I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

Shut Up And Sing It With Me

Ray's POV:

The moment we left the stairway, Mikey and I went directly to the principal's office.

There was the secretary, with three secretaries. Inside the secretary, was the principal's office. I had to find a way to distract the three of them so Mikey could enter the office.

"Stay here" I said. "When the time is right, I'll make the sign and you come in."

"Okay." He said.

I had no idea of what I was about to do or how I would do it, but I would. I entered the secretary and the three ladies looked at me.

"Hello, Mr. Toro. The principal is not here right now. May I help you?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "I... Would like to know if... Any of you are... Interested..." I started looking around, desperately looking for something to talk about. Suddenly, I saw a guitar leaning against a corner of the room. "In music?"

The three of them frowned.

"Excuse me?"

"Shouldn't you be in class right now, young man?" said the second one.

"No, I have a free period, actually." That was a lie. I hoped that none of them would look at my schedule. "So I thought, maybe you wanted to hear some music?"

The three ladies exchanged a look, and then looked at me again.

"I mean, I suppose you just spend the entire day here, don't you? And don't get to see people or whatever. Must be a bit boring."

Silence.

"It is a bit boring sometimes, indeed." Giggled one of them.

I smiled.

"So, what do you say? Wanna hear a song?"

They exchanged another look, probably wondering if it was a good idea.

"I mean, we're not busy right now, are we?" asked the third one.

"Okay, Mr. Toro, you win. One song." They smiled and so did I.

I couldn't believe it had worked.

I walked towards the guitar and grabbed it. Then, I started playing the first song that came to my mind.

"Oh! I love Beatles!" said one of the ladies.

"Sing along!" I said.

As I had drawn their attention, I turned to one side, making them look at this side and stand with their backs to the door. I looked out the window and my gaze crossed Mikey's. I nodded discreetly, indicating he could enter.

He entered discreetly, walking slowly and tiptoeing. Passed behind the counter and began to search for the key of the principal's office in the middle of the various keys hanging on the wall.

He couldn't find the right one.

Suddenly, the song was over. I exchanged a quick look with Mikey and immediately he hid under the table.

"That was nice, Mr. Toro. Thank you very much. But we must return to work now."

One of the ladies was about to turn around when I screamed.

"No! Wait!" They looked at me, frowning and also a little scared. It was a loud scream. "One more song?"

"Mr. Toro, it's very kind of you, but we really need..."

"C'mon, Doris, you said you liked Beatles." She looked surprised when I called her by her first name. "Besides, principal Edwards is not even here. C'mon, one more song. I swear."

Doris smiled.

"Fine, Mr. Toro, you got us." The two other ladies looked very happy, too.

I smiled and started playing another song. When Mikey was sure they wouldn't turn around, he got up and started looking for the key.

As I was close to the window, I heard footsteps. I glanced and saw principal Edwards coming.

I froze. Suddenly, Gerard showed up and started talking to him. But a few seconds later, the principal turned his back and continued walking. Gerard looked at me through the window. I tried to tell him with my eyes that we still needed more time.

Gerard called the principal and started talking again. One more time he looked at me. I told him by my expression to keep talking.

I looked to the ladies again and they were singing the song, happily. Suddenly, Mikey turned around holding a key and smiling. Apparently, he had found the right one.

He then mimic to me, telling me to make more noise so he could open the door.

I nodded discreetly and started playing and singing louder. So did the ladies. Mikey turned around, opened the door, enter the office and closed the door, just in time to finish the song.

I laughed, nervous.

"Okay, ladies, I'll let you get to work, now."

"Thanks for the show, Mr. Toro! We appreciated it!"

I smiled and blinked, before leaving. It was all on Mikey's hands now.

When I got to the corridor, neither Gerard or the principal were there.

I looked at the clock on the wall. I was running out of time. Headed back to the stairs, I could only hope everything else had worked out.