Carver Pike - Scalp

“It’s like going to summer camp, isn’t it?” he asked.

Nitsy flinched, and he realized he’d scared her. He chuckled and touched her shoulder softly. Her head turned and her eyes fell upon his hand. For a second, Robbie thought she might bite him.

He remembered the words of his buddy, Max, back home: “Nobody lays a hand on Nitsy Porter.”

They’d both laughed at the time, but now he wondered if there was truth to that statement.

She didn’t growl at him. She didn’t smack his hand away like he feared she might. She only smiled and said, “Summer camp for the elite.”

“And only for three days. Man, I hope there are some hot chicks here.”

Something in her face changed, and he wished he could take the words back. It was a douchebag remark and he’d promised himself he’d try like hell to be less douchebaggy.

“I’m sure you’ll find someone you like,” she replied.

“You too,” he said.

Is Robbie Boyd talking to you? Like not staring at his phone while he does it but actually talking to you?

He was sure she’d find someone she likes here? Was this for real? Robbie had never spoken more than a few words to her, and she’d always assumed he thought he was too good for her. Perhaps she’d misunderstood and he was actually a nice guy.

“Oh, shit,” Robbie said. “Look at that ass.”

And just like that, he totally deconstructs the image you were forming of him. That’s what you get for letting yourself be blinded by his charm.

She glanced left to look out the tinted window and saw what had stolen Robbie’s attention. A young woman, probably one of the college girls from WVU or Marshall – both schools were sponsors of the Stonewall Forge program – here camping for the weekend, was walking alongside the road with her companions. Her bikini bottom had soaked through the light-yellow fabric of her jean shorts. Her boyfriend held her hand but walked ahead of her as if having to drag her along. Another couple was ahead of them.

“I love West Virginia,” another boy on the bus said. “God bless this state.”

“They sure know how to grow ‘em in these parts,” Robbie agreed.

“Yeah,” replied the other boy, “we don’t have anything like that in North Dakota.”

Both boys laughed. Instant friends.

“You guys are ridiculous,” Nitsy muttered under her breath.

“What?” Robbie asked, his attention still on the girl outside who was now waving at the bus. To her, they were probably cute kids on the way to a field trip. She had no idea they were horn-dog boys checking out her ass. The girl’s boyfriend understood exactly what was going on and scowled at them before wheeling around to kiss her passionately.

On the bus, the boys cheered him on.

Boys are incorrigible.

“I don’t think it matters if a guy has a high IQ or a low one,” the girl seated in front of Nitsy said, “because their little head seems to do all the thinking most of the time.”

Nitsy laughed out loud, covered her mouth, and nodded. “So true.”

“I’m Phyllis,” the girl said. She was cute, with her black hair up in two tight rolls atop her head. Her name matched her perfectly as Nitsy thought she looked like a grandmother in training. It was something about her flowered dress and kind smile.

“Nitsy. This fool behind me is Robbie. We go to the same school.”

“He’s cute,” Phyllis said.

Of course, he is.

“Don’t tell him that,” Nitsy replied and both girls laughed again.

Kids her age seemed to be all about relationships. Either they were proud to be single and made sure every post on social media reflected that. Or they were in a relationship and wanted the world to see how special that was. Then there were people like Nitsy. Those who weren’t dating anyone and weren’t excited about being on their own. She tended to post about food or her cat or pretty sunsets.

“He is cute though,” Phyllis said.

She couldn’t fault the girl. The truth was, Nitsy would have liked to find a Stonewall Forge romance herself. Nobody wanted to date a sick girl, and she’d been sick so long she nearly forgot what it was like to feel healthy. At least here, nobody knew her past, so it was like she was starting with a clean slate.

Nitsy’s memories weren’t like normal girls. Hers were doctor visits, injections, and IV drips. She’d missed all the school study sessions, weekend parties, and Saturday night dates. She’d never experienced those secret phone chats in her bed or sneaking flirtatious text messages to the cute boy in class.

While most girls her age fished for “likes” on social media, Nitsy scrolled by the posts of the others and wondered if their lives were as glamorous as they made them out to be. Was anyone else feeling as lost as she was?

“You should smile more, Nitsy,” Robbie said as he stood up from his seat to line up with the others.

Nitsy hadn’t even realized the bus had stopped. She’d slipped into another daydream. This one consisted of all the selfies she imagined herself taking. On the beach, at night on some bridge, or in a restaurant surrounded by her friends. In all of the scenarios, there was a boy with no face. But she wasn’t alone. Someone was with her, whoever he was.

“You have nice lips,” Robbie added. “Happy looks good on you.”

She couldn’t help but flash him a smile. Of course, he was known for flirting. Nothing that came out of his mouth could be taken seriously, but still, he could have chosen to withhold those words and didn’t. If nothing else, she was glad he’d chosen to be nice to her.

“Thank you, Robbie,” she replied.

“Don’t mention it.”

He smiled back at her and she decided she wouldn’t mention it again. He’d meant nothing by it, and she couldn’t afford to let her guard down with a guy like him. Phyllis, who’d noticed the exchange, shot her a wink and a smile. Nitsy shook her head and laughed.

Outside the bus, Nitsy noticed there were three types of kids attending. The ones like her who were proud to be picked as representatives of their school. They understood the importance of this monumental moment. Even thinking it seemed cliché, but it was important.

Then there were the teenagers like Robbie who were nonchalant about it. Sure, it was cool, but it was no big deal. This group might have even included some of the kids who were so smart they weren’t easily impressed. This was just another day for them.

The third type was the kids who didn’t belong here at all. They were the ones who were too witty for their own good. They cracked jokes, easily found others like themselves, and bunched together so they could heckle the teachers or make snarky remarks at the other two types of kids.

Nitsy heard whispers from all the groups.

Group 1: “Oh, my God. This is great.” “I can’t believe I’m here.” “This is going to be awesome!”

Group 2: “I’m sure this will be all right.” “I wonder what the food is like.” “My squad’s competing online tonight, and I can’t play because I’ll be here doing this .”

Group 3: “Look how Big Titties over there is waving her hands to get us all to line up.” “This is going to be fucking boring.” “Somebody’s mom dressed him.”

Nitsy was ushered into a line without having any choice of her own. A big, bald man with glasses tapped her shoulder and said, “Over here, please.” So, she followed his lead and lined up behind one of the boys who’d been on her bus. She wasn’t sure why, but she found herself scanning the crowd for Robbie. As expected, she found him behind a beautiful blonde girl. They seemed to be enjoying each other’s company.