TODAY
IS THE DAY
I MET
CHRIS PINE.
It's noon. I have class in 20 minutes. I'm in Abbey's room with Erica, we just finished an episode of How I Met Your Mother and some takeout from Simmons. Abbey checks her phone, looks at me.
"If I have the name right, you are going to freak out. You too, maybe," she adds, turning to Erica. I'm stumped.
"What?"
"Alex just posted on Twitter. 'Umm ... Chris Pine is in Saint's? You go, State College.'"
My eyes widen. My jaw drops. I do not believe her. I tell her as much. She tells me he's filming a movie near here with Denzel Washington. I don't believe her. I tell her as much. She beckons me to her computer, where I IMDB the shit out of him.
It's true.
"But, it can't really be him, right? He can't really be there."
So of course, we go downtown. We're all biking there and I can't help but think, no, no, no, no way. It's a busy time of day, people walking everywhere downtown. We get off of our bikes at College Ave and walk the rest of the way. I am impatient and fearful, of what I don't know. Walking past the cafe to lock our bikes, I look inside. College students in a cafe, regular occurrence, there's no way. I vocalize this. We walk inside.
It's small and warm and cozy and Chris Pine is sitting at the back of the room, wearing a soft-looking black sweater that covers the back of his neck and a plaid newsboy cap. Abbey and Erica order while I text my little sister, I try not to stare as we get a table three down from his. Not knowing what to do, we make small talk. I am immensely distracted.
I have to go to class. I tell my friends as much. Abbey tells me that if I don't go talk to him, I will regret it for the rest of my life. Erica says that this is an exaggeration. I agree with both of them. I ponder the awkwardness of going up to him, while awkwardly standing next to the chair I had vacated because my class is going on RIGHT NOW and I have a QUIZ and CHRIS PINE is sitting three tables over. I glance over as I debate in my head and aloud. What would I say? "I've seen Star Trek in theaters nine times, twice here at school, and I watch my favorite parts on my bootleg? I picked up Blind Dating because you were really cute on the cover?" He's wearing black jeans, texting and writing. A half-finished muffin and a cup of something sit in front of him.
"I can't. I just can't."
"Yes. You can. Let's go."
I look at Erica. She's in my way, I can't get past her. I tell her as much.
"Are you leaving, or going over?"
"Going over."
She moves. Abbey leads the way. I follow, bashfully. Erica brings up the rear. We crowd around his table.
"Mr. Pine?" Abbey starts. He looks up. I'm speechless. Abbey tells him something about how she loved him in Star Trek, and that I'm a huge fan of his. He shakes her hand, and then mine. Erica tells him her name, they shake hands. He confirms that he's working with Denzel. Abbey bemoans her lack of car, saying that she wanted to PA on the film. I say something, what it was I can't recall. Erica pipes up. I follow the conversation with my eyes, not wanting to gawk. He's polite, smiling. I can't believe he's sitting there. There's a pause.
"Well, it was nice to meet you."
He shakes all of our hands again. I say something like, "I hope to see you soon." I meant in the future, because I want to work in films. Of course, I realize as we walk out that I never told him that, and so the statement could be completely misconstrued. I hope he assumes I am talking about seeing him in his films, and not that I am going to stalk him, even though I had just ventured to Saint's solely to see him. We leave.
I go to unlock my bike. I cry a little bit - if you know me at all, you know I cry a lot, for little reason, not nearly always in a bad way. I don't feel the chill in the air. I sound and look like a lunatic. I don't really care. I say goodbye to my friends and thank them for indulging me. I owe Alex so much. I bike to my speech class, lock my bike, start to text my sister again, climb the stairs and enter the classroom.
"Oh, fine, sure, I guess I'll let you take the quiz late." He's a sarcastic guy, and funny.
"I'm sorry... I just met Chris Pine." He's confused. A couple of girls in my class demand to know where and when, and then want to leave class. They're only half-serious. If I had been one of them, there's a strong chance I might have left. We explain to my teacher who Chris Pine is. I sit down, sweating from my bike ride. I still have tears in my eyes. I have inappropriate emotional responses. Class continues. My teacher brings it up a couple of times. I can't help smiling, eyes wide. After class, I apologize to him for disrupting it. He says it's fine, that now he has a cool story to tell.
He definitely does.
I can't believe my life right now.
I MET
CHRIS PINE.
It's noon. I have class in 20 minutes. I'm in Abbey's room with Erica, we just finished an episode of How I Met Your Mother and some takeout from Simmons. Abbey checks her phone, looks at me.
"If I have the name right, you are going to freak out. You too, maybe," she adds, turning to Erica. I'm stumped.
"What?"
"Alex just posted on Twitter. 'Umm ... Chris Pine is in Saint's? You go, State College.'"
My eyes widen. My jaw drops. I do not believe her. I tell her as much. She tells me he's filming a movie near here with Denzel Washington. I don't believe her. I tell her as much. She beckons me to her computer, where I IMDB the shit out of him.
It's true.
"But, it can't really be him, right? He can't really be there."
So of course, we go downtown. We're all biking there and I can't help but think, no, no, no, no way. It's a busy time of day, people walking everywhere downtown. We get off of our bikes at College Ave and walk the rest of the way. I am impatient and fearful, of what I don't know. Walking past the cafe to lock our bikes, I look inside. College students in a cafe, regular occurrence, there's no way. I vocalize this. We walk inside.
It's small and warm and cozy and Chris Pine is sitting at the back of the room, wearing a soft-looking black sweater that covers the back of his neck and a plaid newsboy cap. Abbey and Erica order while I text my little sister, I try not to stare as we get a table three down from his. Not knowing what to do, we make small talk. I am immensely distracted.
I have to go to class. I tell my friends as much. Abbey tells me that if I don't go talk to him, I will regret it for the rest of my life. Erica says that this is an exaggeration. I agree with both of them. I ponder the awkwardness of going up to him, while awkwardly standing next to the chair I had vacated because my class is going on RIGHT NOW and I have a QUIZ and CHRIS PINE is sitting three tables over. I glance over as I debate in my head and aloud. What would I say? "I've seen Star Trek in theaters nine times, twice here at school, and I watch my favorite parts on my bootleg? I picked up Blind Dating because you were really cute on the cover?" He's wearing black jeans, texting and writing. A half-finished muffin and a cup of something sit in front of him.
"I can't. I just can't."
"Yes. You can. Let's go."
I look at Erica. She's in my way, I can't get past her. I tell her as much.
"Are you leaving, or going over?"
"Going over."
She moves. Abbey leads the way. I follow, bashfully. Erica brings up the rear. We crowd around his table.
"Mr. Pine?" Abbey starts. He looks up. I'm speechless. Abbey tells him something about how she loved him in Star Trek, and that I'm a huge fan of his. He shakes her hand, and then mine. Erica tells him her name, they shake hands. He confirms that he's working with Denzel. Abbey bemoans her lack of car, saying that she wanted to PA on the film. I say something, what it was I can't recall. Erica pipes up. I follow the conversation with my eyes, not wanting to gawk. He's polite, smiling. I can't believe he's sitting there. There's a pause.
"Well, it was nice to meet you."
He shakes all of our hands again. I say something like, "I hope to see you soon." I meant in the future, because I want to work in films. Of course, I realize as we walk out that I never told him that, and so the statement could be completely misconstrued. I hope he assumes I am talking about seeing him in his films, and not that I am going to stalk him, even though I had just ventured to Saint's solely to see him. We leave.
I go to unlock my bike. I cry a little bit - if you know me at all, you know I cry a lot, for little reason, not nearly always in a bad way. I don't feel the chill in the air. I sound and look like a lunatic. I don't really care. I say goodbye to my friends and thank them for indulging me. I owe Alex so much. I bike to my speech class, lock my bike, start to text my sister again, climb the stairs and enter the classroom.
"Oh, fine, sure, I guess I'll let you take the quiz late." He's a sarcastic guy, and funny.
"I'm sorry... I just met Chris Pine." He's confused. A couple of girls in my class demand to know where and when, and then want to leave class. They're only half-serious. If I had been one of them, there's a strong chance I might have left. We explain to my teacher who Chris Pine is. I sit down, sweating from my bike ride. I still have tears in my eyes. I have inappropriate emotional responses. Class continues. My teacher brings it up a couple of times. I can't help smiling, eyes wide. After class, I apologize to him for disrupting it. He says it's fine, that now he has a cool story to tell.
He definitely does.
I can't believe my life right now.