Kevin pulled into the little clearing and parked his truck. He looked around and saw that he was the first to arrive. He grabbed his backpack from the passenger seat and got out. Their manager, Mick, waved at him from his place at a picnic table. Kevin waved back, locked the truck and pocketed the keys. Then he walked over.
“Hey!” Mick said. “Where is everyone?”
Kevin shrugged. “I don’t think they’re really looking forward to this as much as I am.”
“True. But I think it’ll be good for you all. After so much time on the road, in the public eye, you need a break.”
“I agree. And six days in the woods is as far away from the public eye as you can get.”
Mick nodded and glanced at his watch. “Ty isn’t here yet either.”
“Who’s Ty?”
“The guide I hired for you. Ty will take you through the woods and keep you all alive.”
“Sounds good.”
Just then, a big red truck came screaming into the clearing. It screeched to a halt beside Kevin’s. When the dust cleared, the driver’s side door opened and out jumped AJ, a cell phone stuck to his head.
“I know, sweetie, but this trip has been planned for weeks. I can’t back out. I promise I’ll call you later, okay? Okay, bye,” he said. He turned off the phone and tucked it into his pocket. “Hi, am I late?”
Kevin and Mick said nothing, they just stared.
AJ frowned. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Uh, AJ, um, you’re not really gonna wear that, are you?” Kevin asked.
AJ glanced down at himself, and then at Kevin. He realized he had made a major mistake. While Kevin was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, a denim jacket and hiking boots, AJ was wearing his fuzzy green army pants with an orange tank top and sneakers.
“You’ll sweat to death in those pants,” Mick pointed out. “And the bugs will eat you alive.”
“Plus, we’ll be walking through the woods, through streams, over hills...” Kevin continued. “You might lose your jewelry too.”
AJ nodded. “I get it, I get it. If I go like this, Mother Nature is gonna kick my ass. Is there a place to change? I have other clothes.”
Mick gestured to a small building. “There’s a restroom.”
AJ took off to change clothes.
“Didn’t anyone get my letter about this trip?” Mick asked Kevin. “I sent a list of stuff to bring, what to wear-”
“I got it, but the others have a different view on this whole ‘camping’ idea.”
They sat down at the picnic table and waited for AJ to come back. While they were waiting, Nick arrived. They watched him struggle to pull not one but two huge bags from the backseat of his car.
“Hi!” he said, dragging them behind them. “Where is everybody?”
Mick took one look at the bags and moaned. “One bag, didn’t I say one bag?!” he muttered under his breath. “Nick, you can’t walk with those things!”
Nick’s eyes widened. “Walk? We have to walk?”
“Yes! What did you think this was? A limo ride through the forest?!”
Nick threw Kevin a confused glance. Kevin just shrugged. Two minutes later, a bright red sports car came into the clearing, Leighanne at the wheel. Brian kissed her and then got out, a single backpack slung over his shoulders. Leighanne took off.
“Oh goody, I’m not the last one here,” he said, joining them.
“Nope, we’re still missing Howie and Ty,” Mick said.
“Ty? Did we get another member for the group?” Brian asked, smiling.
“No, Ty is the nature expert I hired for you guys.”
“I hope he’s strong enough to carry me back when my legs give out,” Nick said from his place at the table.
AJ came back, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. “Is this better?”
“It’s fine,” Kevin answered.
“Good, I’m gonna go stash my other clothes in my car.”
Just as AJ reached his car, Howie arrived. Mick held his breath, praying Howie only had one bag, was dressed properly, and knew that they would be hiking.
"Hi, guys, sorry I’m late, I had a hard time packing.”
“I hope that’s the only bag you’re bringing,” Kevin said, glancing at Mick out of the corner of his eye. Their manager looked like he was about to bust a gut.
Howie shook his head and smiled. “Oh no, I’ve got five more in the trunk.”
Kevin ducked as Mick’s threw his hands towards the heavens. “Argh!” he cried.
Fifteen minutes later, they were still waiting for Ty when a dark green Jeep pulled up next to their cars. Mick breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank God! he thought. Ty can take care of them now!
The guys all stood up to greet their guide. They were expecting some huge bearded mountain man to get out of the Jeep. Far from it.
Five jaws dropped as a beautiful brunette stepped out of the vehicle.
“Oh...” Kevin began.
“...my...” Nick continued.
“...God...” Howie finished.
Ty gathered her backpack and made her way over to the startled group.
“Am I late?” she asked, wondering why they were staring at her.
Mick stepped forward. “You’re fine, you’re fine,” he said.
“I’ll say,” AJ breathed.
“Guys,” Mick said. “This is Ty, she’ll be your guide for the next few days.”
“Hi, my real name is Tyra, but everyone calls me Ty. Gosh I can’t believe I’m finally meeting you guys,” she gushed, grinning. “’N Sync, right?”
Nick choked on the gum he was chewing. Brian smacked his friend hard on the back and the pink wad flew from Nick’s mouth and landed on the ground.
Ty laughed. “I’m kidding! I know who you are, the Backstreet Boys. And I’m honored to be going with you on this trip.”
Kevin recovered from the ‘N Sync comment first and extended his hand. “I’m Kevin. Um, Mick didn’t tell us a woman was going with us.”
She raised a brow. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“No, I, uh, it’s fine,” he stuttered, staring at her crystal blue eyes. He found himself grinning. “It’s fine.”
“Good. Because I’m very skilled at what I do.”
Kevin nodded. Ty dropped her backpack and clapped her hands.
“All right. Before we get started on this little excursion, I have to make sure you’re not bringing any extra baggage. So, show me what you’ve got.”
“With pleasure!” AJ exclaimed, unzipping his bag.
The others followed suit. Mick stepped back and watched with amusement as Ty tossed things left and right.
“Hmm mmm, nope, no good, can’t bring it, useless,” she said, going through bags. She held up a hair dryer. “Where would this get plugged in, may I ask?”
Brian blushed. “My girlfriend packed it,” he said.
“Yeah sure,” Nick teased.
Ty continued. Kevin was at the end of the line. She checked out his stuff. “Perfect. You must have done this before.”
“I’m a nature boy at heart.”
“Good, that may come in handy.”
Their eyes locked for a moment. Ty broke the contact and cleared her throat. “I’ve got supplies in my Jeep, you’re gonna each carry your own, so I hope you’ve all been working out.”
Nick groaned.
“I heard that. This may be a pleasure trip boys, but you’ll be doing your share of the work, believe me,” Ty promised.
The next hour was spent re-packing their stuff. Each Boy had one backpack filled with their clothes, personal items, and food plus a sleeping bag.
“No pillow?” AJ asked.
“Sorry, you’re gonna have to use the rocks,” was Ty’s reply.
“Uh, what?”
Kevin laughed at AJ’s expression.
“All right, these are the cooking supplies and first aid stuff,” Ty said, pointing out an extra duffel bag. “One person will carry this each day. Six days, six people, see how that works? Okay, who’s first?”
Brian suddenly became interested in the dirt on his shoe. Nick chewed on his nails and avoided eye contact. Howie examined the trees. AJ started making pictures out of the clouds overhead.
“Oh come on, you guys! I’ve seen pictures of you shirtless, I know you’re all strong!” Ty said. She looked to Kevin.
“I’ll do it,” he said.
“Thank you.” Ty handed it to him and then looked at the rest of them. “Sure, make the big guy go first,” she said. “Tomorrow, I pick who carries it.”
The guys gave each other uneasy glances. This trip was going to be hell!
“Are we ready to go?” Ty asked, grinning at them. “Oh! I almost forgot.” She turned to face them and held out her hands. “Cell phones, gimme.”
“What?!” was the shocked response.
“No phones. You are being cut off from the outside world, no phones,” she said firmly.
Amidst the groans and complaints, she was able to retrieve six cell phones.
“So I have two, big deal!” AJ exclaimed.
Ty just shook her head and gave them to Mick.
“Have fun guys,” he told them. “I’ll make sure your cars are safe. And your phones.”
Ty lead them over to the path that began next to the restroom. “If you guys have to go, now would be the time. No running water or toilets in the woods you know.”
She burst out laughing as they all went running for the restroom.
