Chapter Nine: Another Day

Disclaimer: I still do not own RENT.

Note: I did, however, FINALLY get a chance to see it live. And it was amazing, of course, even if Angel and Mimi were suddenly African-American when Out Tonight makes it pretty clear Mimi's Hispanic. And Mimi's mother's use of Spanish in Voice Mail #5.

After a few seconds, I managed to pull myself away. "Who do you think you are? Barging in on me and my guitar." I mean, honestly, at least the other fangirls were so enthralled so as to not bother me when I was playing. Come to think of it, that's probably why I decided to take up the guitar again, because Mark hadn't gotten me in touch with Joanne yet. I put my guitar protectively in front of me before continuing. Fangirls are known to get quite violent at the rejection part.

"Little girl, hey, the door is that way," I said, helpfully indicating the door. Mimi, for her part, looked quite confused. I wonder if that's because I called her a little girl when I'm only a few years older than she is. Ah, well, she's just lucky she put that heroin away or I'd dump it in the streets where rats could get it and get high so I could watch them go through withdrawal because that would be cool. I mean, can rats even throw up?

"You better go, you know, the fire's out anyway," I informed her. Mark had left awhile ago and I simply can't be bothered to do such menial tasks as put more wood in our illegal wood-burning stove. If I wanted to live a life with such basic comforts as heat on Christmas, I wouldn't have run away to the magical land of Bohemia. Although, come to think of it, frostbite sucks. We really shouldn't have to deal with it in our own apartment. When Mark gets back, I'm going to have to ask him to go find a fangirl of mine to donate a heater to our apartment. Shouldn't be too hard, after all, everyone knows frozen hair is SO not sexy.

"Take your powder." Because if you don't and I accidentally get rats addicted to heroin, PETA will kill me and then you'll have a negative chance of getting together with me. Seriously, though. This girl is behind the times. Bringing me drugs stopped working after April died. "Take your candle." That you felt the need to leave in my apartment since yesterday, which meant you had to go find another candle with which to do your drugs with.

"Your sweet whisper, I just can't handle!" I explained to her. Happy fluffy romances aren't exactly conducive to angsty songwriting.

"Well, take your hair in the moonlight…" No, don't want to finish that though. Hopefully she'll think I'm referencing yesterday's songfest, not daydreaming about her. "Your brown eyes," I added, in order to further convince her. "Goodbye, good night," I said, helpfully going over to open the door, so she won't have to bother and can leave faster.

Once the door is open, I realized that if I don't explain to her my many reasons for not wanting a relationship right now (such as the fact she's a heroin addict and I used to be one and so totally DON'T need that around me all the time, I have AIDS, don't leave the house, and my last girlfriend traumatized me by killing herself in my bathroom. I couldn't go in there for WEEKS. To Mark's incredible annoyance once the smell got so bad he had to go out and obtain such bourgeois things as 'air fresheners.'). "I should tell you, I should tell you, I should tell you, I should tell you, I should—" Then I felt Mimi touch my shoulder and remembered that it was none of her damn business and if this got out, Mark wouldn't be able to use my fangirls to get free stuff after I died. "No!"

"Another time, another place," I told her spinning around. "Our temperature would climb; there'd be a long embrace." Especially since if we were in another place such as, say, Santa Fe, then I wouldn't even need a damn heater and wouldn't be currently freezing to death. Oh, and I suppose we could get together, too.

"We'd do another dance." Perhaps the tango, like Maureen's ex-boyfriend and new girlfriend did in the community center. "It'd be another play." One where half of the main characters aren't dying from AIDS. Well, a little more than half, as I refuse to count Benny as a main character. I mean, he's in, what, six scenes? He doesn't even get a speaking part in three of them! But he does get two messages, so that evens out, I guess.

I went over to the table, picked my guitar up, and sang, "Looking for romance? Come back another day. Another day." There that should do it. Give her hope so she can leave and bug me later when I can be bothered to explain to her why I'm waiting for some hot chick with AIDS so I don't kill my potential girlfriend. Well, now that that's settled, I'm going to sit down and wait for her to leave.

She doesn't. "The heart may freeze. Or it can burn," Mimi informs me. Really? I've heard of heartburn before, but heartfreeze has strangely eluded me. Maybe awesomeness makes you immune to it. I should probably ask Mark if he's heard of it, then.

"The pain will ease, if I can learn." Wait, what pain? Does she have frostbite from singing outside without her coat or something? And learn what? It's a good thing Mark's not here, or he'd keep correcting her until we were here all night. "There is no future, there is no past." Oh, so she's one of those, every day is today kind of people. Although I find it odd that she's spouting off philosophy when she clearly just came here to get high with me and maybe get laid.

"I live this moment as my last." You know, that's great advice if you're dying from a fatal disease. I should really consider following it if I ever decide to stop being a hermit. Then, she decided to climb across my table. Again. God, does she have a table fetish of something? "There's only us, there's only this." Only the two of us and only this apartment? Wow, that's a very narrow world-view, isn't it? "Forget regret or life is yours to miss." What makes you think I regret anything? For all you know, I enjoy mooching off of society and refusing to leave the house, forcing my friends to supply me with all the basic necessities in life. I mean, being an ex-addict kinda sucks, and I'd rather April chose to kill herself in her own damn bathroom, but, hell, you can't have everything.

"No other road, no other way. No day but today," Mimi finished grandly, smiling and sure she'd won me over. I don't entirely understand what in the world she's talking about, though, so I'm sure that drastically reduces its effectiveness. I mean, no other road to where? No other way to do what?

Being confused makes me feel like Mark, and feeling like Mark annoys me greatly, because since he's the only person I talk to on a regular bases, considering Maureen's off in Maureen-land, Benny's sold his son to Satan, and Collins will probably get fired from NYU and go someplace warm within the year, and so if I were him then I'd be schizophrenic. "Excuse me, if I'm off track, but if you're so wise, then tell me: Why do you need smack?" Valid question, that. I mean, I was always too high to answer whenever Mark asked me that. Collins was always spouting off about 'enlightenment' when he was high. Is that why no one's riding him to give up on Marijuana?

Mimi looks hurt, but if she has any hope of us working out, she needs to stop offering me drugs. I stood up and grabbed Mimi's arm and escorted her to the door, as she didn't seem particularly inclined to leave anytime soon. "Take your needle, take your fancy prayer." Well, at least that's what I think she was doing. Either that or trying to induct me into some type of cult that would involve me leaving the house and paying membership dues. I don't really know much about cults. Mark was in one, once, but they kicked him out for not being cool enough. And Collins was in one, but they kicked him out for refusing to follow the cult authority, as it apparently went against his philosophical beliefs of anarchy. Maureen tried to join a cult, but Mark wouldn't let her. Something about how she cheated on him enough as it is WITHOUT being in one. "Don't forget, get the moonlight out of your hair!"

Mimi wrenched her arm away and stormed out of my apartment. I stayed at the door, as I didn't want to encourage her, but wasn't done yelling at her yet. "Long ago you might have lit up my heart, but the fire's dead, ain't never ever gonna start!" Then, as Mimi was heading down the stairs, I was forced to follow her down if I wanted her to hear me.

"Another time, another place, the words would only rhyme, we'd be in outer space." Because, in an alternate universe, we could be poets, or astronauts, or poet-astronauts in space. "It'd be another song, we'd sing Another Way." Instead of singing Another Day. "You wanna prove me wrong? Come back another day. Another day!" I stopped at her floor, but Mimi kept right on going.

Dear Lord, did I just chase her out of the building? Guess, I'd better go yell at her from the balcony, then.

While Angel and Collins were shamelessly flirting, I was keeping an eye out for any sign of Mimi or Roger. Sure enough, before too long, Mimi stormed outside, without a coat, merely pulling her sleeves down to protect her from the cold.

Good going Roger. She lives in the SAME BUILDING, and you still kicked her out? But wait, she doesn't seem all that upset. In fact, she's still singing. It sounds different than before, though. Are she and Roger in the middle of a duet? Sounds promising. After all, April couldn't sing and look what happened with her.

"There's only yes. Only tonight. We must leg go. To know what's right," Mimi sang, actually deigning to look both ways before crossing the street this time. And let go of what? I mean, God knows Roger has a whole host of issues he needs to resolve, but what does Mimi need to let go off? Sigh. Guess I'll have to run that background check after all. I mean, geez, Roger singing with her? This is huge! He never sings with fangirls.

"No other course, no other way. No day but today…" Mimi trailed off. Hm? Course? Is she trying to get Roger to tutor her or something? That's classy enough, as far as hookups go, but if the relationship turns sour, you need to find a new tutor. Not to mention, of course, that the rampant sex makes it rather difficult to focus on lessons. I mean, just look what happened when I tried to teach Maureen the electric cello. We got so little done, we don't even count it as something she's studied.

Suddenly, Roger ran out onto the balcony. ALSO without a jacket! This is true love here, true love!

Angel tugs on my sleeve. "Hey Mark, can we go say hi to Mimi and tell her how lovely her show was?"

"Um, sure. But we can't just interrupt their song," I pointed out.

Angel looked shocked. "I would never do something so heinous!" Says the puppy-killer. "And, besides, we don't have to, we'll simply join in."

"And you don't think they'd mind? This seems kind of private."

Collins snorted. "Yeah, you can tell how private something is by checking to what lengths Mark's going to spy on it and film it for future occasions."

"Oh, nonsense, everyone loves a sing-along!" Angel insisted perkily before I could yell at Collins. I did glare at him very menacingly, though, and I think he was very impressed.

"I can't control…" Mimi sang, with the three of us accompanying her and walking out from behind the building, acting for all the world as if we'd just gotten there and had totally already showed Angel Benny's rock and not totally ignoring their privacy by standing there the whole time.

"Control your temper," Roger tells himself, turning away embarrassed and clearly seeing right through us.

"My destiny!" We continue, very dramatically. Mimi somehow fails to notice us, however. Wow, this girl is DEDICATED.


"She doesn't See," Roger informs us. Roger's reason-of-the-week he won't go out and get a girlfriend is that since no one understands him, he'd need a psychic so he wouldn't have to bother to explain to her all about his angsty angstiness of angst.

"I trust my soul," we continue, completely ignoring him. I wonder what we trust our soul with? Ah! The royal we!

"Who says that there's a soul?" Roger asked, just to be contrary.

"My only goal," we persist. Wait, I have a goal? Oh, right, movie. Ah well, I'm not dying of a lethal disease, so no hurry. "Is just to be!" With that, Mimi raises her arms above her head under the moonlight in a very witch-like manner. I'm suddenly on Roger's side, now, but can't very well change the dynamic of the song now, can I? Besides, it's all very symbolic, what with Roger facing off against his friends who wants what's best for him and this girl who thinks he's hot.


"Just let me be!" Roger cries, desperately trying not to turn into a vampire or something. I can tell Mimi's trying to turn him into a vampire because girls apparently think vampires are sexy. I will never understand why. I mean, they brutally murder people by impaling their necks with their freakishly long nothing-a-few-years-of-braces-won't-fix fangs and sucking their lifeblood from one of the most vital and vulnerable parts of their body. How is that sexy? Then again, I'm straight, so I guess I wouldn't be able to tell. And another thing! They're centuries old and undead. They can't possibly smell very nice.

Like Roger didn't after April…Oh God! Maybe he's already a vampire and that's why her spell isn't working! From now on, I'm not-buying plenty of bloody steaks so he doesn't have to resort to murdering me in my sleep for a midnight snack. And for the record, I'm officially back on Mimi's side. These mythical creatures are clearly perfect for each other.

"Who do you think you are?" Roger demands suddenly, as if one of us has suddenly been rendered amnesiac or is experiencing bouts of delusions where we think we're Teddy Roosevelt off to dig the Panama Canal so as to cover up two kindly-yet-homicidal aunts of ours who've taken to offing lonely gentlemen. Hm, I think I watched a movie about that once.

"There's only now, there's only here." Angel, sick of being ignored, takes Mimi's hands in hers and Mimi turns at last to face her.

"Barging in on me and my guitar," Roger abruptly decides to explain why we're all sing-arguing. Oh, wow, she did WHAT? Man, she must be suicidal or high. Either way, not a good choice for a girlfriend of Roger's. I changed my mind again.

"Give in to love, or live in fear," we warn Roger. After all, once you get a girlfriend, fangirls tend to terrorize her and leave you in peace for the duration of the relationship.

"Little girl, hey," Roger said, although it's unclear who's attention he's trying to get. I mean, he obviously knows who Mimi is, and Collins and I aren't…Angel. That's it. Angel, because her name happens to begin with an A. You know, this could cause problems if Collins and Angel do hook up and decide to hang around with us. We should just rename her Hangel. The H being silent, of course, as this is Spanish.

"No other path." To enlightenment than getting high, or at least according to Collins. Maybe I should monitor his visits with Roger. What, with his recent recovery from a nasty heroin-addiction, after all.

"The door is that way," Roger said, indicating the complete wrong direction for our door. Does he want her to go back to work or something so she won't bother him anymore?

"No other way. No day but today!" Wow, this sounds just like what we learned at life support! Could this be a plot point? Nah, couldn't be. Angel and Mimi must just be really good friends who talk about that kind of stuff. And when did Mimi and Roger arguing about sex and drugs erupt into a philosophical debate, anyway?

"The fire's out anyway," Roger reminded me. After all, he can't possibly be expected to consider such things as moving on and giving up his hermitage while he's freezing to death.

"No day but today!" I'm not magic, he wants the fire relit from down here, he should ask Mimi. Okay, now I'm in favor of them again.

"Take your powder, take your candle," Roger thoughtfully reminds her to not forget her stuff while she's also not letting the door hit her in the ass on the way out.

"No day but today," we repeat because we really don't feel like coming up with a new mantra as this one seems to be working marvelously and Roger keeps scrambling to find something just as good.

"Take your brown eyes, your pretty smile, your silhouette," Roger continues to list off things that she might somehow leave behind in our flat. I don't really want to know how.

"No day but today!"

"Another time, another place, another rhyme, a warm embrace!" Roger said, complaining about the temperature and attempting to use his vampire powers to cast a spell and get rid of us. Fortunately for us, Mimi seems to have blocked it as we're still here. And yes, I know it's Mimi because I can only take so many mythical creatures in my life and three is my quota. The third is Maureen, by the way, who I swear is a Siren.

"No day but today!" Beat that; you can't possibly come up with something better than collective thinking all on your own!

"Another dance, another way, another chance, another day!" Roger insists, although I'm not sure why he's ranting about dancing. Oh well, it's been a long day.

"No day but today!" We finish smugly. And I'm starting to remind myself eerily of Gollum with all this 'we/our' business. Thank God Roger's finally lost his patience at having to come up with something new every time while we just repeated the same catchphrase over and over again.

Sure enough, they both shake their heads and Roger heads in and Mimi hugs Angel. And Collins and I are still there, too, in case you're wondering. We just kind of fade into the background. Like I usually do. Being the cameraman is so not gratifying. Guess I'd better go angst about Maureen for a bit before Roger needs me to go angst about why he won't go out with witch-girl.

Such is the life.

To Be Continued…

R&R!