A Teenager's Nightmare

We, my twin sister and I, got the news that we would be moving. The dreaded words any teenager hates to hear, especially when your dad tells you that you will be moving out of the city into the middle of the desert to a place named "Yucca Valley".

We were in the back seat of my parents Chevy Malibu, being dragged along because my dad had taken a new job as a part time Administrator to a tiny little hospital in a town 5 hours away from the home and neighborhood where we had grown up. Big Mulberry trees shaded the front yard, a swimming pool and tennis court in the backyard with 9 orange trees, 1 gigantic peach tree, and school just a short bike ride away.

We were driving through the hustle of the East Side of Los Angeles, through the industrial sections of Orange County and Riverside Counties. The air became warmer and drier, the buildings sparser. My sister, Denise and I were sitting in shock in the back seat, wondering how our parents could do this to us. Take us away from all our friends and everything we knew. They said to just wait and see. We might like it better there.

Four hours later, the sight was horrible to us. Houses spaced far apart, no grass or trees in sight, just sand and desert bushes blowing in the dusty wind. Corrals were visible with skinny looking horses with hanging heads in them. We still were not there. This was Morongo Valley. Who thought up these names? My sister and I slumped further into our seats as the tears began to trickle slowly down our faces...