Disclaimer: I do not own the Office or the characters depicted in this story. I also do not own the lyrics or the songs quoted herein, they are just used for fun. No copyright infringement intended.
Been Caught Singing
1.
It was quiet in the office for a Monday morning, and the camera crew was desperate for something interesting to film. As Doug scanned the office from the main room, he caught Creed standing by the coffee machine with his back to the camera. He appeared to be doing a little dance, or what could be called a dance in some circles. He shimmied back and forth, sort of moving his head back and forth to a beat. Since Creed was rarely caught on camera, and was generally good for an off color remark, Doug walked quietly to the open door, careful not to disturb him. He heard what sounded like singing. Was Creed singing? To himself?
His curiosity peaked, Doug zoomed in and motioned to Bill to bring the boom in closer to try to pick up the song. Creed was singing quietly, but in a high falsetto. As he danced to the beat of the song, he rifled through some of his coworkers personal coffee cups, as if to pick the one he wanted to claim for his morning coffee:
I’ve been caught stealing,
Once when I was five…
Both of the young men watching the scene had to stifle laughter as Creed continued trying to sing Jane’s Addiction. The cameras had caught him in the act of making off with so many personal items that the crew had a pool as to how much he could take in a week. The song choice seemed more than appropriate. Doug’s chuckle finally alerted Creed to the fact that he wasn’t alone.
“Morning, camera guy.”
While a normal person would make small talk, or be embarrassed at being caught singing out loud or in fact stealing someone else’s coffee cup, Creed just walked on head held high with Dwight’s favorite Battlestar Galatica mug full of his morning coffee,
It’s mine, mine all mine, da da da……
Doug and Bill smiled and shook their heads in disbelief, quietly reminding each other to remember to lock the van at lunch.
2.
Karen and Jim walked into the office at the same time, although neither seemed any too thrilled with the other. Pam noticed that they weren’t holding hands and Karen had a very cold look on her face. She wondered if they were fighting? She made a mental note to steer clear of Karen today; she didn’t want to be pulled into any more awkward conversations with her about Jim.
Unfortunately for Karen and Pam and the other ladies of the Party Planning Committee, St. Patrick’s Day was coming up, which meant another meeting to discuss food and appropriate decorations. Pam had to wonder how Angela would get around using green for this party.
Pam gathered her notepad and went into the conference room; Karen had arrived first and was already seated at the conference table. She seemed to be doodling on her notebook and singing softly, like she had a song stuck in her head. Pam walked toward the table and listened to what Karen was singing,
With a taste of your lips
I’m on a ride
You’re toxic
I’m slipping under
With a taste of poison paradise
I’m addicted to you
Don’t you know that you’re toxic
Pam couldn’t tell if she was hearing the last song Karen had heard on her car radio this morning, or if this was a glimpse into her feelings for Jim. Either way, she felt like she was intruding on Karen’s privacy by hearing it. She felt like she couldn’t move. In fact she wondered if she could just back out of the room.
“Karen, oh my gosh, are you singing Toxic by Britney? I totally love that song.” Kelly walked right by Pam and sat next to Karen. “I had no idea you liked her, we totally have the same music tastes! I could burn some CDs for you if you want….”
Karen looked slightly disoriented, as if she hadn’t realized she was singing out loud. She looked up at Kelly and then at Pam. The two women exchanged a knowing but uncomfortable look.
“Oh, was I? That song is just stuck in my head today. I have no idea why.”
3.
Dwight sat in Michael’s office waiting for him to come back from Pam’s desk. He had interrupted their meeting three times to go out and check if Jan had called; Dwight surmised that perhaps there was trouble in paradise. He hoped everything would work out for Jan and Michael; he knew well the heartache a woman can inflict on a man and he wouldn’t wish it on anyone, especially Michael.
Michael came in looking dejected and humming a tune sadly under his breath. Dwight recognized it immediately as Poison’s “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” a favorite of Dwight’s in high school. “Everything satisfactory Michael?”
“Yeah sure Dwight.”
They went back to pouring over sales figures for a moment, when Michael started singing sadly,
Every rose has its thorn
Just like every night has its dawn
“Michael, it appears that without Andy in the office our sales have increased, much as I predicted.” Dwight was determined to try to keep Michael on topic, especially if it meant exposing Andy as a bad salesman. Michael stared blankly ahead and continued,
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn
“Michael, we currently have sufficient sales support with Andy on leave, Ryan is progressing adequately in his training as a sales rep.” Michael looked at him now, but continued,
I listen to our favorite song
Playing on the radio
Hear the dj say loves a game of easy come and
Easy go
But I wonder does he know?
“They never know Michael, They never know….” Dwight said sadly but seriously shaking his head to the beat of the song. He couldn’t help but be sucked in at this point.
Has he ever felt like this?
“No, he’s never felt this…..”
And I know that you'd be here right now if I could have let you know somehow....
Taping his pencil on the desk, the two men started singing the chorus together in harmony.
Just like every night has its dawn
Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song
Every rose has its thorn…..
They were interrupted by tap on the doorway, Toby leaned in and said,
“You guys should really, um, keep it down, you’re, uh, disturbing the office, ok?”
“Toby you just wouldn’t understand.” Michael said as if he was broken by emotion, Dwight nodding in the background.
Toby tried to shake off the confusion on his face, as Pam leaned in,
“Michael, Jan’s on the phone for you.”
Michael visibly straightened up and his confidence returned for a moment. He smiled slyly at Pam and then looked over to Dwight.
“Dwight, I have to take this call. Get out.”
4.
Pam was looking at the vending machine as if she expected the perfect snack to select itself and fall into the slot without her having to do a thing. It was nearing four o’clock and she was officially tired of being at work; utterly tired of the situation she was in these days. She really needed someone to talk to, but she only wanted to talk to one person. So while she was on break, she had her iPod on and was listening to a playlist she simply called Jim. It was full of songs that she thought he would like, songs that reminded her of him and of how she felt about him.
She leaned one hand up against the machine, still scanning the snacks, when one of her favorites came on, Keene’s “Somewhere Only We Know”, it was the perfect song for how she felt today: alone, desperate, in love - albeit unrequited. She tapped her foot to the beat and, because she had headphones on, she forgot the music wasn’t drowning out her singing along.
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin
Jim was walking into the kitchen for his afternoon snack when he was stopped in his tracks by Pam apparently singing to the vending machine. She really did have a pretty bad voice, but listening to her he thought there was no better sound in the world. He recognized the song immediately as one of his favorites, even if it was getting to be mainstream. He looked over his shoulder and noticed that Karen was not at her desk, so he took a moment to lean on the doorjamb and watch her.
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?
The irony wasn’t lost on him, this particular part always reminded him of her; actually it reminded him of their rooftop dinner. The way that they shared something that night that only they could appreciate. Just like everything in their friendship was uniquely them. He missed that. Sharing secrets with Pam, sharing pranks, sharing his life.
He wanted to go up to her, tap her shoulder until she turned around and then kiss her senseless. But he knew that he couldn’t. Karen was nearby and Pam was with Roy, although he hadn’t come in at all today and Jim had heard rumors that they had a fight the other night. He listened to her for a moment enjoying being so close to her and then decided to just walk back to his desk. He hummed the same tune under his breath, smiled slightly. If they couldn’t share anything else right now, they could at least share a favorite song.
5.
Lunchtime at Dunder Mifflin was usually something of a social event. But lately, Pam had been eating her lunch outside of the office, and today Jim and Karen seemed to be avoiding everyone, including each other. So for once, Kelly and Ryan seemed to have the break room to themselves. They had discussed Britney leaving rehab, last night’s episode of Lost, who get voted off American Idol, and they were now sitting in companionable silence.
Ryan was trying to be absorbed in the paper while munching happily on his sandwich, when Kelly’s humming distracted him. She often did this when she ate, Beyonce, Britney, Pink, she would hum and twirl her fork to the time of the music in her head. Ryan shuddered thinking as much as he liked her, inside her head had to be a scary place. The more he thought about it, it was probably a very cute world in Kelly’s head, pink and fluffy with kittens and puppies and endless stacks of People magazine. Probably a laptop continuously hooked up to E! online and PopSugar.
He realized that she was actually singing Sonny and Cher. He started to tap his foot along with her and swayed a little back and forth. She saw his movement from the corner of her eye and relished in the intimacy of sharing this moment with him.
She giggled and dared to sing under her breath but very clearly for him:
We won't find out until we grow…..
She turned to look at him expectantly; they locked eyes while it registered with Ryan that she expected him to respond in kind. He looked out into the office and all around him, even though he knew they were alone. He absolutely would not be able to live it down if someone caught him. But he did love when she smiled at him, he responded very quietly leaning toward her so she could hear,
'Cause you got me, and baby I got you
He smiled at her mischievously,
Ryan leaned into her, their foreheads resting together. The sight of Angela walking toward the door was in Ryan’s peripheral vision, so he quickly moved back and stared into bag of chips.
“Oh my gosh, you are so totally sweet, that was so adorable.” Kelly literally squeaked out the words while bouncing a little in the chair.
Ryan rolled his eyes, “Seriously Kelly, no big deal.” He smiled meekly as he continued avoid eye contact and moved a more comfortable distance from her. He really did love Kelly, but not everyone needed know that. Not even her.
