French "celebrity" sighting

I was planning on continuing the learning English saga with the H but then I remembered this funny anecdote from last weekend.

To make a long story short, I hadn't eaten anything all day so around 4 pm I insisted that the H and I stop at McDonald's on the way home, so I could have some fries and a milkshake. (On a side note, I hardly ever go to McDo, so I was quite surprised to see the chic new decor - looking good!)

As the H and I are standing in line, two Arab looking guys join the line next to us, carrying their scooter helmets. H looks over, then whispers to me, "Hey, I think that's Faudel!" "WHO?" I asked a little too loudly. "Shhh! Faudel! The singer!" whispered the H. I turned to have a look. Faudel and his buddy were at the front of their line, shaking hands with the cashier and chatting. "Really?" I asked. "He's a singer?" "Yes! You know! He was really famous back in 1998," said the H. "Hmmmm," I said, thinking back to 1998. "Ah, yes, didn't he warble a song called 'Dis-moi' that was half in French and half in Arab? I think I remember now," I said. "But, he wasn't like, really famous. He was just famous in France. There is a really big difference between a celebrity and a French celebrity," I pointed out. "Whatever," said the H, obviously not in the mood for a lecture on the various hierarchies of celebritydom. "But that's Faudel".

The H and I ordered our food and had to go downstairs to where there were free tables. We settled down at a sticky table, with me in the booth part facing the rest of the seating area. I dug into my fries and watched as Faudel and his pal took the large table directly behind us. It was perfect vantage point as Faudel was sitting directly behind, and slightly to the left of the H who was across from me. First the cleaning girl stopped by Faudel's table and wiped it down. Then a manager in a suit stopped by and asked Faudel if he would like to sit in a more private area in the back. Faudel reassured the manager that he was perfectly fine where he was, then dug into his Big Mac while eyeing all the teenage girls who passed by. "Wow, props to Faudel for keeping it real," I said the H. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Check it out, he eats at McDonald's. He seems to be totally into his Big Mac and he didn't even want to sit at a more private table," I said. "That's cool." "Whatever!" said the H. "He's totally not even famous anymore. He eats at McDonald's because he can't get into more fancy restaurants. And he is sitting front and center in the seating area because he's hoping people will recognize him!"

After Faudel polished off his Big Mac, large fries, and large Coke, he and his friend got up and his friend cleared the table. A girl of about 17 ran up to their table. "Hello," she said, looking at Faudel, then his friend. At this point, I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I saw Faudel lean over towards the girl, the girl totally ignored him and started talking to his friend. It turned out she wanted those sticker things they put on the soda cups - you know how when McDonald's does those promotion contest things and you can maybe win something if you have the right sticker? Well, that was pretty much all that interested the girl, as she nearly pushed Faudel and his friend over and started attacking the containers on their tray. Once she got all the stickers, she smiled, thanked them, and ran off to her own table.

As we exited McDo, I told the H the whole story, which he thought was quite amusing. "Ha!" he said, "I bet he was expecting an autograph! How embarrassing!"