Imagine being stuck in standstill traffic and being annoyed out of your mind, ready to tear your hair out and and abuse the car horn. Then, while wallowing in your sadness, you turn your face toward the window, wishing you were somewhere else. But instead of seeing an average Joe picking at his teeth in the car next to you, lo and behold, an unbelievably attractive woman is in your line of sight, who also happens to look freakishly the star of one of the hottest shows on television.
But these sort of things just don’t happen. Or do they? For senior Jason Li, this happens to be a true story that happened in late June.
“I was driving back on [highway] 280 with [senior] Jennie [Werner] from yearbook camp (in Sonoma County); we were both really tired and stuck in traffic at a dead stop,” Li said. “I looked to my right and see a red car. Then I saw this really, really, really attractive girl.”
Li was starstruck.
“She wasn’t pretty; she wasn’t hot; she was truly beautiful,” said Li. “I was like, ‘Wow, just wow.’”
After the initial shock, he noticed that she looked a lot like Meghan Markle, the actress who plays Rachel Zane on hit television show “Suits.”
“I’m a fan of the show,” Li said. “I was like, ‘Huh, she kind of looks like that one girl from ‘Suits.’”
At this critical moment, many people would want to make an impression but be at a loss about what to do. Some would continue to gape; others would go into cardiac arrest. But for Li, the only logical thing to do was try to get her attention — and her number. After scribbling his digits and “call me” onto a piece of scratch paper, he slapped it on the window and proceeded to “yell and knock” until she turned around.
“She saw it and laughed. I could see it through the window, and it was the cutest thing ever. My heart was warmed,” Li said.
“I’m sure I made her day, and she definitely made mine,” Li said.
If the beautiful story ended here, it would be enough. But for lucky Li, it continues.
“She texted me back later that night and said, ‘This is the girl from the highway, and I replied with ‘lol thanks for texting,’ which was a stupid thing to say,” said Li. “I asked her what her name was, and she said it was Meghan.”
Seeing that she spelled her name with an extra “h,” Li was now 99 percent sure that this girl of his dreams was indeed Meghan Markle from “Suits.” Unfortunately, before he could woo her any further with his slick charm or ask for confirmation, she ended their brief conversation.
“I then asked her where she was from, but she never replied,” Li said. “She probably thought I was a stalker.”
Now, when watching the show from the comfort of his home, Li feels a strange connection with Meghan—assuming it was really her—every time she pops up on screen.
“In the second episode [of the third season], there was a very scandalous scene where you can see most of her body except for the parts you aren’t allowed to see,” Li said. “It was kind of funny and weird, since I had seen her in real life.”
Despite the sting of the rejection, Li still considers his experience to be an eye-opener.
“I don’t meet a lot of TV celebrities, and it’s always impressive to know that you’ve seen someone in person,” Li said. “She’s real, and she’s not just on TV. She’s actually like any other human being trying do her job, and I just think that’s really cool.”