Chapter 15
The Creep
First Friday in October—His Campland on the Bay experience
Afternoon
Josh still put up a lousy tent. He was hoping that Mindy would join him. He felt that he
was making progress in that department. He could lift more weights then he could just a
month ago. Josh was certain he'd be on the football team in no time. And no Equipment
Manager nerdy bullshit, but being on the actual team. Mindy was so sexy in that
cheerleading uniform. Mom Josie recommended to give her "all the time that she
needed", but he didn't think to ask Mom Audrey about it. This was how Josh was going
to refer to them now on to cut down on the confusion. Not to their respective company of
course. Josh even made sure to go to Smart-Aid to buy a pack of boy wrappers just
incase on the off chance that Mindy would want to go all the way this weekend.
"Nice tent, Josh." It was Mindy and she was talking to him.
"It's crooked on the top, but it's nice and roomy on the inside, Mindy."
"Why would I care about how roomy your tent is?" The rest of the Garfield cheerleading
squad started to gather around her.
"I don't know."
They walked away whispering and laughing. It was those girls poisoning her mind. He
was going to do all he could to get Mindy back on this trip even if he couldn't put
together a tent.
4:03 PM
Josh was sitting up in his tent reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Romance.He
needed to get Mindy away from her cheerleading friends and into this tent. It was one of
the most important things in his young life ever.
At least no one was picking on him. And he hoped that no one would. He drank a can of
root beer and ate some thin unsalted pretzel sticks. He thought it was quite rude of
Drake to try and hog all of soda for his cooler. So he made sure to take all of the cans of
root beer out while he wasn't looking and put it in his. He also went to Spencer's and
bought some chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla body oils. He wanted Mindy so bad that
it was getting more difficult to take Mom Josie's advice of giving Mindy all the time she
needed. She had enough time.
Hasn't he suffered enough?
10 PMFor someone trying to be popular and the total opposite of how he was at Belleview
High. Josh Nichols certainly spent a great deal of his time in his tent. But he wasn't
enjoying the solitude. He was doing what most young boys do when they are alone.
"Nichols!" Someone called out from his tent
"What?" Josh was startled out of his own skin. "Just a minute."
He reached for his strawberry antibacterial hand wash.
"Hurry up!"
"Keep your pants on!"
Josh opened the flap of his tent.
"This is for you," some boy he did not know handed him a note, "Follow the instructions."
It was a blue piece of paper that smelled like perfumed baby powder.
He turned on his electrical lantern.
Josh,
Meet us by the dock at midnight.
Signed,
The Gatekeepers
What in the heck was this about? How did he know if this note was from someone at
Garfield or someone at Belleview? What if it was Drake trying to play a practical joke on
him?
It was perfumed but it could've been a trap, but he was too curious not to go. So he
figured he'd better eat some trail mix and rest up before heading out at midnight to see
whom The Gatekeepers were and what they wanted with him.
Saturday-Midnight
No one was by the dock. Because it was a Campland on the Bay self-made rule started
by some senior in sixtyseventyeighty something Josh didn't care that only geeks swam
on the first night. If you wanted to be part of the in-crowd you wouldn't dip your toe in the
water until the Saturday night going into the Sunday morning party. When Josh figured
this out he started to head back where he was stopped by a girl in his new math class at
Garfield.
"Josh, you can't leave. You just got here."
"Trish? Is it?"
"Hmm. Hmm. Here's your next note."
And she scampered off laughing.
He could hear other laughs in the distance.
Josh,
Find ten pinecones and bring them to the tent with the Hello Kitty stickers on it.
Signed,
The Gatekeepers
Josh was busy losing his identity in swift clips like the rainforest being destroyed
11:17 AM
Josh was exhausted. He found the pinecones. It took him longer than it should have
considering he had no lantern. But some kid from Clairemont fell sorry for him and let
him have his extra flashlight. He fell asleep somewhere in the woods and could've sworn
he had contact with a poison bush. He passed out in front of the tent with the Hello Kitty
stickers on it.
"Hey, Josh, wake up!"
It was that annoying Trish girl again.
"I found your stupid pinecones!" He replied without getting up
"Good." She picked them up and tossed the bag containing them in the nearest
garbage bin. "Get us pancakes at the diner and orange juice. No bacon. If you do that—
you might score points with the Queen."
And at that moment Drake description was right Josh was a tool.
Sunday11:20 PM
This trip sucked. He was being used for the amusement of a bunch of semi cruel
teenage girls. Was Mindy aware of this? Were they doing all of these things behind her
back? Why were they calling themselves The Gatekeepers? To which gate did they
keep? After he got them ALL breakfast. He collapsed in his tent after eating his own
breakfast of root beer and barbeque potato chips.
He was done.
Josh was so sick and tired getting the short end of the stick. Drake was probably losing
his virginity right now and that was making Josh considerably angry.
Garfield High was supposed to be a new start. He tried to wear the cool clothes and
speak the latest teen lingo. Josh wasn't at the new school long, but he still wanted a new
life to happen instantly. Shouldn't it have if Mindy Crenshaw was already there and she
could have paved the road for him?
He was tired of going on a scavenger hunt for pine cones in the dark, getting The
Gatekeepers their food orders, and anything else they had planned. Well it was going to
stop now.
Didn't Josh Nichols have a shred of dignity left in him?
He didn't like the feeling of marching to the tent. Josh was a good kid who tried to do all
the right things. Listen to your parents, obey your teachers, dot your 'i's and cross your
't's, look both ways before crossing the street, say please, say thank you, and help little
old ladies to cross streets. He was tired of being nice when he got nothing to show for it.
Mindy—he assumed she was the Queen? She didn't look so royal sleeping in an old
Army issued sleeping bag.
"Mindy," Josh kneeled down, "Wake up."
She must have been the Queen because she had this nice sized tent all to herself.
"Josh," Mindy wiped the sleep from her eyes, "Is that you?"
"Yeah it is."
"Do you care to explain what you are doing in my tent?"
"This."
Josh put his arms around Mindy and pulled her to him with a force she never felt before.
Before she could react he planted a big greedy kiss on her lips.
And Drake was the self-serving one? That's why he was cuddling with his girlfriend at
that very moment, trying to soothe her nightmares away.
"Josh!" Mindy pushed him off her, "What in the Hell do you think you are doing?"
"Mindy, you know you want to."
Josh wasn't prepared for Mindy's Girl Scout whistle that brought The Gatekeepers out
of their Hello Kitty stickers tent and boy were they ready to beat the crap out Josh!
"Get out of here! You Creep!" Trish said
It was as if he was being woken up out of a conscious dream. He didn't mean to go that
far. And he was certain he would NEVER not respect a woman. The scary part was that
he wasn't really certain that if she didn't blow that whistle that he would have forced
himself on her.
The girls including Mindy pushed him out of her tent. Their fun with him was over. He
crossed a line. A line into creepdom. He was the nerd at Belleview. He was the video
game loving geek contrasted by his cool, rock and roll loving, the brother with perfect
hair Drake.
Drake.
He needed Drake.
But he ruined that relationship. While a lot of the back-and-forth ness had been going on
for months it was the desire to keep the Crenshaw dream alive that not only cemented
the state of the relationship he had with his brother, but his parents too.
Josh should have been elated over the sticky shower Drake and Megan gave Mindy.
He dreaded going back to school on Tuesday. He was going to forever be known as
The Creep.
There was no marching back to his tent just the hung head low slow walk of doom.
Josh felt his face. Some of those girls had long fingernails. He supposed he did
deserve those scratches. He had black and blue marks on his legs. His jeans could
cover those.
He found his cell phone at the bottom of his sleeping bag and started to dial Drake's
number to leave a voice mail, but stopped himself from doing so.
Josh supposed he could've gone looking for their tent. But he didn't want to spoil Drake
and Torey's fun time.
Wait a minute! There was someone he could call.
"This is Megan Parker. I am not available so that means I'm probably tormenting Drake.
Leave a message at the beep. Bye."
Where was the …and Josh? As in "I'm probably tormenting Drake and Josh".
"Megan, it's me Josh. Do you think you can give Drake a message from me? He's with
Torey now and I don't want to bother him here. So just tell him when you see him on
Monday, okay? Thanks. Bye."
He closed his eyes tight, but was not able to drift away.
Josh Nichols did not want to be forever known as The Creep.