Only 19 hours to go. Outside the Apple store on University Avenue Thursday afternoon, a handful of hopefuls lined up in anticipation of the new iPhone, slated for Friday release.

Palo Alto High School graduate Danny Fukuba and rising senior Eric Vicenti were the first ones in line.

They'd been waiting since the night before -- not out of desperation but for fun, they said.

The two teens were undeterred after being "banned for life" from Apple earlier this year for downloading a game onto an iPhone in the store. Apple employees later denied the ban and had been only courteous Thursday, providing the boys with free water, they said.

Perhaps aware of the fame that long lines have garnered during previous Apple product releases, some were taking advantage of anticipated media coverage.

Fukuba and Vicenti said a FedEx truck pulled up and gave them free, brand-name water, while product-design firm MindTribe handed the teens free shirts.

Meanwhile, video journalist Taylor Barcroft was plugging the podcasts he's made during Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Decked out in Obama gear, Barcroft hid from the heat under an umbrella at about sixth place in line.

The umbrella came from a family that had stepped away from line briefly, he said.

Barcroft, who drove up before sunrise from Santa Cruz, said ruefully he would have left earlier if he'd known he wouldn't be first. Last year the lines were much longer, he added, pointing down the block.

It would likely grow in the evening when people got off work, he said.

Meanwhile, trouble struck in the form of a man who identified himself only as "Alex" from the Ukraine. Alex warned Barcroft a competing line was forming around the corner and would jump ahead of him in the morning when the store opened.

So what happened next? Watch the video and find out.