Just By Chance

Inner Fangirl

I should have recognized him right away. Why didn't I? That was Phil Lester who was in my presence. Phil, a person who had made me smile countless times when I was down. Phil, a boy with the funniest and sweetest personality that I'd ever seen. And he was standing in the doorway of Reed's.

It had been a couple of seconds since anyone had said a word, and it was beginning to get awkward. I needed to speak. "I, uh, um, have a weird question. You're Phil, aren't you?" I was trying to keep from flipping out and squeeling. His mouth began to grin wider. "Yeah, that's me. I guess you've heard of me." HEARD OF ME? I've obsessed over you for over a year.

I giggled obnoxiously. "Yeah, I have. I, um, I really like your videos." Phil thanked me in his normal sweet way, but knew I needed to change the subject so that I didn't just sound like how I was feeling; a crazy Fangirl. "So you're looking for a book?" "Yeah, I asked a few people if they knew any good bookstores around here, and they all said Reed's. Anyway, I'm going to be needing a book for the trip back to London, so I was hoping you'd help me find one." I needed to be professional; even if this was Phil Lester, I was still on the job and I wanted to make a good impression on him. "Yeah, of course I can! What kind of book were you looking for?"

We talked about books for a couple of minutes, and I felt strangely comfortable talking to him, even though we hadn't ever before. Of course I felt comfortable, I thought; in a way, I already knew him! All of a sudden, an obvious thought popped into my head; my newest book obsession, The Girl in the Corner. I could suggest that to Phil! "Actually, I have a book that you might like. It's one of my favorites."

I reached into my shoulder bag under the counter and pulled out my fresh copy. It still looked pretty nice, but the cover was a little bent from use. I straightened out the cover and gave it to him. "It's about a girl learning how to be braver and be prepared for her future. I think you might like it. It's totally fine, if you don't want to read it." Phil flipped it around and evaluated it, intrigued. "This book seems great. Do you know if there are any other copies available here?"

"Sorry, there was only a few in stock originally, and we've sold them all. You can have my copy, if you'd like." Phil immediately looked guilty. "I'd love to read it, but I wouldn't want to take it from you." I reassured him that it would be okay and that he could have it. He was hesitant, but he finally nodded. "Okay. But, if I'm going to take it from you, I'll need to return it. Could I have your number so we can figure that out later?" Phil Lester was asking for my number. I'm not going to say no. I gave him my number, and he gave me his. He looked awkward and said, "I just have to ask you not to share my number with anyone. You know." I knew he didn't want to explain and I already knew what he meant; if it spread, that would be chaotic for him. I just nodded and promised that I would.

We kept talking about his visit and how much that he loved Chicago. Soon after, Nicole politely told me that it was time to close up. Phil understood, and he grabbed a coffee like he had said he would. He thanked me and headed out the door. As soon as he left, I headed over to Nicole to let my excitement out. She was a little bit confused because she'd never seen his videos, but she let me be excited and she was supportive. By the time that we were done cleaning and closing up, I had let all of my giddiness out and felt calm.

I guess I felt a sense of extreme luckiness. Out of all states, out of all towns, out of all nights, out of all bookstores, out of all moments; Phil came to Reed's. I just ran into him, just by chance. Thousands of people would love for this to happen, and it happened to me. I felt overjoyed with the spontaneity of the whole thing; it was wonderful.

As I walked out the door, I thought about tomorrow. We had a monthly teacher's meeting tomorrow, so we got out of school at 1:00. I also had tomorrow off of work. I knew that I'd spend my afternoon with Alice. We'd go out shopping or hang out at The Navy Pier. I couldn't hide my happiness for how today was going and how tomorrow was going to go; everything seemed perfect.