Thank you so much for all of your kind words on my last story. It makes me so happy that you are enjoying my work even though writing mysteries isn't my thing. This story is Joe and Nancy, but I hope you'll give it a shot even if for seeing Joe/Frank/Nancy over the years. Their ages are listed next to the AET about the beginning of each chapter.
AET 9, 10, 10
Joe focused his eyes on the basket above and bounced the ball once before aiming his shot. He released and watched in horror as the ball hit the edge of the rim with a thud. He had missed.
"G!" Frank yelled, grabbing the ball which was headed toward the fence.
Joe walked away from the basket and stood on the grass to watch the rest of the game unfold. Frank and Nancy's voices became ambient noise as he pondered his loss. He had been so close. Nancy and Frank both had P-I. If only he had been able to hold on a little longer...He and Frank played P-I-G all the time, and he beat Frank on a regular basis. This time, though, he had lost to Frank and Nancy. He wasn't sure how that had happened. How could Nancy be this good? She was a girl, and he thought he had heard her say something about how she didn't play basketball that often.
He heard a whoop from Frank and an "aww" from Nancy. Before he could register what was happening, the front door was opening, and the two of them were stepping inside. He ran to catch up to them and followed them inside.
"That almost went in." Nancy was saying probably about her last shot. "If it only if had been a little higher..."
"But I still beat you fair and square," Frank returned. Joe grimisced. Frank had that look on his face he always got when he was feeling rather proud of himself. Fair and square or not, Frank's pride never needed the boost.
Nancy stopped by the kitchen table. Yeah," she said. "But you better watch out. I'll get you next next time."
"I'll be ready." Frank opened the fridge. "Do you want some juice?" he asked. It was apparent he was talking to Nancy. Frank never got Joe a drink unless he was deathly ill and begged until he was sick of begging.
"Sure, thank you," she replied politely.
The fridge door shut, and Frank grabbed two cups from the cupboard and poured juice in them. He had opened the fridge again to put the juice jug back when Joe interrupted him with a "hey".
Joe hoped Frank would grab him a drink too, but instead he merely slid the jug along the counter to the end where Joe was standing. Joe poured himself some juice feeling very frustrated. Why did Frank have to treat Nancy like a special guest? She was at their house, but she was just a friend.
"Come see something in the backyard." Frank was talking to just Nancy again.
She set her cup down on the table followed him out. Joe got into step behind them. What were they doing walking so close anyway? Nancy was a girl. Girls were fine. Joe was friends with a few girls at school himself, but letting a girl get that close—what was Frank thinking? Their hands were almost touching! He listened carefully for their conversation, but they weren't saying anything just walking.
Frank stopped right in front of the corner of the garage, and Joe's heart sunk. He knew exactly what Frank is doing.
"Here." Frank handed the loose brick to Nancy. "This is where we keep all our case notes. No one would think to look here, and the brick keeps the rain out."
"Very cool," Nancy said. "I have a place like that at home. Remember the cupboard right by the laundry chute?"
Well, if Frank was going to show off this place, he might as well join in. "This is the..." Joe began.
Frank interrupted. "I thought you might like to see these." He pulled out a stack of paper of various colors folded in thirds.
"I wrote those, Frank," she laughed. "I'd like to think I'd remember what's in them."
"I suppose so," Frank mused. "I reread them though."
Joe could handle no more. He kept his footsteps quiet as he turned and walked away. It wasn't like Frank and Nancy would notice him gone anyway. They had seemingly forgotten he was even there. He settled down at the bench under the big apple tree where he liked to sit and play fetch with Max.
Nancy, well, she wasn't used to being with him. She usually was in River Heights with her dad and Hannah and whatever those girls' names were who were her friends. Never mind that; it didn't matter. But Frank was his brother and best friend. They did everything together so much so that it was always Frank and Joe and people hardly ever said one name without the other. Yet, bringing Nancy in was enough for Frank to forget him. It was like there was a new duo arising—Frank and Nancy—and that that was just as important their bond as brothers. That was a tough pill to swallow.
Worst yet was the fact that Frank had decided to show her their top secret hiding spot. The rest of his behavior could have been explained as just being friendly, but that was so much more than friendliness. That spot was their own little secret. They didn't share that with any of their friends—not Tony, Biff, or even Chet. That was for them alone or at least he had thought it had been. Now, he wasn't so sure.
To make it even worse, Frank had put his dumb letters from Nancy in there too. Joe had thought it would be fine when Nancy and Frank decided to become pen pals, but gosh, he could do without Frank repeating what Nancy had done on her last case fifty times. Joe didn't want to be pen pals with anyone. It sounded like too much work to write down all the details of his life. But Joe was getting tired of Frank writing to Nancy all the time especially since he didn't want Mom or Aunt Gertrude to think too much about it or they'd make him get a pen pal just for penmanship practice.
Joe dug for the ball under the bench and threw it as hard as he could hoping Max would come and chase it. As he did, he realized that there was a word for how he was feeling—jealous. He was jealous.
Aithor's Note: I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one. Is Joe's attitude annoying? This story will probably have about five chapters when it's finished. I enjoyed writing this because I grew up with two brothers and while neither of them is exactly Joe or Frank we had the best times and it gave me a lot of insight into young boys.