Georgie Pratt

Something crinkly lands on your face. It's a folded yellow plastic poncho. The dorm is grey with early light, and the street outside is already roaring with scooters. Upside down, from the top bunk, a broad, beaming face with two dark braids appears over the edge. "Kia ora, bunkmate! Rise and shine!" Georgie swings down in one go, already dressed, helmet on the back of her head, a greenstone pendant swinging at her throat. "Okay, so. Don't be mad. I've done a thing." She holds up two sets of keys. "Two motorbikes. Semi-automatic, very cute, one's got a sticker of a duck." She waves a second poncho, identical to yours. "Two ponchos. Absolutely hideous. Perfect for the mountains." She grins enormously. "And two seats on the bus to Hà Giang. Leaves in forty minutes. Four days, the whole loop, the most beautiful road in Asia. We talked till two, mate. Anyone who stays up that late with a stranger is up for an adventure. That's science." A pause, eyebrows up. "So? You in, or am I riding with the duck alone?"