Stranded

1

I shiver into the blanket and try to snuggle into the uncomfortable back seat of the van. At least I'm inside the car, not outside where I can see rain pouring down and lonely boulders withstanding the showers flashing past. I give up and turn to look at my best friend, Ali, driving the car. She has a tight grip on the steering wheel and I can tell she's trying not to fall asleep.

"Al? I can't sleep," I say.

"Duh. You've been tossing and turning for an hour, Angel."

"Sorry. Do you want me to drive?" I offer. Ali nods, and pulls up to the side of the road. We switch seats, but she sits in the passengers seat.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep either," she explains. I nod and start up the van. We drive together in silence. I focus on the flat stretch of road in front of me and flash a look to the dashboard. It reads 11:00 pm.

"Do you think we'll get to the city tomorrow?" I ask. Ali snorts.

"You wish. We'll probably get there in three days at least, a week at most."

I sigh. Ali and I decided to make a road trip through the outback Australian desert to get to her aunt and uncles house, instead of her taking a plane or coach. We set off yesterday, and it was fun at first, but as it got cold at night we were wishing we hadn't taken such a challenging route.

My mother was all for making me stay home, but I reminded her that I was twenty two (and jobless, ugh) and could do what I wanted. So we set off and here we are, taking turns driving. My biggest fear is that we'll be ambushed and robbed and even murdered by bandits or whatever, but Ali reminded me I was being "absolutely ridiculous" and it would "be fun, right?"

"Let's turn on the radio," I say, and Ali switches on 104.7 where we can hear some crackling.

"Well, this is a lovely song," I laugh. "I guess we're too far away to get proper music, or ads." Ali nods and gets out a hairbrush and starts brushing her long dark hair.

"Really? Hair brushing? We're in the Australian outback, not a mall," I remind her. She laughs but keeps brushing. Then she reaches over and starts brushing my hair, but it's too messy and knotty and the brush gets stuck. She gasps and yanks it out, bringing a large number of my golden brown hair strands out with it.

"Shit!" Ali yells, and I laugh. She joins in. This is going to be a long ride.