3... 2... 1...

The bell rings, and Marcus rushes out of the classroom and into the halls. The sound of their heels loudly clacking filled their ears. Marcus was wearing a white t-shirt, a red and black flannel, a matching skirt, thigh-high grey socks, and heels a couple inches off the ground. Part of the reason for the outfit was because of the role, and they also just like dressing like this. On top of the outfit they had planned out a week ago, they also woke up an hour early to do a full, glamorous makeup look inspired by the character.

In little time at all, Marcus makes it to the big doors of the auditorium. They swing them open and make a dash to their seat. However as they walk to the chair, they see someone already sitting in it. They don't recognize the kid either, but they had heard a rumor that a new kid would be coming this year.

They slowly approach the person. "Excuse me, could you maybe move a seat over?"

The kid looks up. "Of course, I'm sorry. I didn't realize seats were assigned."

"Oh no, they're not; it's just that, in my head, I have to sit in that seat," Marcus tries to explain, "I know it's stupid, but it's just how my brain works."

"I get that," the kid says as they move one seat over. "I'm Jules, by the way."

"I'm Marcus; I use they/them pronouns."

"He/him."

The two shake hands awkwardly, and Jules can feel his hand was maybe a little too moist. He quickly wipes his hands on his jeans before turning back to Marcus. "I would ask what role you're going for, but I think I have an idea," he jokes with a slight chuckle.

"Yep, I'm going for Mark," Marcus jokes back before giggling to themself.

"Fits with the name."

"Thank you for noticing. That was my thought process for the decision."

"I was thinking Mimi for myself," Jules fires back. 

They both just sit there, laughing for a couple minutes.

Once they calm down enough, Marcus asks Jules, "what role are you actually going for?"

"Collins-" he points to Marcus "-Angel?"

"Bingo."

The director walks onto the stage and, with a booming voice, announces, "welcome everyone to the official start to 'Rent: School Edition' auditions!"

Marcus and Jules look around, and sure enough, there are dozens of more people that they didn't notice come in.

A new lady stands next to the director. "We'll start with dance auditions, which are for everyone, so if you're going for cast, come up on stage!"

"Can you dance in those?" Jules looks to Marcus with a face of concern.

"You'll see," Marcus says with a wink as they walk onto the stage.

The dance auditions go well. "Rent" is not a show that requires big choreography, so even people like Jules, who struggles with dancing, can keep up with people like Marcus, who has taken dance classes for years.

After those are over, the ensemble auditions start. Neither Jules nor Marcus need to worry about that, so they both sit back on their phones, occasionally making comments with each other.

After those are over, Mrs. Will, the director, calls up people for lead auditions. She goes through Mark, Roger, Mimi, Maureen, Joanne, and Benny, and it's very clear who's going to get what role. She then calls for Collins, and Jules along with two other guys go on stage. The other two guys go first, and it's clear that they're doing it as a just in case because neither of them give the soul "I'll Cover You (Reprise)" requires. However, Jules goes last, and it is clear that he prepared for this. He gives passion in his performance that almost brought Marcus to tears. They're even sure he made himself cry on command.

Once he's done, Mrs. Will calls for Angel, and once they're on stage, Marcus realizes they're the only one auditioning for this role. They're nervous, but they power through it. They have been performing this song every night since the show announcement, and they are going to kill "Today 4 U." The music starts, and it's almost like Marcus becomes possessed by a new being. They give every ounce of high-energy the song needs. On the final beats of the performance, Marcus does what no one expects. They jump into the air, and land into a split just as they sing the last, "for me." The people sitting down quickly jump up and applaud the routine.

Marcus goes back to their seat, and Jules is sitting with amazement in his eyes.

"How did you do that?" Jules asks with wide eyes.

"I wanted to be a cheerleader, but my dad never let me," they respond, clearly somewhat winded even though they've done that performance many times in their room.

The rest of auditions fly by as only non-singing auditions are left, and everyone just wants to go home. The only notable thing was Marcus being the only person to read for Angel. Not even a begrudging, "fine," of someone forced to read.

Once that was over, everyone went home, most perfectly happy with what they did.