Randy and I have been friends since 10th grade, when I started to hang out more with Sophie and her friends. By the end of high school, our friend groups had altered some and we weren’t very close anymore, but we always greeted each other with a big hug whenever we saw each other. During some parts of his life, he was trouble, but that was part of Randy’s appeal. He was the bad-boy front man of the band. He was the hilariously snarky guy who sometimes didn’t know when to quit. He was fun and would do anything once. I have many memories with him, from hanging out at the Brevard Racquet Club to late night talks on the phone, but I’m going to share the three most dear to my heart. We were in 10th grade, it was February, and Randy was turning 16. I knew I wanted to give him something special, so I did something I had never done for anyone before: I made a scavenger hunt. I went over to his house and made him stay in his room while I frantically ran around the house hiding clues and presents. After 15 minutes or so, I went back down to his room and handed him his first clue. “What is this?” Randy asked, confused. “It’s your present! You have to find it,” I said. Randy looked at me with his blueish-green eyes and gave me the biggest and brightest smile I have ever seen. He dashed off to solve the riddles and puzzles, eventually finding the chocolates and other gifts I had hid along the way. In retrospect, it wasn’t a very good scavenger hunt and the steps along the way were kind of lame, but he never said a word about it. After he found the final present, we were alone and he pulled me into a huge bear hug and kissed the top of my head. He pulled away and looked at me very sincerely with those beautiful, piercing eyes. “Allie, no one has ever done anything for me like that before. You are such a good friend and make me feel like I’m worth something. This is the best birthday present I’ve ever had, and I probably won’t get another better. Thank you.” Randy always had a knack for making me blush and feel like a princess. The next year, around mid-December, it was snowing and icy. I didn’t have a 4-wheel drive car, and I was walking down the road to get some fresh air. A jeep whizzed by, stopped suddenly, and reversed. Randy looked out through the window at me and smiled. “Allie! How are you! I haven’t seen you in a while.” Randy said. “I’m good, just walking around to get out of my house,” I replied, smiling. “Want to come with me? Help me decorate my Christmas tree!” There was no way I could say no to Randy. He opened the door for me from the inside and I hopped in. Up the mountain we went, catching up on school and the last few weeks since we’d seen each other last. We didn’t have the same classes or the same lunch, and in high school, that essentially meant we never saw each other. But we talked as if that wasn’t the case, and in no time, we were in his living room facing a bare tree. One by one, we put on well-worn treasures made when he and Dustin were small children in school. We put on new, sparkly ornaments that Randy didn’t like. But the decorating took all afternoon and evening because we kept getting distracted by talking. We told each other some of our deepest secrets and knew the other would keep it. When I finally had to return home, Randy drove slowly down the mountain so we could talk as long as possible. When we finally reached my front door, he walked me to the front door and gave me a hug. I remember being sad to see him go. He always knew how to talk about deep and serious things with me, and it was a side of Randy not many people ever saw. I guess we just clicked as friends, as two people who always had a special place in their hearts for the other. The last time I saw Randy, I drove up to an unfamiliar house that was having a party. I was home in Brevard on break from UNC, and there were a few people I wanted to see who were going to be there. Most of the people at the party I didn’t know, so I didn’t plan on staying very long. As I awkwardly walked up to the front of the house and began chatting with some older acquaintances, a man that I hadn’t noticed before started running and yelling at me. I was so startled I screamed and turned away. When I looked around after a moment, there stood Randy, looking incredibly pleased with himself. I broke into a wide smile and swatted at him, but he just picked me up and gave me a huge hug. It had been at least a year since I had seen him, and not knowing he was going to be at this party, it was a wonderful surprise. I stayed much longer than I had originally intended as Randy and I talked and laughed and played card games. Saying goodbye to him, I knew that there was a chance I would never see him again. He was a Marine about to go on active duty, and there were no guarantees he would come back. We hugged one final time. “Stay safe, Randy. You have to come back to us,” I said, halfway muffled by his jacket. “I will. We need to go cruisin’ around town, like we used to. Remember that?” he asked. “Of course! I loved going to that one gas station that we always went to.” “Yes! That was so much fun. I’ll come back and we’ll do that,” he said. I waved goodbye to him as I drove away, and I can still picture him waving back. Thanks for all the memories, Randy. I miss you. Love, Alie