The Unsolved Case –by Rae Prite
Chapter 2
Ten minutes before while Beth had stood out on the street debating with the torturous questions in her mind, Joe Hardy had been dealing with some equally torturous questions in his Calculus textbook.
I hate school, I hate exams, I hate teachers and their stupid pop quizzes! If I have to answer one more question, I'll- - He growled out loud in his aggravation, then sighed. Okay, come on Joe, graduation is in a month, don't lose your cool yet...God, I can't wait! He thought with irritation.
Mr. Rayne is nuts if he thinks anyone can finish this assignment by Monday! Well, except for Jessica Drake the know-it-all teacher's pet. She could probably finish with enough time to go to the grocery store and buy the roundest, reddest, apple possible to put on Mr. Rayne's desk in the morning, the little show-off! I still remember the first day she came to Bayport High, with her perfectly pressed mini skirt, bleached white knee socks, and spotless purple sweater. In one week's time managed to make it onto the honor roll, get the position of head-cheerleader, and end-up on the school's news paper staff... AS THE EDITOR!
Joe suddenly sighed very loudly, not realizing until now how annoyed the freshman made him. He never could stand show-offs, although his own nature could be confident, bordering on cocky now and then. Joe never did anything to overly impress someone else; it just wasn't his style. He preferred to do his best, not worrying about public appearance, and to let people decide for themselves what they thought of him... Whether the opinion was good, bad, or indifferent.
At least, he eased his annoyed spirit; she is only a freshman, so she can't bug me once I'm out of school.
He looked at the clock, and groaned. It was already 3:45 in the afternoon. So much for going to hang out with Biff and Chet- They're probably already done with shooting hoops at the park, and gone all the way back home again! Joe thought regretfully, why did mom have to make me do my homework on a Saturday of all days anyway? I could've gotten it all done by tomorrow, and still be on time picking Vanessa up for our date.
He sighed again, but this time it was a sigh of bliss, thinking of the tall, willowy, ash blonde that had stolen his heart and left him head-over-heels in love. I have got to be the luckiest guy on the planet! Maybe even the whole universe! Okay...maybe that's taking it a little far; after all, Frank's pretty lucky himself since he found May, and I really couldn't be happier for the two of them...although when they start getting all cozy and cuddly it does make me want to vomit a little! He shuddered, melodramatically.
Okay Joe, you're getting off track here, back to word problems... now! Joe told himself sternly.
He was still working on a word problem where 'Jane was traveling on a train going to San Diego, California from Chicago, Illinois, going 55mph on a one-way route. If the train made six stops along the way that were each twenty minutes long, how long would it take her to cross the 2079.53 mile distance if she started her journey at 5am?' These questions never make any sense! And why do I even care about where 'Jane' is going anyhow?
Suddenly there came a knock from the front door downstairs, breaking the eighteen-year-olds concentration. "Joe, can you get the door?" His brother called through the bathroom door that connected the two teenager's rooms.
"Buzz off Frank! I'm a little busy with my homework right now to be answering the door!"
There was a very loud sigh, and then a patient voice replied, "I've got homework to do too you know!"
Joe was getting frustrated with his older sibling. It would be so much easier to be the older one! He thought, at least then I wouldn't have to have these kinds of arguments. As the knocking sounded again on the door, more loudly this time, Joe told his dark-haired brother with finality, "Frank, I'm not getting it, so unless you want whoever it is to think we're not home and you want to turn away a potential case, I suggest you get the door!"
He heard a sigh, a chair scoot back on the carpeting followed by Frank's door open, and he knew he had won. Maybe two seconds later his cell phone started ringing from the deep, hidden depths of the area that was once his desk. It WAS once his desk, however after several months of no cleaning it was now covered in papers, books, and other odds and ends. It took him a few minutes to find his cell phone, but it was finally excavated from its dark prison, and Joe flipped it open to answer the call.
"Hello?" Joe said into the mouthpiece.
"Hello Joe. Your cell was buried again, wasn't it?" A deep, familiar voice teased from the other end of the line.
"Hi dad!" Joe grinned into the phone, "yeah it was a little out of reach."
"I figured as much." Joe heard his father chuckle through the phone.
"Are you on your way home?" Joe asked.
"That's actually why I'm calling, as a matter of fact. I finished up early with the case here in Montana, and I need your brother to come pick me up from the airport in a few hours. I'm still in Montana, but my flight to New York is boarding in a few minutes. Then I'm catching a flight to Bayport, but I left my car in the garage, so I need a ride home." Mr. Hardy explained.
"Okay dad, no problem. I'll tell Frank. What time should he be there?"
"Probably around 5 o'clock tonight, since I'm landing around 4:30ish. He should probably get going pretty soon actually -it's already after three."
"Alright dad, I'll tell him. And I'll see you when you get home. Bye."
"Bye."
Leaving his homework sprawled across the desk Joe left his room to see where his brother had disappeared to.
Reaching the first floor, Joe saw his brother standing in the living room. "Hey Frank, I just got a call from dad and-" Joe's voice trailed off as he saw that his brother wasn't alone.
As a brown-haired, blue-eyed girl smiled shyly at him, Joe shot Frank a questioning glance.
Who on earth is this? He thought.
