RENTtalia - Prologue

(Please read the description! I promise to explain this cracktasticalness!)

   <sub>This world is not always an easy one to live in; anything and everything can go wrong in the blink of an eye. Major issues such as war and economic failure threaten to destroy the globe, but it's the seemingly simple issues that ordinary people go trough each day that really affect this planet we call earth. Tying to find work, struggling with one's sexuality, drugs, or simply trying to find a way to pay the rent, those are the things that really threaten to tear a person's spirit apart and quite possibly kill them. We humans tend to think of our lives in negative terms, like how tough our school year was to how busy work was or how hard even finding a place to work is. Since our hearts are so dead set on the negative aspects of our lives and our brains are focused on dreaming of what our lives could be like that we forget about all the good things that we actually possess. Such as the love we receive from our friends and family and the good times we have with them! At the end of the year, many people will look back on their lives from the past 365 days and be thankful that it's over, for only the bad experiences will pop up. Though, some good things may be in the mix as well, it's the tough things that will be on the forefront of the mind. But, what if we were to actually think of the good, instead of the bad? Cherish the moments we had with our loved ones instead of wishing about how things could have been?

        That is exactly where this story begins. A year in the life of several bohemians living in New York City in the year 1989, simply struggling to survive through every obstacle thrown in their path, but their joint struggle brings them together; their love for each other turns this group of friends into a family.</sub>


        A piano began to play a catchy yet inspiring tune as the lights in a dark auditorium flickered on to reveal eight figures standing on the stage, each under their own spotlight. It was quite an interesting and diverse assembly seeing as each person came from a different country. There were eight people in total: five men and three women.

        Each male present had varying types of blond hair, but none looked the same. There was an American with dirty blond hair and he had blue eyes and glasses and wore an old, beat up leather bomber jacket with a striped scarf around his neck.
        Another had golden-blond hair and striking green eyes that sat under his thick black eyebrows (which accentuated his eyes even more) and he wore a studded denim jacket with a t-shirt underneath, he had the appearance of a rock star; but clearly he did not possess the status and wealth of one and he hailed from the island country of Great Britain.
        The third also had golden-blond hair, but his was about shoulder length and wavy and appeared as if it was made of silk, and wore a long, navy blue leather coat and mismatched clothing beneath, he was from the nation of France.
        Now the fourth man, it was tough to tell that he was actually male at all for he had very effeminate features and shoulder length, light blond hair and he was dressed in drag wore an enormous amount of make up surrounding his light green eyes and on his lips and he came from Poland.
        The last was a serious looking German fellow with slicked back light blond hair and piercing blue eyes, and unlike the rest of the men present he was wearing a suit and tie which made him appear as if he was much better off financially than the rest of them.


         Now the females on the stage had a bit more of a variation when it came to their appearances. The youngest of them all had tan skin, big brown eyes and her dark brown hair was pulled into pigtails with red ribbons. She wore a simple outfit of an old, ratty-looking sweater and a skirt and she came from the small island country of Seychelles which was right off the coast of Africa.
         There was also another brunette present as well. She had cold violet eyes which wore a serious expression and her long locks were pulled back from her face in a half-up-do, and on her chin she had a small beauty mark; and just like the German man she also wore more upper-class clothing but she came to New York from Austria.
         Then the third and final female had long platinum hair that was practically white and piercing red eyes that were also tinged with pink. She wore a Prussian blue jacket over a tank top and tight pants, and was originally from East Germany.

         The music started to pick up as more instruments were added to the mix, and then the lights around them turned on and brightened as they started to sing all together.

        "Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear. Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?" they sang in practically perfect harmony.

        "In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights and cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?"

       "How about," the guys sang those two words, and then the rest joined in by singing, "love?" They repeated that seemingly simple yet deep question three times before singing, "Measure in love."

         Then everyone's voices faded to the background to sing "oooh" as the Austrian woman sang a solo with a surprisingly powerful yet soulful voice.

        She sang, "Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. Five hundred twenty-five thousand, journeys to plan. Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?" She pointed out to the invisible crowd slightly while adding a slight hint of dancing as she bobbed her body to the beat. After the last note she sang faded out, the Frenchman with the silky blond locks started singing as if he was answering her 'question'. Also, his voice was unexpectedly deep and full of soul.

        He sang back, "In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried. In bridges he burned, or the way that she died!"

        The man held his last note for a while and that is when everyone else jumped back in with their own singing, and started to clap to the beat. "It's time now, to sing out, though the story never ends. Let's celebrate, remember a year in the life of friends!"

"Remember the love!" everyone sang that except for the Austrian woman who's expressive voice rose above the rest as she ad-libbed some lyrics, "Oh you got to got to remember the love!"

        "You know that love is a gift from up above!" ("Remember the love!")

"Share love, give love, spread love!" ("Remember the love!")

         "Remember the love!" everyone sang this final line while the brunette woman with the powerful voice sang, "Measure, measure your life in love!" At the end of that lyrical line, her voice rose up so high and hit the note so perfectly that it sent shivers down the spine of anyone who heard it. Finally, everyone came back together to sing the final line:

     "Seasons of love!"

     The lights went dark in the auditorium as soon as the last note faded, signaling the end of the song, and the start of the real story.