𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘛 𝘐𝘚 𝘓𝘐𝘍𝘌 | PAUL MCCARTNEY

|it seems like years since it's been clear|

october eighth

it was foggy outside. muggy. it felt like you were being held under a warm, wet blanket, breathing in dampness everywhere you breathed. paul walked with me, holding my phone, probably looking at instagram as we walked to school together. i didn't want him to go, but he wouldn't quit whining.

he somehow got the juice stain out of his pants when i hurried him to get ready. i later found out he just turned them inside out. "who's roger taylor and why do you love him so much?"

i snatched my phone from him to see him looking through my instagram dms with my friend, with which we shared our mutual love for rock stars in.

thankfully, he didn't get as far as june when i confessed my love for paul mccartney. "you'll find out soon," i teased. "maybe... seven or eight years your time."

he scoffed and took my phone back, mindlessly playing word scrabble as we got closer and closer to the school. "what's a selfie?"

"it's a picture of yourself," i told him. "there could be others in the photo, too, though."

"let's take one, then!" paul excitedly brought the phone up to my face. i laughed and took it and opened the camera app.

"just press this white circle," i flipped the camera, and he looked amazed.

"wow..."

we momentarily stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, but only for the selfie. i fixed my hair and waited for him to take it. it took him a while to stretch his finger, so i waited. finally, with a smile, he took the photo. we kept on walking like normal.

before we left, i explained to him that he absolutely couldn't come in, or at least, he'd just have to hide in the school basement for the entire school day. he hesitantly agreed and allowed me to give him my coat to cover his face with, just in case. "this is where we part ways," i told him.

we were at the back of the school. it was at one of the doors that led to the basement.

"you absolutely cannot come upstairs under any circumstances... unless you're in danger, but that's it!" i took my phone out of his hands and gave him a pen and paper. "use this and write some music or something."

"what if i need to call you?" he took the paper, but not without a wary look. "i don't have a... whatever you call that thing!"

i opened the door. "there's a phone down there," i took the pen away and wrote my number down on it. "if you need me, that's my number. don't call unless you really need something, okay?"

paul nodded with a childish grin. he took the pen back and began to go downstairs when he suddenly stopped without warning.

"wait!"

i turned back to him and waited for the next sentence.

"yeah?"

"no kiss?" he gave a devilish smile as i slapped his shoulder, hastily walking away without another word.

                                         🌻

time seemed to slow while i was at school that day. i couldn't focus on much of anything. i constantly felt anxious or worried that paul would get found out. while in history, my leg bounced up and down. i prayed in my mind that everything would turn out just fine and he could go home safely.

"miss thomas?" my teacher, harold interrupted my worries. "are you paying attention?"

"yes, harold," i said sarcastically as if i was. i wasn't. it was almost normal to call him by his name at that point. we all teased him so much anyways, so he'd gotten used to it.

"good..." he suspiciously laughed and returned to the board. "now, class, i'm no artist, but-"

without warning, my phone began buzzing. my thoughts were instantly directed to paul. harold kept on teaching, and i silently opened my phone. my mother was calling.

i wondered why she would possibly calling me during class, so i dismissed it. she texted me, "sorry, bea........wrong number LOL!!!1!!!!!!1!!". i cringed as i read that.

i looked back up away from my phone and tried to focus on the class. with little success, i decided i needed to create some sort of diversion so i could get out of school and get paul home.

i tried to get the class clown's attention to make him say something, but he wouldn't do anything. then, i suddenly thought of a wonderful idea. when class was over, in between periods, i ran outside and around the school to the back door. i opened the door and ran downstairs.

paul was miserably hidden under a tupè and a long overcoat. once he saw it was me, he relaxed. "hey, bea! school over yet? this basement is hot," he said very rapidly.

"no, but i need your help."

🌻

i patiently waited for the principle to show up. anytime, he'd show up and escort me out of class. surely my plan would have to work. and, as i expected, over the intercom in the lunchroom, i heard his familiar voice ring through.

"beatrice thomas, come to my office, please," principle hemmit said.

everyone's eyes shot my way suddenly. i felt a wave of attention fall upon me. pretending to shyly stand to my feet and grab my backpack, i scanned the crowd of kids staring at me. i raised my eyebrows and smiled to myself. i took a deep breath and half-ran-half-jogged when teachers passed me by in the hallways to the office.

as soon as i got there, i saw principal hemmit standing right in his doorway. "you have a doctor's appointment, miss thomas,"

"yeah," i said as if i already knew.

"your father called and asked you to hurry home."

i only lived a few miles away from school, so it wasn't that long of a walk. luckily, i knew i wouldn't have to walk home anyways, though, i had to find a way to get paul home.

"okay, thank you mr. principle sir," i awkwardly added. "see you later, alligator."

he said goodbye and watched me walk out of his room quickly. i ran back downstairs and outside the school.

it was raining already. it wasn't supposed to rain until seven, and it was only eleven! i put my yellow rain-coat on and ran behind the building. i opened the door and ran downstairs, backpack in hand.

"oh, thank god, you made it!" paul's relieved face met mine. i smiled at him and put my hood down.

"it's raining cats and dogs out there," i joked. he shrugged and left the oversized overcoat on. "let's go to panera and figure out what the hell is happening."