Just By Chance

10 Months Later

It had been nearly a year since they had visited the US. As soon as they were back home, Phil told me how much he loved The Girl in the Corner. It made me happy that he was almost as obsessed with the story as I had been. He said that Dan didn't read many books like this and that he was procrastinating, but he'd keep shoving it in his face until he read it.

After Phil had adjusted back to London, we decided to Skype. We decided we would video chat at 2:00 Chicago time on that Sunday and I spent Saturday worrying about my lighting and appearance. I didn't know what to wear, how to do my hair, or where I should put my laptop so the lighting was nice. Sunday morning, the answer came to me; stop worrying about this. You're just Skyping someone, so go ahead and look as bad as you'd like. Be who you usually are!

We talked for almost two hours about the smallest and most insignificant things. We talked about bad haircuts, weird neighbors, American candy vs British candy, and playing the keyboard. Dan came in after a while to ask Phil about what kind of pizza to order. Soon after, the three of us started to talk about pizza toppings. That night, I probably laughed more than I'd laughed in a few years.

The past two years had been tougher for me to find enjoyable, mostly because my anxiety and self-image issues grew. After less than two hours of talking to Dan and Phil on my laptop, I felt as happy as I had before all of my problems started. There was just something about Phil that made people feel better; I don't know what it is.

After that night, we made a routine of Skyping Sunday at 2:00 my time and 8:00 their time, as often as we could. Over that year, I felt like we'd become close friends and that I could tell them anything. When I was having anxiety over school, Phil would talk me through it. When I felt like venting, Dan listened to me. In return, when they were down, I'd be there to try to cheer them up.

One Sunday in Fall, I turned on my Skype to talk to them like usual. They seemed like they were extremely excited but were trying to keep it all in and act serious. Dan dramatically cleared his throat and began to speak. "Good afternoon, Emily. May I ask what you are doing on the 3rd and 4th of November?"
"Dan, that's more than a month away. No, I don't know what I'll be doing," I chuckled. "Why are you two acting so weird?" Phil's seriousness broke and he began to show his excitement. "Damn it, I can't do this anymore. Guess what?"
"What, Phil?" I half spoke, half giggled.
"We're coming back to Chicago!!"