Emily Underwood spent the first 19 years of her life in Coloma, Calfiornia, in a house by the river. You may or may not remember from 4th grade history that Coloma is the place where gold was discovered in 1848, starting the largest rush in history. "Discovery " is an overstatement-- the Nisenan who'd lived in the valley for, well, forever, knew it was there all along. But they weren't quite as interested in it. Emily grew up at the base of an almost-mountain named after "Murphy," who used to fire cannon balls at these disinterested people until, with the help of his fellow miners, there were none of them left. Coloma is a much quieter place nowadays, since they turned it into a park. But every summer hordes of 4th graders arrive in search of the nugget that everyone else has missed for the last 150 years. "It's out there," Emily tells them when they arrive, their greedy eyes ablaze. "It's the size of a fist and if you find it you'll never have to go to school again." Emily left the valley three years ago, moved to Santa Barbara where she finished her sophomore year at community college and then transferred to Brown as a junior in January, 2005.
