• "Dad, I'm so pumped! This trip is going to be awesome. Just you and me... Out in the wilderness. Oh, I miss the days when I was 5 and we'd go camping a lot more often. We never get to do anything anymore!" I said, lounging on our hammock in the back yard.

    "Yeah, Lucy. It'll be nice to pretend it's the good old days again. Will you be all packed by tomorrow, though? It seems like you have a lot more ...stuff... than you did when you were five." my dad chuckled.

    "Well I'm not bringing all my stuff with me, dad. Who needs make-up and money when no one will see you and you're nowhere near a store?"

    "That's true, and I'm glad you're the kind of teenager who can think like that. But am I gonna be the only one to bring all the survival 101 stuff? I mean, this isn't the normal pitching a tent in the woods for a night kind-of-thing. We're being randomly dropped off by a plane with our parachutes and backpacks... Who really knows where we'll end up?" Dad was serious now.

    I replied, "Well, it is going to be a little scary. Have you seen Man vs. Wild? He's a pro and there's been times he's barely made it through alive... We don't even know if it's going to be warm or cold where we are. Maybe we should have started preparing for this a little sooner. Like... maybe I should have written last letters to all my best friends. Oops, I haven't even written my will, yet."

    "Honey, we'll be fine. We have cell phones. I won't let you get hurt."

    ********

    I tucked a piece of my honey-colored hair behind my ear and leaned toward the plane window. I was amazed and said, "Wow. This is the best view in the world! But... please tell me we are flying for a few more hours."

    "Why? Are you getting nervous?" my dad asked.

    "Well, there's a lot of white down there and I want us to get past it. I don't want to freeze my butt off!"

    A voice came from the pilot, "Hello, adventure-ers! Are you ready to jump? Please, start to prepare for your departure."

    "Oh my gosh. He's letting us off here. In the middle of some.. arctic TUNDRA? No nonono. Dad, I thought we were going to some foresty place where there would be food to look for? How will we eat? Icicles don't have much protein. And how will we stay warm?"

    "I don't know, honey, but it'll be ok. It'll be fun. You and me versus ...freezing temperatures. But don't worry, I brought blankets."