I managed to hide my feelings, and I didn't hate Christine. But I was lonely and miserable, and I missed Erik so much! I used to cry alone in my room at night… Wishing he would come to me… And then I found out that Christine had chosen her childhood sweetheart, Raoul de Chagny, over Erik… I was furious, and I cried bitterly. And then I found out that Raoul was planning to have Erik killed…" Meg's voice hardened with anger, although she still had tears streaming down her face. Eponine gasped and put her hands over her mouth, and Mimi, Nessa, and Joanne's eyes widened. "Was he killed?" Nessa asked in a whisper. Meg shook her head. "No. He let Christine go off with Raoul, and he escaped. I was so grateful, but it's been so hard… Living without him… And having to hide everything…" Meg was hugging herself when she finished, and she was sobbing quietly. Mimi walked over to Meg and gently laid her right hand on her left shoulder. "I know how you feel Meg." she said quietly. Meg turned to look at her. "You do?" Mimi nodded. "I've learned to live without the man I love, but I miss him so much that it feels more like a physical pain than just an emotional pain…" Mimi turned and walked a little ways away from them, tears welling up in her eyes. Joanne gently reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Roger loves you Mimi! He's just scared!" Mimi whirled around. "Of what? What could he possibly be afraid of?" Joanne sighed and gently took both of Mimi's hands in her's. Then she said, "Roger never told you this, but April committed suicide. Roger is afraid of losing you and getting hurt. That's why he pushes you away all the time. I'm so sorry!" "Why didn't he ever tell me? I would have understood! And it would have been better than believing that he hates me!" Joanne shook her head. "I don't know why he never told you…" Mimi turned away from Joanne, a completely broken expression on her face. "Who's Roger?" Nessa asked, looking at Mimi with gentle but curious eyes. "He's my ex-boyfriend. I met him one night when I needed some matches to light a candle with. He composes songs, and he's really handsome. I knew he loved me, but he always pushed me away, and he stopped telling me that he loved me… And then when one of met ex-lovers evicted Roger and his roommate, Mark, from their apartment, I went out to dinner with my ex-lover and convinced him to let Roger start living in his apartment again. It worked, but Roger wouldn't believe me when I told him that nothing had happened, and that I hadn't cheated on him… Roger left me, and I haven't seen him in months… I just wish I could see him at least one more time and tell him that I still love him!" Mimi's voice was choked with tears, and her whole body shook with sobs. Nessa slowly wheeled herself over to Mimi and gently laid her hand on her shoulder. Mimi turned to look at her. "I know how you feel Mimi." Nessa said quietly. "The boy I loved was cold and distant from me, even though he had once acted as though he loved me…" "What was his name?" Mimi asked. "His name was Boq. He was a really sweet boy that I met in college, and who took me to an all-school dance. He told me I was beautiful, and that he loved me. I told him I loved him too. And I did love him…" Tears filled Nessa's eyes, and her voice was thick. She continued quietly, "I thought we would be together forever, but I guess not… He told me one night that he loved Glinda Upland, a very beautiful, very popular girl who was a friend of my sister's friends in college, and then he left… And I haven't seen him in months… I miss him so much, and I know I'll always love him!" Tears were rolling slowly down Nessa's face when she finished, and Eponine, Meg, and Mimi were crying with her and for her. Then, at the same moment, they all turned to Joanne, and Nessa said, "What's your story Joanne?" Joanne hesitated, glancing nervously between the four faces that stared back at her, curiosity burning in four pairs of eyes. Joanne stayed silent for several minutes. Finally Mimi said gently, "It's okay Joanne! They're not going to judge you! Tell them about you and Maureen." "Who's Maureen?" Eponine asked. Joanne sighed sadly. "Maureen is my ex-girlfriend, and my ex-fiancé…" "Wait a minute!" Meg said. "You had a girlfriend!?" Joanne nodded. Nessa and Meg gaped at her. Only Eponine and Mimi weren't surprised. "You're not shocked?" Joanne asked, looking at Eponine. Eponine shook her head. "No, I'm not. I see same-sex couples making out and making love in the streets all the time." "You live on the streets?" Mimi asked. Eponine shook her head. "No. But I am a prostitute." Nessa, Meg, and Joanne all looked shocked, but Mimi only smirked. "I feel you there, sister! Back home, I work nights at a strip club!" Eponine smiled slightly, and Mimi winked at her. Joanne cleared her throat, and they all turned back to her. "So anyway," she said quietly, continuing her story. "Maureen and I dated for a few months, and I thought she loved me. I know I loved her… But then I started noticing that she would always flirt with other people… I asked her to stay committed to me, which she promised to do, and we got engaged. But then I realized that she would never stay truly faithful, so we broke it off… I know she was totally wrong for me, but I still love her so much! And I miss her!" Joanne was crying when she finished her story, and Nessa, Meg, Eponine, and Mimi were all crying with her and for her. "Oh Marius!" Eponine sobbed. "Oh Erik!" "Oh Roger!" "Oh Boq!" "Oh Maureen!" All five girls hugged each other tightly, sobbing for themselves, sobbing for each other, and sobbing for the people they loved… Then, suddenly, everything went black, and each of them were whisked away, back to their own tragic love stories…