178 MILES AWAY...
Jesse Nokolai rolled over, threw off her blankets, and tried in vain to hop out of bed. The reason she was unsuccessful was due to the unexpected presence of a wall. Mumbling and reaching for her lamp, she ran her hand quite forcefully into the very same wall.
Duh. Obviously, if there is a wall suddenly where my floor should be, my lamp sure isn't going to be where it belongs either.
Opening her eyes, she was puzzled by the lack of pre-dawn light until her mind caught up with the situation. There was a wall on the left side of her bed because this wasn't her bed. It was the folded out couch of her grandparents' fifth wheel which was currently housing her uncle, three younger brothers, and parents, who were lucky to have the only real bed in the cramped trailer.
Pulling open the window blinds revealed why it was still pitch dark; the sun hadn't risen yet. Why then, had she woken up? Pure habit awakened her at 5.15 each morning, and after the stressful events of the past week, she was positive she wouldn't have awakened early. Carfully stepping over her sleeping brothers, Jesse groped about the counter for the clock, finally finding it in the sink beneath a duffel bag. Hitting the snooze button to light the display, the dark numerals cheerfully displayed the time of 4.30.
"Uhg." Banging her head into a cabinet and letting the clock fall to the floor, she wearing searched for an explanation, until reason kicked in delivering the first cold hard truth of the day. "Time zones. Oh how I hate time zones"
No longer the least bit tired, and uninterested in returning to the throes of sleep, Jesse rummaged about for her sneakers. Finding one beneath one of the twin's pillows and the other beneath the sink, she silently slipped out. Taking a deep breath of the chilly early morning air of Augungua County, California, she realised she had nothing productive to accomplish outside. No one would be awake in the main house or the other RV.
With little thought of aim or direction, she traversed the final 50 feet to the top of the mountain, pulled herself up into the enveloping branches of the lone misquete tree, leaned back, and waited for the sun to ascend to it's daytime throne and reveal the brilliance of the seemingly endless mountain range and accompanying valleys below her.1
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