Colin was the first person I noticed when I arrived at training camp a year ago. He had frazzled red hair down to his shoulders, and a thick bushman beard. He was hard not to notice.
On the race Colin and I have had our fair share of late night talks and random dance parties. We share a love for watermelon, the Harry Potter book series (not the movies) and Celine Dion. For the last eight months we’ve been hiding buckeyes in each other’s shoes, sleeping bags, backpacks, pillows, laundry bags, and so on and so forth (one time I even found a buckeye wedged in between the spiral part of my diary – it was creative, I’ll give him that).
Last month our two teams worked together, and Colin and I were more than thrilled. One day we were all sitting together at lunch, and my teammate Emily took a swig from my water bottle. Immediately following she stood up, ran to the nearby sink and spat the water out. “Are you okay?” we asked. “That was salt water,” she said as she pointed to my water bottle. “Impossible. I’ve been drinking out of it all day,” I said as I confidently took a big gulp. Sure enough – the water was thick with salt. I spat it out all over the table. “How did this happen?” I asked, bewildered.
I looked around at everyone at the table, and when my eyes landed on Colin he burst out laughing. It was he who tainted my precious water. I decided that I would be like Christ and forgive him.
I’m with Colin’s team again for a few days this month, and tonight Colin and I were eating dinner together. Our favorite dish was prepared – a big plate of noodles. As we ate I poured my heart out to Colin about all that God had been teaching me. When I was finished he just laughed. “What? Is there something on my face?” I asked. “No, it’s not that,” he said through bursts of laughter. “What is it then? C’mon, tell me!” I folded my arms and waited for his explanation.
“I mixed rubber bands in with your noodles.”
I looked down in horror at my empty plate.
“COLIN!” I yelled. “I can’t believe you just did that. You know what this means, right? This means war. I’m going to prank you so badly – you’re going to wish that you never met me.” “Oh whatever,” he said casually. “Girls can’t prank.”
Stay tuned….
