Predator and Prey

Prologue: Off to Adventure

When most seniors in high school wake up at five in the morning to the sound of the world's most obnoxious alarm clock, the first thing they want to do is break that clock into about 6.7 billion pieces with their pillow and then go back to sleep. I'd be included in that statistic most of the time, but not today. As soon as I hear that alarm, my amber eyes fly open and I hop out of bed, trying not to scream with excitement. I can already hear my Mom's reaction to that. She'd tell me to calm down but she'd be fangirling as much as I am. But, I can't dwell on that.

I don't have a moment to lose. I can feel the energy buzzing through my body as I shut off the alarm. First thing's first. Breakfast. Then, check my bags one more time, take a shower, pack my toiletries, and then we're ready to go. I open my door and nearly crash right into my father, which would've knocked me right down on my butt because he's a pretty big guy. He catches me totally by surprise and I let out a little yelp and hop back. His green eyes widen and he gasps. He seems as freaked out as me.

"Don't do that!" I playfully scold him, letting out a sigh. My Dad was one of really those big guys that can somehow move silently. "I swear, Dad, you were a ninja in a past life."

"And you were Lara Croft," he chuckles, ruffling my wavy dark brown hair with his huge hand. He was a handsome guy, no question about it. "Or you will be in a few hours." He smiles at me, no doubt noticing the huge grin appearing on my face again.

"I KNOW!" I shriek, unable to contain myself. "Or, no, not Lara Croft. Um...the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, since I'm gonna be studying the wildlife in the Amazon." I feel the excitement building up to another scream. Not only would we be studying wildlife, we'd be doing it in some of the deepest parts of the Amazon, places nobody's been yet. I read that they discover a new species every three days there. I can't help but wonder: will I discover something new? What will that mean for our work? I'm suddenly snapped out of my daydreaming by Dad.

"Okay, Crocodile Huntress," he teases. "You'd better go get ready. You're all packed, right?"

"Yep! I'm double-checking after I get food and a shower."

"Why is it that you procrastinate about everything except the things you're really passionate about, and still somehow get the marks you do?" He asks as I walk past him. I turn around at the edge of the stairs and smile.

"If I knew the answer to that, so many of the world's problems would go away," I reply, and my Dad and I share a laugh, causing my Mom to open her door.

"What's so funny, you two?" She asks, rubbing her almond brown eyes and tossing her messy black hair back out of her face. "Amelia, you need to hurry. We've got to be out of here in less than an hour."

I smile and nod at my Mom, even though she's less awake than me and hasn't eaten anything either. Hypocrite. Not that I can talk, because on any other day I'd be worse than she is. Normally, the guys are the slow ones, but not in my family. My Dad's already showered and dressed in his blue button-up and black dress pants to go to work after he drops me off at the airport and then takes my Mom home. I can see that because his slicked back brown hair is still a bit wet. How did he shower without waking me up? His bathroom's right to my bedroom, I should've heard that.

"You heard your mother, let's get moving," my Dad says before kissing my Mom on the cheek. "She's so happy, look at her," I hear him say softly to my mother, who puts a hand on his chest and smiles back at him as I bound down the stairs, gripping the ornate white rails so I don't fall.

"She's got every right to be, after all the work we put in," she says back to him. I just barely hear that as I get to the bottom step and race off to the kitchen to eat my breakfast.

I just grab a bowl of cheerios with some banana chopped up in it, all the time thinking about the next to weeks. This was going to be the best Spring break ever. Nothing but me, the other students, the team, and the jungle. I practically shovel through the whole bowl in less than three minutes, put the bowl in the dishwasher built under the fake green marble countertop behind the stove, and then race back upstairs. I don't know if I've ever brushed my teeth and showered so fast in my life, especially since I normally like to take my time. I do my hair, and my make-up, which isn't much more than hiding a couple of zits, and then I get dressed in the T-shirt the company sponsoring the trip is making us all wear the first day on the plane out. I also have a pair out special outdoor pants that are water resistant, and can zip off the sleeves to become shorts if it gets too hot. I finish my packing in what seems like just a few short minutes. I barely have time to relax before I hear my Mom call out to me.

"Amelia, are you ready to go?" She asks. There she goes, using my full name again. Most everyone just calls me Lia, although my oldest and closest friends still call me Amy.

"Yes Mom!" I shout back from my room. She's always so practical and careful, sometimes to the point where it's annoying like none other.

"Bob, help her load up the car, I'll be down in a few minutes!" She asks.

"Okay, baby," my Dad replies, coming into my room and helping me carry my two large suitcases and carry-on bag down and into the car. I don't like that my Mom feels that I need a big strong man helping me do everything, but I'm too excited to say anything to either of them about it. I wonder what the people will be like? Will I make any friends with other students?

Each second brings me one step closer to the jungle. I know it's dangerous, and that people die in the Amazon. I have great respect for that sobering fact, but it's still been my dream to go out into the wild like this to study the wildlife. I nearly scream yet again when my Mom finally takes her spot in the passenger's seat and we drive off to the airport. I don't look out the windows, I close my eyes and let my mind wander into the sea of green, full of macaws, monkeys, snakes, and life all around me. I know it's going to be an experience that I'll never forget. In just a few hours, my adventure begins!