A/N: This is it, guys. THE LAST CHAPTER. I know, I said I'd do a COUPLE more chapters after chappie #13, but to be honest, I don't want this thing to run on forever. I am also very aware that I skipped devoting a chapter to the month of May, and that is only because I didn't want the same old thing and for you guys to be kinda sick of it. I wanna thank all you guys for reviewing, and look out for the sequel! I dunno about you guys, but when I was in kindergarten I got a certificate for achievement and passing into first grade or whatever at the end of the year. We had this little "Kindergarten Ceremony". So I'm not making this stuff up. Just clarifying that. Thanks again to all of you who reviewed all this time! Sequel is on its way!
FINAL DISCLAIMER OF ALL 14 CHAPTERS: I do not own any of the RENT characters (but I do own their personalities in 5-year-old form). Jonathan Larson owns RENT.
May flew by and June began, and Mrs. Tibbs' kindergarten class was already happily awaiting summer vacation.
"My daddy's gonna get me and Cindy a pool," Mark said proudly.
"I don't like swimmin' in pools. You get all wet," complained Maureen.
Roger glared at Maureen."You're supposed to get wet, dummy, it's a pool!"
"But what if it's a pool with no water in it?"
"How do you get a pool with no water in it, Mo? The water comes with the pool!"
"No it doesn't, Roger!"
"Mrs. T says we're gettin certinficates on the last day of school!" Joanne said, changing the subject before Roger and Maureen could fight anymore.
"What's a certinficate?" Mimi asked.
Tom sighed. "It's a piece of paper. With your name on it. And you get it on the last day if you was good all year."
Angel clapped happily. "I was good all year!"
"Me too!" cried Joanne.
"I was good almost all year..." Mark said, thinking back at the spider incident back in September.
"Yeah, me too, Marky," Maureen confessed. The group of children began to chatter about who was going to get this 'certinficate' and who wasn't. And that was when Roger started to feel uneasy.
"Um...guys...do you think I'm gonna get a certinficate?" he asked, nervously breaking bits of crayon and drawing on his hands, even though the colors didn't show up.
"I dunno," Tom said, "Were you good?"
Roger thought for a moment. "Nope." Realizing what his answer had been, a worried expression appeared on his face.
Angel giggled, "Roger isn't gonna get a certinficate 'cause he's a baaaaaaad boy!"
"Be quiet, Angie. I bet youuu won't get a certinficate!"
"Why?" gasped Angel.
"'Cause...'cause...you wore stuff on your nails!"
Angel looked hurt for a moment, and then grew quiet. Tom automatically reacted by putting an arm around his friend. Mimi, rather, put a hand on Roger's shoulder.
"It's ok, Roger, I bet you'll get a certinficate!" She smiled at him. He shrugged and continued drawing with his crayons—and, to the children's utter disgust—stuffed them in his mouth.
All Mark Cohen could understand as far as the last day of school was concerned was that his name would be called and Mrs. Tibbs would hand him a piece of paper (as Tom had said! Mark wished he could know everything like Tom did) rolled up like a telescope and then the rest of the day would go by and he could go home. And that was basically what had happened. But only when he and his friends received their certificates did they realize that Tom had been wrong for once.
Out of his group of friends, Mark had been called up first to get his certificate. He went up and got it and sat back down in the small auditorium where the soon-to-be first graders and their parents had gathered. As he was walking, everyone had started clapping and it was getting Mark quite confused. He glanced at his parents, way in the back, and actually could see his mother crying.
He plopped himself next to Angel, who said, "Yay, Marky!" and gave him a hug, "You were good all year!"
The next name that was called surprised the bohemian kiddies.
"Roger Davis," Mrs. T said. Maureen gasped dramatically, Joanne smiled and ushered Roger to get up so he could get his certificate, Mimi hugged Roger, Mark clapped, Angel squealed, and Tom stared, wide-eyed. Roger casually walked up to his teacher and got his certificate and proudly headed back to his seat.
"I guess I ain't that bad then," he said, smirking. "Everyone gotted one!"
After everyone's names had been called, the children wandered around to find their parents. Once they had done so, they found their little cliques of friends once again.
"Guys!" Mark cried, running over to his friends, "Guess what my mommy just told me?"
Roger blinked. "What did your mommy tell you?"
"The certinficate doesn't mean you were good all year, it means you're goin' to first grade and that you achieved stuff!"
"What does achieved mean?" asked Joanne.
Mark shrugged. "I dunno. But that's what my mommy told me. So Roger, you woulda getted one even if you were bad."
"YAY!" Roger shouted.
"Tom was wrong," Maureen said flatly. Tom just shrugged.
When it was time for everyone to leave, Maureen dramatically hugged all of her friends.
"I'll miss you guys!" she cried loudly. Roger rolled his eyes.
"Oh come on, Mo, we'll prolly see each other in the summer!" he muttered.
"Oh, yeah...BUT I WANNA HUG YOU ANYWAY!"
They all hugged each other, and, of course, Angel gave Tom the biggest hug.
"Ouch...um...Angie, you're...OW!...Can't...breathe..."
Angel quickly broke away. "Sorry!"
"That's okay."
Roger awkwardly let everyone hug him, and when Mimi gave him a hug, she couldn't help but ask:
"Aren't you gonna hug me back?"
Roger looked at her like she had six heads. Hug her back? Was she insane?
But he hugged her back. And he looked her in the eye, and smiled.
As he was walking out the door, holding each of his parents' hands, a pang of sadness hit Mark's heart. He would truly miss being with his friends every day that summer. Yes, he was sad, but at the same time he was happy. He was in first grade now! As far as he knew all of his friends were coming back the next year, and he would be able to experience the joy of being a first grader with them. He looked back at the school one last time before getting in the car.
Bye-bye, kindergarten.
And with that, he sat in the car and waved to the school as they drove away.
-FIN-