Do You Want To Know a Secret?

6. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

"No way! Seriously? You're putting me on!" Minnie spoke frantically in the middle of the school hallway in disbelief after hearing the news about how my uncle decided to manage The Beatles. I quickly put my hand over her mouth to quiet her irritatedly.

"Yes, seriously, and could you speak any louder?" I spoke harshly sending apologetic smiles to our school peers who were now staring at us with curiosity thanks to Minnie. I retracted my hand after seeing her roll her eyes.

"Well excuse me, but it's not everyday Brian decides to manage four painfully gorgeous boys." She spoke in a daze. I shook my head and scoffed knowing that she had completely missed my point that I had gushed about to her minutes ago.

"Okay look, I'm sorry, I know Brian touring around and working more often is a drag, but Poppy, it's the Beatles." She whined tugging on the sleeve of my uniform blazer.

"Oh gosh you're right, what was I thinking?" I spoke flatly grabbing my things from my locker in preparation to get back to the NEMS store since school had just finished for the day.

"Look, all I'm saying is this doesn't have to be a bad thing, I'm sure there's at least a few upsides to having the boys around." She winked suggestively making me repress the urge to break into a huge grin, she may have been a worrier by day, but she was boy crazy by night.

"But whether he's a manager or not, you still need to talk to your uncle, you can't ignore him forever." She sent a sympathetic smile patting my shoulder. I sighed as I shut my locker and turned to face her once again.

"I hate it when you're right." I groaned. For the past couple days my uncle had tried to make amends but I had been giving him the cold shoulder. I guess I was so afraid of losing him to his job that I thought it would be easier to try and be angry at him so when he leaves to go touring I wouldn't feel as lonely because I wouldn't miss him, but so far it hadn't been working well at all. All I was doing was feeding a huge amount of guilt to my self conscious making me feel like a gigantic jerk.

Once Minnie and I had parted our separate ways outside the school I knew I had to try and get things to be right between my uncle and I, the last time I had been this upset with him I was still only under five feet tall and just learning the truth about Santa Clause.

I walked along the snowy sidewalks a few blocks to the NEMS store watching my own breath in the frigid January weather and feeling my chest tighten slightly from the freezing air. It felt almost the same way it did when I had been down in the Cavern club but I decided to ignore it and keep walking, too preoccupied with my guilt ridden conscious to give my shortness of breath a second thought. When I finally saw the store sign I was already rehearsing an apology in my head over and over again.

Through the fogged window of the store I could faintly make out four very Beatle like figures making a large pit grow in the bottom of my stomach. After John and I's chat the other morning I dreaded when I'd have to be in the same room with him and George at the same time. This would also only make apologizing to my uncle more difficult, with them around I had a feeling I would barely have two minutes alone to talk in private with my uncle.

I prayed I'd go unnoticed as I crept into the store as quietly as humanly possible but the loud clanking of the bells at the door gave away my entrance leading all the eyes in the room shift to my direction. I sent a weary smile with crimson red cheeks as I walked behind the counter quietly noticing Johns smugness had increased upon my arrival.

My uncle spoke a brief greeting and quickly turned his attention back to the boys and they continued on with their conversation. Since the store was almost completely empty of customers I grabbed a book from my school book bag and began to read trying desperately to avoid the intense stare of John that was burning into the side of my head.