Meet David Willis. David is a Texan man in London who last night found himself in quite a unique situation that may or may not be a book lovers dream but is certainly a nightmare for most.
According to Willis, he was browsing away in a Waterstones book shop in London's Trafalgar Square last night for a mere 15 minutes and when he came down to the rest of the shop to leave, he found the lights off, zero staff and a locked door.
This is the sight that greeted him.
Doing what any sensible person would do, David contacted the company who assured him someone was on the way but when that failed to happen hastily he took to Twitter and Instagram in search of help.
Hi @Waterstones I've been locked inside of your Trafalgar Square bookstore for 2 hours now. Please let me out.
— David Willis (@DWill_) October 16, 2014
Initial hope was not high, as Waterstones social media people had checked out for the day.
Thanks for the tweets today! We'll be back at 9am tomorrow to answer your queries :) Happy reading!
— Waterstones (@Waterstones) October 16, 2014
But then his plea was retweeted furiously into the night and help he did find. Sort of.
Anyone know how long #waterstonestexan has been in there. Or how long air lasts in a closed bookshop?
— Dan Hodges (@DPJHodges) October 16, 2014
Desperately rushing to write movie script about #WaterstonesTexan trapped in Waterstones before he's rescued. Hope McConaughey is available.
— Leon McCarthy (@Leonade) October 16, 2014
Tom Hanks as #WaterstonesTexan #TheMovie Colin Firth as Store Manager Keira Knightly Check-Out girl & Hugh Grant hapless security guard
— Mark Gallagher (@_markgallagher) October 16, 2014
Oh God we've reached the nail-biting suspense midpoint of the #waterstonestexan narrative arc. will he overcome? THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW.
— Krystina Nellis (@flyingnelly) October 16, 2014
It's really not the help Willis wanted, but it's what he got. And hey, at least there was a happy ending?.
We're pleased to announce that @DWill_ is a free man once more. Thanks for your concern and tweets!
— Waterstones (@Waterstones) October 16, 2014
So what's the lesson here? We'd like to think it's that, when a shop says it's closing in 5, don't wander in thinking they can't close without you leaving, because they will just lock your ass inside. And unless you have a smartphone and some 4G or WiFi, you're screwed.
I'm free
— David Willis (@DWill_) October 16, 2014