My missing persons report

I just tweeted:

I'm looking for my friend Jessica T. Last seen at the Georgia Dome at 11:00 PM wearing a purple Polo dress and carrying a black handbag. She's 24, 5'6, 130lbs, long straight black hair, and creole skin complexion. Please contact me if you've seen her in #Atlanta.

My Louisiana friend, Jessica, has been staying with me this past weekend. I've taken her all over Atlanta to see the sites. Last night was the LSU vs. NC opening NCAA football game at the Georgia Dome, which we both attended.

She ran into some friends she knew from back home before the game, including one Daniel M., who seemed like a decent guy. We ended up sitting together in the nose-bleed section.

Around 10:30 PM, Jessica comes up to me and says she wants to go to the Cheetah with Daniel and a few of his friends after the game. I was tired and told her I didn't feel like going. She said not to worry because her friends would give her a ride and I could just pick her up from their hotel in the morning.

I told her two things...

1. I feel responsible for you because you're my guest in Atlanta,
2. But you're also 24 and old enough to make your own decisions.

I insisted that she text me the address at which she was staying ASAP. I gave her a hug and heading back to my car...

I arrived home safely, fell alseep around midnight and woke up to these text messages:

12:54 AM: (Ari G.) Dude, you're going to the Cheetah?!?
2:06 AM: (Jessica T.) Are you awake?

I immediately responsed to Jess telling her I was awake now and asking where she was... no response. I find her friend Daniel on Facebook and ask him what's going on... no response. I send her a Facebook message as well & finally I call her phone and leave a voicemail.

I wait.

Maybe her phone battery died. Maybe she'll find a computer and check her Facebook. Maybe she called Ari?

I call Ari.

"I think I lost her... yes, lost her, as in I don't know where she is. Right. I have absolutely no idea where she is and I'm starting to get worried. Well, here's what happened..."

I recount the story, and start to tell him about my next step (getting into my car and driving around the Warehouse District hoping I see a girl wearing a purple Polo dress), when he tells me to hold on...

I type out the Twitter message posted above and click send. A few more seconds pass in silence, then I hear Jessica's voice on the phone. I'm confused.

"Where are you?! Ari's house. How did you get there? He picked me up. Are you safe? Yes. Why didn't he say anything to me, I thought I lost you! We were playing a practical joke. I was in the other room the entire time. (silence) That's not funny Jess, I was really worried. It was a little funny. Not even a little bit."

I cannot even begin to describe how incredibly worried I was earlier this morning. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to her because of my irresponsibility last night. I was literally prepared to go door-to-door in Atlanta asking if anyone had seen my friend Jessica. I did have several recent photos of her on my iPhone...

But none of that matters now... I'm just relieved and very thankful to God she is safe. I suppose the moral of this story is simply this: Treasure your friends and take nothing for granted.