Summary: High school is rough enough for Joe Hardy, but now he's got to deal with 1) a saboteur on the football team 2) a class he's failing and 3) the one girl that may come between him and Vanessa.
Author's Notes: I stopped reading Casefiles before Vanessa came along, so since I don't know how to write her in, I decided to remove her. :smirk: I'm evil that way. Oh well. On with the show...
First Down
"Joe, watch out!" Yelled Frank Hardy to his blonde-headed, blue-eyed, little brother.
Too late, a huge linebacker collided into Joe, taking the smaller of the two, which was Joe, down.
The crowd uttered an "OOOOHHHHH..." in unison. The whistle was blown and the coach ran down to check on Joe. It was only the fourth game of the season for the Bayport Tritons, but it seemed as if the entire team was cursed. Their star quarterback, Matt Hamilton, had come down with pneumonia at the start of the season; their field goal kicker broke his leg and even the team's mascot had managed to come down with an injury.
Frank watched nervously as a crowd began to gather around his brother. The crumpled blonde haired figure, however, remained down. Frank struggled to see through the backs of the others. Finally, giving up, he ran down to the field to check for himself the condition of his sibling. Despite a verbal reprimand from the field security guards, Frank pushed his way through.
"Joe, are you all right?" Frank asked his voice laced with unmasked concern. He kneeled before him and helped the assistant coach remove Joe's helmet. Underneath them, Joe didn't stir.
"Mr. Bradbury!"
Frank turned and watched Randy Carmichael, a defensive lineman for the Tritons, run up to the coach.
"What is it, Randy?" Mr. Bradbury asked looking from him to Joe.
"The school nurse isn't here today." Randy replied, out of breath.
Frank began to rise. "Well, then I'll call the EMT."
"No need for that," a weak voice said, dryly.
"Joe?" Frank asked, helping his brother into an upright position.
"I'm okay Frank...just...have a huge headache."
"I would imagine so." Frank looked up into the eyes of a petite, red head. She bent over slightly and gazed at Joe with soft, hazel colored eyes. "Don't worry, he'll live," she told Frank softly with a small chuckle.
"Who are you?" Randy asked, looking to Mr. Bradbury, who shrugged.
"Me? I'm Julienne. Mrs. Bascomb, the school nurse, is out today. I'm her assistant," she replied coolly, before turning her attention back to Joe. "You, kiddo, took quite a fall there. But I don't think you have a concussion. Do you feel dizzy at all?"
Joe stared at Julienne blankly for several minutes. The assistant nurse didn't seem to mind and merely blinked in amusement. "Well?" She asked after the staring passed the five-minute mark.
"I'm okay...I think."
"Too bad physics was against you, huh?" Julienne asked with a short laugh.
"Huh?" Joe asked meekly.
"Well, I'd estimate that linebacker was about...oh, say 260 lbs. You obviously don't weight that...180 lbs. at best. So the law of physics states that when you two collide, in order for him to have gone down, you would have to have been moving at...well...something close to 130 miles an hour."
Frank snorted. Joe said nothing.
Julienne handed Joe an ice pack to put on his head to lessen the swelling.
"Take two aspirins if you start to get a headache...and as for you," she said, turning to Frank. "Don't let him go to sleep for at least another 4 to 6 hours. He may have a slight concussion."
Frank nodded and helped his brother up and off the field.
"Hey, wait!" Julienne cried, running up to stand beside Frank.
"Do you have a lift home?"
Frank nodded. "Yeah, we have a van. Don't worry."
Julienne nodded. "All right, that's fine then. Take care of him," she commanded, smiling and patting Joe lightly on the shoulder.
"My name is Frank," he told her suddenly.
Julienne turned from where she stood.
"So I've heard...and your brother's Joe, right?"
Frank nodded. Julienne pulled out a scrap of paper and doddled something onto it.
"My number...in case you need to reach me...but if there's any severe problems, call the EMT, okay?"
"All right."
Beside him Joe was mumbling incoherently to himself.
"He's going to be slipping in and out dazed spells for a while. Common for people with head injuries."
"Okay, thanks for all your help, Julienne."
The red head laughed. "Call me Jules. Everyone does. See you around Frank...Joe," with that she turned and walked back towards the field, not noticing Joe was still staring at her.
Frank watched Joe enter a fitful sleep, the morning paper folded between his fingers. It was 10 a.m. on a Saturday. Normally, Joe still wouldn't be up and considering his accident the night before, it wasn't startling to see Joe not up yet.
"Frank?" The boys' mother poked her head in through the door.
"Yeah mom?" Frank replied, bolting up from his chair.
Laura Hardy smiled. It was nice to know that her boys were always looking out for one another. Frank had spent the night in Joe's room just in case he woke up in the middle of the night and wanted something.
"Why don't you come down for a quick snack? Callie's here and wants to speak to you."
Frank nodded, darting a glance at Joe.
"Don't worry, I'll sit here with him until you get back, okay?"
Frank leaned over and pecked his mom on the cheek. "Thanks, mom."
Running downstairs, Frank caught sight of his blonde-haired, long time girlfriend, Callie Shaw waiting for him at the bottom of the staircase.
"Hey."
Frank smiled and leaned in to kiss Callie lightly on the cheek.
"Hey yourself."
"I heard what happened yesterday, how's Joe?"
Frank shrugged. "After managing to keep him up for 6 hours yesterday, he went into a deep sleep...Haven't been able to wake him up since."
"Have you heard from Vanessa?" Callie asked, propping herself down on the couch.
"No," Frank replied and shaking his head for emphasis.
"I wonder if she heard what happened to Joe...well, I guess if she hasn't there's no need to make her worry."
"Hey, Callie." Frank said taking the seat next to her. "Do you know if there's a girl in our school named Jules?"
Callie seemed to think for a moment before answering, "Jules Halo?"
Frank shrugged, "Red hair...hazel eyes...petite."
Callie nodded. "Yeah, that's definitely her. She's supposed to be a really great artist. That mural on the wing of the second floor hallway was done by her."
Frank paused for a second to think of the mural. He remembered it pretty well. Someone had painted it over the summer of his junior year. The mural depicted a man breaking into birds with the words, "Let everything go" underneath it.
"She painted that?"
"She's really very talented," Callie replied, nodding. "What's the sudden interest? She's a junior, you know?"
Frank shook his head. "It's...probably nothing." He turned away and then turned back, a shaky smile on his face. "Let's get a snack, all right?"
Callie nodded slowly and then broke out into a grin herself. "Then we can check on Joe."
Smiling, Frank nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
Author's Notes: I stopped reading Casefiles before Vanessa came along, so since I don't know how to write her in, I decided to remove her. :smirk: I'm evil that way. Oh well. On with the show...
First Down
"Joe, watch out!" Yelled Frank Hardy to his blonde-headed, blue-eyed, little brother.
Too late, a huge linebacker collided into Joe, taking the smaller of the two, which was Joe, down.
The crowd uttered an "OOOOHHHHH..." in unison. The whistle was blown and the coach ran down to check on Joe. It was only the fourth game of the season for the Bayport Tritons, but it seemed as if the entire team was cursed. Their star quarterback, Matt Hamilton, had come down with pneumonia at the start of the season; their field goal kicker broke his leg and even the team's mascot had managed to come down with an injury.
Frank watched nervously as a crowd began to gather around his brother. The crumpled blonde haired figure, however, remained down. Frank struggled to see through the backs of the others. Finally, giving up, he ran down to the field to check for himself the condition of his sibling. Despite a verbal reprimand from the field security guards, Frank pushed his way through.
"Joe, are you all right?" Frank asked his voice laced with unmasked concern. He kneeled before him and helped the assistant coach remove Joe's helmet. Underneath them, Joe didn't stir.
"Mr. Bradbury!"
Frank turned and watched Randy Carmichael, a defensive lineman for the Tritons, run up to the coach.
"What is it, Randy?" Mr. Bradbury asked looking from him to Joe.
"The school nurse isn't here today." Randy replied, out of breath.
Frank began to rise. "Well, then I'll call the EMT."
"No need for that," a weak voice said, dryly.
"Joe?" Frank asked, helping his brother into an upright position.
"I'm okay Frank...just...have a huge headache."
"I would imagine so." Frank looked up into the eyes of a petite, red head. She bent over slightly and gazed at Joe with soft, hazel colored eyes. "Don't worry, he'll live," she told Frank softly with a small chuckle.
"Who are you?" Randy asked, looking to Mr. Bradbury, who shrugged.
"Me? I'm Julienne. Mrs. Bascomb, the school nurse, is out today. I'm her assistant," she replied coolly, before turning her attention back to Joe. "You, kiddo, took quite a fall there. But I don't think you have a concussion. Do you feel dizzy at all?"
Joe stared at Julienne blankly for several minutes. The assistant nurse didn't seem to mind and merely blinked in amusement. "Well?" She asked after the staring passed the five-minute mark.
"I'm okay...I think."
"Too bad physics was against you, huh?" Julienne asked with a short laugh.
"Huh?" Joe asked meekly.
"Well, I'd estimate that linebacker was about...oh, say 260 lbs. You obviously don't weight that...180 lbs. at best. So the law of physics states that when you two collide, in order for him to have gone down, you would have to have been moving at...well...something close to 130 miles an hour."
Frank snorted. Joe said nothing.
Julienne handed Joe an ice pack to put on his head to lessen the swelling.
"Take two aspirins if you start to get a headache...and as for you," she said, turning to Frank. "Don't let him go to sleep for at least another 4 to 6 hours. He may have a slight concussion."
Frank nodded and helped his brother up and off the field.
"Hey, wait!" Julienne cried, running up to stand beside Frank.
"Do you have a lift home?"
Frank nodded. "Yeah, we have a van. Don't worry."
Julienne nodded. "All right, that's fine then. Take care of him," she commanded, smiling and patting Joe lightly on the shoulder.
"My name is Frank," he told her suddenly.
Julienne turned from where she stood.
"So I've heard...and your brother's Joe, right?"
Frank nodded. Julienne pulled out a scrap of paper and doddled something onto it.
"My number...in case you need to reach me...but if there's any severe problems, call the EMT, okay?"
"All right."
Beside him Joe was mumbling incoherently to himself.
"He's going to be slipping in and out dazed spells for a while. Common for people with head injuries."
"Okay, thanks for all your help, Julienne."
The red head laughed. "Call me Jules. Everyone does. See you around Frank...Joe," with that she turned and walked back towards the field, not noticing Joe was still staring at her.
Frank watched Joe enter a fitful sleep, the morning paper folded between his fingers. It was 10 a.m. on a Saturday. Normally, Joe still wouldn't be up and considering his accident the night before, it wasn't startling to see Joe not up yet.
"Frank?" The boys' mother poked her head in through the door.
"Yeah mom?" Frank replied, bolting up from his chair.
Laura Hardy smiled. It was nice to know that her boys were always looking out for one another. Frank had spent the night in Joe's room just in case he woke up in the middle of the night and wanted something.
"Why don't you come down for a quick snack? Callie's here and wants to speak to you."
Frank nodded, darting a glance at Joe.
"Don't worry, I'll sit here with him until you get back, okay?"
Frank leaned over and pecked his mom on the cheek. "Thanks, mom."
Running downstairs, Frank caught sight of his blonde-haired, long time girlfriend, Callie Shaw waiting for him at the bottom of the staircase.
"Hey."
Frank smiled and leaned in to kiss Callie lightly on the cheek.
"Hey yourself."
"I heard what happened yesterday, how's Joe?"
Frank shrugged. "After managing to keep him up for 6 hours yesterday, he went into a deep sleep...Haven't been able to wake him up since."
"Have you heard from Vanessa?" Callie asked, propping herself down on the couch.
"No," Frank replied and shaking his head for emphasis.
"I wonder if she heard what happened to Joe...well, I guess if she hasn't there's no need to make her worry."
"Hey, Callie." Frank said taking the seat next to her. "Do you know if there's a girl in our school named Jules?"
Callie seemed to think for a moment before answering, "Jules Halo?"
Frank shrugged, "Red hair...hazel eyes...petite."
Callie nodded. "Yeah, that's definitely her. She's supposed to be a really great artist. That mural on the wing of the second floor hallway was done by her."
Frank paused for a second to think of the mural. He remembered it pretty well. Someone had painted it over the summer of his junior year. The mural depicted a man breaking into birds with the words, "Let everything go" underneath it.
"She painted that?"
"She's really very talented," Callie replied, nodding. "What's the sudden interest? She's a junior, you know?"
Frank shook his head. "It's...probably nothing." He turned away and then turned back, a shaky smile on his face. "Let's get a snack, all right?"
Callie nodded slowly and then broke out into a grin herself. "Then we can check on Joe."
Smiling, Frank nodded. "Sounds like a plan."