"RENT" first grade 6-7
Notice- Roger no longer has missing front teeth so now he can talk normally again. Mark has loose teeth but hasn't lost any yet. Mark will lose teeth soon though. Benny and Collins are here at last!!!!! YAY! Oh and I would like to thank IceKazana-Angel who helped me with the names of the students in the class. Kazana's idea was to name them after the OBC of RENT and I agreed.
The ****'s mean the star of a new chapter.


  Roger Davis, 6 years old, walked through the doors of the Alphabet City Elementary School. He was holding a guitar case in one hand and his Spider-Man backpack was on his shoulder. His best friend, Mark Cohen also 6 years old, was walking with him. Roger was complaining about First Grade. Mark, however, was complaining about how easy First Grade was going to be.
  "Mark, First Grade is gonna be hard." Roger told the smaller blond.
  "No it won't. We get to learn a bunch of new stuff like adding and subtracting." Mark replied, eagerly.
  "That type of stuff is hard." Roger complained.
  "It won't be once you learn it." Mark promised.
  "Okay I'll give it a try." Roger responded, glumly. He hated not getting his own way. Mark on the other hand took out his camera and began filming.
  "August 23. 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time." Mark said. Mark began filming. "First shot Roger. Upset about school and carrying his new Spider-Man backpack. Next shot the school. Where Mark and Roger will be in until Eigth Grade." Mark went right on filming and talking. Then he crashed into and older boy. "S-s-sorry." He stammered. Roger looked around and saw where Mark was. Mark was standing next to an older kid who was dark skinned and wearing a knit hat with a long coat.
  "Hey kid." The older boy said.
  "Sorry about crashing into you. I can't see where I'm going with this camera." Mark said hastily.
  "No problem. By the way, what's your name kid?" The older boy asked.
  "I'm Mark Cohen. By the way what's your name?" Mark asked.
  "Tom Collins. But NEVER call me Tom! If you do you're dead!" Collins told Mark.
  "Hey guys." Roger greeted.
  "And you are?" Collins asked.
  "I'm Roger Davis. Who are you?" Roger asked.
  "Tom Collins, but ONLY call me Collins! NEVER Tom!" Collins told Roger.
  "Okay." Roger said quickly. Collins grinned and shook both their hands.
  "H-h-hi." Mark stammerd.
  "Hi." Roger said confidently. "Don't worry about him. He gets nervous around new people." Roger explained. Mark elbowed him in the ribs. "What?"
  "I don't get as nervous as I did when we met April."
  "Whose April?" Collins asked.
  "Our friend from Pre-School." Roger told him.
  "Cool. Is she here now?" Collins asked.
  "Nope she moved to Boston at the end of the year." Mark replied, sadly. Roger nodded.
  "THOMAS!" A slightly smaller dark skinned boy shouted.
  "Whose that?" Roger asked.
  "Benjamin Coffin III." Collins replied. "Hi Benny." Collins greeted as Benny ran up.
  "Hey Thomas."
  "DON'T CALL ME THOMAS!" Collins yelled, gripping the collar of Benny's shirt. Benny barley flinched.
  "You should go by your given name Tom. Your teachers will call you Thomas not Collins."
  "They will if they want to keep me at bay!" Collins replied sharply. Then Benny noticed Mark and Roger.
  "Hey who are they?" Benny asked Collins.
  "Ask them, they can speak." Collins muttered, releasing Benny.
  "Hey, who are you two?" Benny asked.
  "I'm Roger Davis."
  "M-mark C-cohen. Who are you?" Mark asked.
  "Benjamin Coffin III. Though I prefer Benny." He told them. They all shook hands.
  "So what grade are you guys going into?" Colllins asked them.
  "First." Roger said.
  "First." Mark replied.
  "First." Benny shrugged.
  "Wow we're all in the same grade!" Collins exclaimed. At that moment the bell rang. "Let's go to class!" The four all ran to class where they ended up being together again.
  "This is really cool. We're even in the same class." Collins remarked.
  "Alright class settle down. My name is Ms. Sharon." She told them as she wrote her name on the board for all to see. Roger and Mark were sitting next to each other but they weren't paying much attention to her.
  "The first lesson today will be to learn each others names." Roger raised his hand.
  "I know four people in here right now. You, Mark, Benny and Collins." He said.
  "Very good. What's your name young man?" Ms. Sharon asked.
  "Roger Davis." Roger promptly fell silent and went to writing out a staff and beginning to write a song. Ms. Sharon went around the room to see who everyone was. Roger half listened.
  "Mark Cohen." Mark introduced himself to the class.
  "Tom Collins, but please only call me Collins." Collins told the class.
  "Benjamin Coffin III." Benny said. "But I prefer Benny."
  "Tyler Rogers." A small, sligthly gangly brown haired, green eyed boy said.
  "Aaron Ryerson." A black haired, brown eyed boy introduced himself.
  "Idina." A tall, thin, brunette girl stood up.
  "Anthony." A blond stood up, his blue eyes gleaming.
  "Adam." A boy with bleached blond hair stood up.
  "Taye." A dark skinned boy said with a wave.
  "Wilson." A skinny boy stood and he had curly short hair.
  "Gilles." A tall boy stood up.
  "Rodney." A boy with dark skin said to the class.
  "Kristen." A girl with dark hair waved.
  "Jesse." A dark skinned kid stood up and sat back down.
  "Aiko." A girl who looked to be from Japan introduced herself.
  "Timothy" A kid with dark short hair.
  "Daphne." She looked Hispanic and had dark hair.
  "Byron." He had dark skin and wore a hat.
  "Gwen." She was a girl with dark skin.
  "Fredi." Was dark skinned.
  "Jonathan." The final boy stood up and waved. He was easily the tallest boy there and his hair was curly and his ears looked to be just a bit to big.
****
  When the bell rang for recess the four boys ran out to the playground. Roger carried his guitar like always. Mark carried his camera.
  "Do you two always carry those things with you?" Benny asked. Roger and Mark looked at each other and nodded.
  "Yeah." They replied at the same time.
  "Oh wow." Benny mumbled.
  "Don't bag on them Benjamin. They can do what they want." Collins told him.
  "Don't call me Benjamin." Benny told him. Roger began to play his guitar with Mark filming him.
****
  "Mark?" Roger asked when they sat down in class.
  "What?" Mark replied.
  "I need help."
  "With what?" Mark, like always had finished long before Roger and was working on the weeks homework.
  "What's eight minus eight?" Roger asked.
  "Zero." Mark replied. Roger grinned.
  "Thanks." Roger told him. Mark nodded and went back to his work. Roger finished soon after and he turned in his math worksheet. He pulled out a peice of paper and started writing music. A few minutes later the bell rang and Mark, Roger, Benny and Collins ran outside to get picked up.
  "There's my mom." Benny said when he spotted his mother. "Bye boys." He told them before running off.
  "Am I carpooling with you today?" Collins asked Benny.
  "Yeah, so come on Collins." Benny told him.
  "Bye Roger and Mark." Collins told the two smaller boys before running off to join Collins.
  "Roger! Mark! Come on you two!" Mrs. Cohen called to the boys.
  "Let's go." The boys ran to Mrs. Cohen.
  "Hi mom." Mark greeted.
  "Hi Marky. Hi Roger." Mrs. Cohen greeted.
  "Hello Mrs. Cohen." Roger greeted.
  "Are you boys ready to go?" Mrs. Cohen asked. The two nodded. "Then let's go." They followed Mrs. Cohen out to her car. She drove Roger home and then went home herself.   
****
  The next day at school the four new friends played on the playground before school.
  "August 24, 7:00 am. The group of new friends are playing on the playground." Mark announced. Jonathan walked up to them.
  "Hey." He greeted. He looked really shy.
  "Hey what's up?" Roger greeted.
  "You're a really good guitar player." Jonathan told him.
  "Thanks." Roger said. Jonathan was easily the tallest of all four of them and he was grinning widely.
  "Hey Jonathan what are you going to do for a living?" Mark asked. He turned to look at Mark.
  "Right now I enjoy things like performing, but music is fun too." Jonathan said.
  "Cool."
  "What about you Mark?" Jonathan asked, Mark looked shocked, it was hard to beleive that Jonathan still remembered his name.
  "I want to be a filmmaker." Mark replied. Jonathan nodded.
  "That'd be great." Was his reply.
  "I really don't know what I want to be." Collins remarked.
  "That's fine you have plenty of time." Jonathan told him, but as he said it his cheerful manner fell slightly.
  "What's wrong?" Benny asked.
  "Nothing." Jonathan replied. Then his grin spread out across his face again. "Hey why don't we make a movie of all of us?" He stated.
  "Alright." Mark agreed and he began filming Roger playing while Jonathan sang. Benny and Collins joined in and Mark directed them silently from behind the camera. Soon Jonathan, Collins, Benny and Roger were standing in a line in front of him. The song was slow and quite, until Roger began to make it more of a rock song. Jonathan immediatly caught on to the rythm and sang, sounding like a professional singer. Mark was shocked. When the song was over; they were all silent. No one knew what to say or do. That is until Roger began to clap. Jonathan grinned and clapped for Roger, while Roger clapped for Jonathan.
  "Hello boys." Ms. Quincy greeted.
  "Hi." Roger murmered. Collins aknowledged her, but gave no sign that he had heard.
  "Hello Ms. Quincy." Benny greeted.
  "Hello." Jonathan greeted. Mark just looked at her, without saying anything.
  "What were you boys doing?" She asked.
  "Filming."
  "Playing guitar."
  "Singing."
  "Watching then joining in." Was both Benny and Collins' reply.
  "Well could you keep it down?" She asked and the boys shook their heads. "Why not?"
  "Well you see, when we're on the playground we aren't supposed to be quite. That's what the classroom is for." Colllins told her smugly.
  "Thomas Collins! How dare you speak to a teacher that way?" She demanded.
  "Well, you asked and I gave you an answer." Collins muttered.
  "Come with me." She grabbed him and dragged him off. Roger, Mark, Jonathan and Benny watched him.
  "What'll happen to him?" Mark asked.
  "If I know Tom then he'll talk his way out of detention." Benny told the others as they watched Collins being dragged off.
  "How will he do that?" Roger asked.
  "He has his ways." Benny told him. The others shrugged.
  "True." Roger agreed. Then Collins came running from around the corner.
  "I'm a genius, how do I do it?" He called as he ran out from around the corner. Roger shrugged. Jonathan grinned. Benny rolled his eyes and Mark gave Collins a high five.
  "Collins you have to teach us that." Roger said to him.
  "You really can't be taught, you just have to know how to charm our principle enough that they decide they WANT to keep you around." Collins explained.
  "How do you charm the principle?" Jonathan asked, his eyes wide.
  "Well first you find out what they like then you use that to your advantage." Collins explained.
  "So blackmail?" Mark asked.
  "In a way yes." Collins agreed.
  "Sweet." Roger said.
  "No it's not." Benny replied.
  "And why not exactly?" Roger countered.
  "It's a crime to blackmail someone. Especially a teacher!" Benny shouted. More at Collins than Roger. The two boys started a heated argument and didn't stop until after lunch. By that time Mark, Collins and Jonathan were annoyed.
  "Just shut it the both of you!" Collins groaned.
  "Please." Added Jonathan. "And Mark don't bang your head on the table." He told Mark. Instantly Mark stopped. "Thank you." Jonathan told the smaller blond.
  "Fine, we'll stop." Roger said. Benny agreed.
  "THANK YOU!" The other three yelled in unison. Then the bell rang.
****
  A the end of the day, Roger and Mark were messing around as they waited for their parents to come pick them up. Jonathan was tyring to pull his bike out of the bike rack.
  "Here let me help." Adam said as he walked over to help the taller boy.
  "Thanks." Jonathan said. Mark and Roger watched the scene unfold.
  "Hey guys." Anthony greeted, walking up to Mark and Roger. Jonathan and Adam followed.
  "Hi. Anthony right?" Roger greeted.
  "Yeah I'm in your class. You two are Mark and Roger. Right?" He asked. They nodded.
  "Tony hurry up!" A voice called. They turned to see Daphne calling to him.
  "I forgot! Carpooling! Bye guys!" He called as he ran to catch his ride with Daphne and her mom.
  "See you guys." Daphne called as her mom pulled out of the parking lot.
  "Hey boys." Jesse and Wilson walked over to them.
  "Hi Jesse." Jonathan greeted. "Wilson." He shook both of their hands. Idina ran up at that moment.
  "Hey guys. Bye guys." She said as she ran by to her car.
  "Oh we have to go too." Wilson and Jesse ran off.
  "Johnny!" A voice called.
  "Oh i have to go my mother is here. Bye." Jonathan ran and jumped on his bike and he and his mother rode home. All the other people in the class were around and getting leaving as they saw their parents coming up to them or pulling up in front of the school. Soon Mark and Roger were the only two left.
  "Where is my dad?" Roger asked. Mark shrugged. 30 minutes later Mark's mother showed up.
  "Hey mom wasn't Roger's dad supposed to pick us up today?" Mark asked.
  "Yes but Roger your mother wants to talk with you when you get home today." Mrs. Cohen told Roger. A worried look flickered over Roger's face. Mark looked worried too, but his face stayed worried.
****
  A few minutes later Roger was home and his mother was waiting.
  "Hey mom, what did you want to talk to me about?" Roger asked.
  "I wanted to tell you what you'd think if daddy and I didn't live together anymore."
  "Why do you say that?" Roger asked, growing worried.
  "Well we were considering getting a divorce, but only if our son would let us." Mrs. Davis explained.
  "I don't want you to." Roger told her. She nodded.
  "Alright. Then we won't." She told him. Roger nodded.
  "Can I go over to Mark's this weekend?" Roger asked. Mrs. Davis thought for a moment before responding.
  "Okay." She said nodding. Roger pulled a victory fist and yelled for joy. Mrs. Davis hugged him and then told him to go do homework.
  "Oh what do you want for dinner Rog?" She asked. He thought for a minute before responding.
  "I want pizza or pasta." Roger replied and he walked into his room. He pulled out his guitar and started to play. He thought about April and he started to cry a bit. Roger played for about and hour when his mom called him.
  "Roger! Dinner!" His mother called. Roger put his guitar down and ran out to the table. He converse laces touched the floor and his baggy shirt and shorts hung on him a bit to big. Both his mother and father were sitting at the table. Roger joined them and he grinned and waved as he sat down.
****
  The next day at school Mark and Roger were hanging out with Collins, Benny and Jonathan. Roger was playing as usual and Jonathan sang as usual. Like always Benny and Collins set a rythm for them by clapping. They four boys continued like this until the year was almost over. That's when they heard that Jonathan would be transferred to a different school.
  "Hey guys." Jonathan had greeted the day he told them.
  "Hey Jonathan." The others replied.
  "I have some bad news." He said. His normally bright gaze was lowered and he didn't look straight at them.
  "What is it?" Mark asked.
  "I'm not coming back to this school." Jonathan told them. Roger and Mark looked at each other in shock.
  "Why not?" Roger asked.
  "My Mom is making me transfer. I begged and pleaded but she wouldn't let me stay." Jonathan explained. Mark and Roger both looked away from their friend, they couldn't beleive it. Jonathan had become a fast friend to them and now he was leaving them. Collins and Benny were having similar reactions to the news.
  "Jonathan why won't your mom let you stay here?" Collins asked.
  "I don't know. I will say she's incredibly nice but hey kids change schools all the time." He told them. He was looking at the ground and his dark hair was all that was visible of his head and face.
  "Well we'll miss you Johnny." Benny told him. The lanky boy raised his head to look at Benny.
  "I'll miss you all too. Just for the record I won't forget you guys. If you'll let me when we all get older I'll write about you guys and all the friends you make. I'll turn it into a musical and we can all perform it." Jonathan promised. "Don't worry we'll see each other again soon. Maybe in high school. Or as adults. I'm sure we won't look too different then we do now." He said.
  "Well, while Jonathan is still here let's all make one last film of us together." Mark said, taking out his camera. They all nodded and Mark started filming.
  "May 19, 11:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Jonathan won't be coming back to our school so this is our goodbye film." Mark narrated as the other three went about their usual activities. Mark joined them after he set up his camera on a tripod stand. Jonathan was trying to keep a smile on his face, but when they reached the end of the roll of film, all of them were crying. Jonathan was hugging every one of them and they stood with their arms around each others shoulders. Mark was the smallest there and Roger, Collins and Jonathan were the tallest there. Benny was medium height. Jonathan sang his goodbye.
  "'I can't beleive this is, good bye.'" Jonathan sang as the roll of film reached the end. It faded to black on the five friends.
****
  On the last day of school the five friends were once again in tears when the day ended. It was the last day they would get to be with Jonathan so they made the most of it.
  "'No day but today,' right guys" Jonathan asked when the day ended. The others nodded. "Be good you guys and I hope I'll see all of you again someday." Jonathan  said his final good bye and rode off on his bike. He waved, and the others waved back.
  "Maybe it'll be like with April and we'll see him again in high school." Mark said heavily to his friends. Roger shrugged.
  "Maybe. Or maybe he'll leave the country and we'll never see him again." Roger told them.
  "Or maybe he'll be back next year, despite what he said." Benny suggested.
  "Or maybe the next time we here news about him, he'll be dead." Collins suggestion was easily the most frightening, but somehow they knew that wouldn't happen.
  "Well happy summer." Benny told them as he left to get into his car. Collins stood a moment later to leave as well. He waved as he climbed into his car. Roger and Mark waved back and waited. The weight of Jonathan's departure hung heavy on their shoulders so when Mark's mother showed up, they had to work harder to stand up.
  "Hey boys." Mrs. Cohen greeted. They simply nodded. "What's wrong?" She asked.
  "Jonathan left." Mark said shortly.
  "Oh that's too bad." Mrs. Cohen said. They nodded, not wanting to speak.
  A few minutes later they were home. Mark put the last film they made on for them to watch. They watched it until they could watch no more and left just as the camera faded to black on their smiling, but tearstained faces.