"Xiāo mèi mei!"*

"Dà gē!"*

"What are you doing?"

"Cooking dinner"

"Hao hao. Hey, you want to work with me?"

"I'd love to work with you gē, but you're in Tokyo."

"Well, I'm sending you a link to send your resume too. Can't hurt!"

"I'll look at it and let you know."

"Okay, bye love you!"

"Love you too. Bye"

Ishmael had to laugh to herself. Sean was her brother from an Asian mother and they were two peas in a pod. They met in the 4th grade when they noticed they were the only two non-white faces in the entire class. The two had been together ever since and even went to the same college. They shared an apartment together rather than staying in the dorm.

Being so close, they were always mistaken for boyfriend/girlfriend. It didn't help that they pretty much did everything together. They went to prom, dances, homecoming, everything. The two also received flak for not sticking with 'their kind'. But Sean and Ishmael were 'their kind'.

Ishmael had learned Chinese from spending so much time at Sean's. If they wanted to have a private conversation in a public setting, they would speak Chinglish to each other. They loved going into Chinese restaurants together. Sean would leave and Ishmael would amaze the staff with her perfect use of Mandarin.

The besties had always been there for each other. When Ishmael lost her parents, when Sean came out to his parents, through first dates, relationships, bad relationships, crappy jobs, you name it.

Two years ago Sean had accepted a position with a start-up Tech firm in Tokyo. The young owner, Seo Kang-joon had a knack for business and had some of the best tech guys in the industry. Sean knew Ishmael would be a great fit, plus he missed having his 'xiao mei mei' with him.

Ishmael wanted to take some time off from working as she'd always dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail, a section at a time. From South to North, she was out placing one foot in front of the other for five months. She'd hoped Sean would come with her but she knew how much the job in Tokyo meant to him so she forced him on the plane. The trail wasn't going anywhere and she constantly sent him pictures of her adventures and mis-adventures.

Ishmael Turner had always been quirky. She never fit in with anyone other than her 'brother' Sean. She was dorky, loved math, science and computers, and could rough it better than Bear Grylls (at least that's what Sean always said.) Never having fit in, Ishmael was an ace at ignoring all the stares and comments she constantly received. 90% of the time, her face was the only one with a healthy amount of melanin in the groups she ended up in. But she didn't care.

Her love of the outdoors came from one of her neighbors. They were an older couple from Montana that had moved because of the military. Ishmael took to them, and they did to her. Mr & Mrs. Thompson. Ishmael and Sean were constant visitors to the older couple and learned a lot from them, Ishmael more than Sean as he lived a few miles away. Mr. Thompson was a Master Sergeant and his wife a nurse. Ishmael would get home from school, quickly do her homework and rush over to learn more new and exciting things.

The Thompsons never had kids of their own, so they welcomed the youngsters and their eagerness to learn. Mr. Thompson taught her all about the outdoors. Ishmael's parents didn't mind the time she spent with the neighbors as they were both busy entrepreneurs and rarely home. It saved them money on babysitters, so they were all for it. Her parents had always taught her to treat others with kindness and respect. The color of their skin didn't matter. They also taught her that others didn't hold those values.

The pride her parents instilled in her about her African-American roots and ancestors gave Ishmael all the confidence she needed. She made sure that how she presented and carried herself was done with respect and honored those that made everything she wanted to do possible. Even at a young age, Ishmael was mindful of how she acted. She knew that others sometimes already had a perception about her formed in their minds the moment they saw her beautifully dark face. It was just how it was.

//First camping trip//

It was summer break and Sean had gone back to mainland China with his family to visit his grandmother. The Thompsons asked her parents if it was okay for them to take her camping for the weekend. It thrilled Ishmael when she learned the news that she broke her piggy bank open for money to help with supplies.

Mr. Thompson and her dad laughed at her thoughtfulness. One of the other neighborhood kids, who was also a girl around her age, would also come along with their mom. Again, Ishmael was the only dark face of the group but didn't care. She was going out in nature, and that's all she had on her mind.

The morning of the trip, Ishmael was up and dressed with her small backpack loaded up. Mr. Thompson found her sitting on the bumper of his jeep at 7 in the morning, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"I guess you're all ready to go, huh kiddo?"

"Yes sir! I got my pack, my boots and my fishing pole!"

"Well, let's see what all you got here, kiddo!"

Mr. Thompson had her take everything out of her pack and lay it on the ground while he grabbed a duffel bag out of the garage. Thompson had to admit, for a little kid, he was impressed with everything Ishmael had packed.

All of her stuff was in ziplock baggies. She had her clothes, toiletries, snacks, bug spray, a small pack of wipes and a little tin of Band-Aids. She wore her hat and a light rain jacket. Her mom had braided her hair so she wouldn't have to worry about it while they were gone. On the ground were her fishing pole and a tiny little tackle box she put together on her own. She even included small Band-Aids for the fish to help with the owies they got from the hook.

"Ok kiddo! Rules of the outdoors. Clothing, shelter, water, food, safety. Let's start with clothes." Ishmael took the clothing out of the large Ziplock bag. She had three pair of undies, and extra shirt, something to sleep in and wrap her hair with at night and an extra pair of pants and socks."

He inspected the items. "Good job on the clothes! Now, what do you have for shelter?" Ishmael had a frown on her face.

"I don't have that, you do."  She pointed her little finger at him as her brows furrowed deeper.

She had him there. "True, but you still need something in case of an emergency."

"Emergency? We're going to have 'mergencies?" Ishmael was still frowning as she folded her little arms across her chest.

"You never know kiddo. That's why it helps to be prepared. Here, I'll hand you things you need for emergencies."

"Yes sir!" She gave a little salute.

The two had gone through everything Ishmael had packed. She'd always watched him going through his gear when he had to leave out on duty and learned from that. There wasn't much he needed to add to her little pack. He gave her an emergency blanket, two MRE's, a small pouch with first aid items, a flashlight and one of his old canteens that she could clip onto her pack along with a whistle.

He explained the importance of all the items and showed her the best way to pack everything. After she had everything back in the pack she did a little happy dance, which filled Mr. Thompson heart with joy. He'd never seen a little kid so happy about gear and getting outdoors.

Ishmael went inside to help Mrs. Thomspon get the food together. The older lady had everything ready to pack into coolers and tote bags so Ishmell helped her with that. When they were half way done, the door bell rang. It was Sherry and her mom Gale. Sherry was 3 years older than Ishmael but they occasionally hung out together when her mom went to visit Sherry's. Other than that, they two youngsters didn't really have that much in common. Mrs. Thomspon went to answer the door as Ishmell stood at the entrance to the kitchen. Mell was excited to have another kid to hang out with during her adventure.

"Sherry!" Ishmael ran over to her and gave her a hug.

"Uggh, you smell like bug spray!"

"Well yeah! We're going camping, the 'squitoes will bite you!"  Ishmael just looked at her perplexed.

"How are you going to find boys when you smell like bug spray?" Sherry was more interested in boys than she was about being out in nature. Ishmell just shook her head "You're only 12!  It's not like you're going to get married next week!" Ishmael looked again at the other girl as she was wearing shorts, flip flops and a tank top and she also didn't have a pack with her.   All Sherry had was a small purse and another small case

"Where's your gear?"

"Gear?"

"We're going camping Sherry..."

"I have everything I need, Ishmael! Lips gloss, chapstick, nail polish." Sherry held up the small case and shook it. Ishmael didn't reply as she turned and went back to the kitchen, her little boots clunking along as she went.  She already knew that Sherry was not someone she wanted as a friend. She let out a small sigh, wishing her buddy Sean was the one going with her and not some boy crazy 12 year old. Ishmael headed back outside as Sherry and her mom came into the kitchen.  Mr. Thompson saw the disgusted look on her face.

"What's wrong there kiddo?"

"Mr. Thompson, why are girls so boy crazy?"

Mr. Thompson had to laugh. "Oh just you wait kiddo, you'll be all about the boys too."

"Hah! I don't think so, I'd rather clean up dog poop in Ms. Oberly's yard!"

Ishmael pouted and kicked a rock across the driveway before she helped Mr. Thompson load up the jeep.

Xiāo mèi mei   =  Little sis

Dà gē/ gē   =   Older brother/bro