Longtime rivals and longtime friends.

On December 7th, we played Azusa Pacific University—our biggest rival—in men’s basketball at APU. A group of my friends from Biola was going to the game, and I was excited to be going with them. Because I was a Trustee Finalist at APU, I have a number of friends that I met during that weekend who go to APU. One of my closest friends from high school, Chase, also goes there. Chase and I grew up in the same church, and I hadn’t seen him since August, so I was really looking forward to seeing him.

The game was packed with people. I had no sooner sat down when I received a text from my Trustee friend, Justin. He had seen me and informed me where they (the other Trustees) were sitting. I waved and replied to his text, telling him I would come visit at half time. And that I did.

I made my way over to them, going down their row, hugging each of them. We talked about our schools and the rivalry and laughed a lot. It was so fun to be reunited with them again. They’re such a fun group of people. I asked them if they had seen Chase at all, because they’ve gotten to know him over the semester. They said they had seen him, but had no idea where he was. Chase, who is notorious for not having his phone with him, hadn’t responded to my calls or texts. One of my friends helped me look for him, even asking some people that knew him, but he was not within sight.

I sat with my Trustee friends for the second half. A few minutes before it ended, Justin helped me look for Chase one last time. Nowhere to be found, I was going to head back to where my Biola friends were. I decided to take the long way around the court, though. I was nearing my original seat when I saw Chase. He was only a few up, and I stopped right in front of him.

“Chase. Pritchett. I have been looking for you everywhere,” I informed him.
“Oh my gosh…” He said and laughed.
“Do you know her?” I heard one of the guys Chase was with ask him.

I walked up to where he was and he gave me a hug. We sat down and talked about our semesters. When the game ended, we walked down to where I was going to be meeting my friends. He introduced me to a number of his friends, and I did the same when mine arrived. After chatting for a few more minutes, I hugged him goodbye and we headed our separate ways.

Even though Biola lost the game, I was in a great mood. I even shed a few tears of joy in the car. With all sorts of anxiety surrounding me, there was something incredibly comforting about being reunited with a familiar face. Now I’m getting really anxious to be home and in the familiar.

Less than 10 days. I can hardly wait.