A/N: Hey! I own all characters except Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Gracias por todos los comentarios. :)
Illinois Sweet Illinois
Chapter 3: Nancy
As I changed out of my PJ's and into clothes, I started thinking about how excited I was when my dad said we were going to Illinois. I'd never been there. The first people I invited were Bess Marvin and George Fayne. Despite the fact that they are cousins, they are different in a lot of ways. Bess is all about fashion and fun, with blonde wavy hair, easy-going blue eyes, and a curvy body, while George has short, brown choppy hair, loves sports and electronics, and has brown eyes. She can also eat a lot and not gain weight, unlike Bess.
Obviously, they agreed on going. Then I thought about inviting the Hardy boys. Don't ask me why, I just felt like it. So I called.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Frank! It's me, Nancy," I said.
"Oh. Hey, Nance!" he replied cheerfully.
"Hey. I was wondering if you and Joe might want to go on a trip with me, my dad, Bess, and George to Illinois. Think you can come?"
"Um, I don't know. Let me ask, and then I'll get back to you, okay?"
"Sure thing," I said.
"Ok, bye."
"Bye." I hung up. I hoped they could come. We might even be able to find a mystery together. I suddenly felt totally out of whack. Inviting the Hardy's? Who'd have thought. It felt really weird, but the main reason I had called was to talk to Frank. I kept denying the fact that I might have some feelings for him, after all I had Ned, but I wasn't quite so sure anymore.
Almost an hour later, Frank called.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hey, Nance," Frank said.
"Frank! What did your dad say? Can you come?" I bombarded him with questions.
"Hey. My dad said no, but," he emphasized the word when I sighed. "We do have a new case that we just got. Luckily it's in Illinois, just two hours from Spring Bay. If you want to, you can come over. It's a city called Iroquois."
"Wow, Frank. Thanks for inviting me. Let me ask. Just a sec," I said excitedly. George and Bess had come over just half an hour ago, and were now downstairs having lunch. I dropped the phone on my bed and raced downstairs.
"Hey, Bess, George! Come upstairs, I've got to tell you something," I said quickly. They protested but I started dragging them upstairs. On the way to my room, I told them what Frank told me.
When we got upstairs, Bess went over to the phone, put it on speaker and cried, "Frank Hardy! Why would you ask Nancy to join you for a mystery?! We were supposed to be going on vacation! Vacation, Frank!" He chuckled on the other end of the phone.
"Sorry, Bess. She asked us to join her first, and then we got a case so close to where you guys were going, I couldn't resist," he replied. Suddenly, another voice was talking to us.
"Hey, Bess. Nancy, George. George is there right? I don't want to be talking to nobody," Joe said.
"Joe!" George cried, exasperated. "Yes, of course I'm here. I'm not a nobody, and if Nancy is here with Bess, then I am here too. How could you be so stupid?"
"Oh, hey, George. Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. Wait, let me put this on speaker phone," Joe said. For a second, there was silence. Then,
"Speaker phone, check. Ready to talk, check," Joe said. George and I rolled our eyes while Bess stifled a giggle.
"Okay, so we all know what's going on here, right?" Frank asked.
"Yes," we chorused.
"Good. So who's up for a mystery?" Frank asked cheerfully.
"Me," I said instantly. Bess sighed.
"Well, since Nancy's dad probably won't deny her the opportunity to solve a mystery and we can't let Nancy go by herself, more or less with you guys, I'm in," she said.
"Well, I don't want to be stuck here by myself and let you guys have all the fun, so me too," George said.
"Good. We're leaving today and will probably be there around 6-ish, I guess," Frank said.
"We could leave today too, but we probably won't see you guys until tomorrow," I said, biting my lip, a little upset.
"That's fine. Just call when you get there."
"Okay. Will do. I think we should go now if I need to tell my dad and probably pack a little differently."
"Yeah," Frank chuckled. "Sorry the notice is a bit late in the game."
"It's okay, but we should go now. Bye, Frank, Joe. See you later," I said.
"Bye," George and Bess said, slightly out of synch.
"Bye," Frank and Joe replied. I hung up and smiled.
"Well, there's that. Come on, George. If we're going to solve a mystery, we should probably check over our stuff and make sure we have the right gear for this vacation," Bess said, heading out the door.
"You might, but I don't have to," George said, smirking. Bess rolled her eyes. As they left, I hurried over to my dad's study.
"Hey, sweetie. Do you need something?" he asked. I quickly explained our plan changes.
"But you don't have to change the plane tickets, since you already bought them. I just wanted to let you know that you can remove the reservations for our hotel and we can rent a car," I said quickly. My father nodded.
"Okay. Thanks for letting me know," he said.
"No problem. Thanks dad," I replied, kissing him on the cheek. I hurried over to my room to add a few things and take out the now unnecessary stuff.
Forty-five minutes later, I had just finished packing and realized I hadn't had breakfast and was really hungry. I hurried down the stairs, into the kitchen. Hannah Gruen, our housekeeper who had been with us since my mom died when I was three, was making sandwiches. My dad was sitting reading the newspaper.
"Hello, Nancy. I have hardly seen you all morning. Where have you been?" she asked, setting down a plate for me and my dad.
"Sorry, Hannah. I'm sure the breakfast was delicious. We had some changes applied to the trip and I had to reorganize," I apologized.
"It's all right," she said with a smile. "Just eat lunch for me." I nodded and sat down. I immediately dug in. As I was finishing my sandwich, my dad swallowed his bite, looked at me and said,
"We're going to leave at 4:30 tomorrow morning, so I want you to get to sleep extra early tonight, alright?"
"Sure thing, dad. But why are you telling me now?" I asked. He smiled.
"Time goes by fast, Nancy. And I thought you were going somewhere with your friends this afternoon," he said, a smile tugging at his lips. Oh my gosh! He was right. Bess had dragged me and George into shopping at two today, and I had forgotten. It was already almost one, and they were coming for me at 1:30.
"Yikes! You're right, dad. Thanks for reminding me. I better go get ready. Thanks for lunch, Hannah. It was amazing," I said, giving her a quick hug before I ran upstairs to change. Ten minutes later, I had gotten out of the shower. The doorbell rang. I quickly ran a brush through my hair and grabbed a pair of socks, pulling them on and slipping into sneakers. I brushed my teeth as fast and thoroughly as possible, then ran out of my room.
"Hey guys. Sorry, didn't mean to be late. Bye, dad," I kissed him on the cheek and then the three of us made our way to the car; Bess was smiling, George looked grumpy, and I was out of breath. Yippee, time to go.
Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
I got home around six. George and I were exhausted, having been forced to try on so many clothes and we had barely had a chance to sit. Bess was chipper. I ended up with a few things despite hating trying on clothes.
I walked through the door and into the living room, dropping my bags next to the couch and collapsing on it. I took a breath, smelling Hannah's famous tomato soup. I smiled, because that soup could be a remedy for almost anything. I grabbed my bags and walked upstairs.
When I got to my room, I emptied the bags on my bed, folded the clothes, and put them in their respective drawers. I sat on my bad for a while, resting my tired legs, until Hannah called me down for dinner.
"You hungry?" Hannah asked.
"You bet," I said, eyeing the soup. She laughed and set it down in front of me.
"I don't think you should wait for your father. He said he might be home later," she said, covering the soup on the stove.
"Okay," I said. I said a silent prayer and then dug in. It was a little warm, so I let it cool some. I ate it gratefully. I finished it quickly, and had a second, though with only half as much. My dad walked in then. He smiled at me and sat down.
"Hello, Nancy. Hannah. I see you made your fabulous soup," he smiled at her. We both knew this was his favorite meal of hers.
"Yes, I most certainly did, Carson," she replied, giving him a bowl. He started eating, just as I finished mine.
"Thanks, that was good," I said, putting my bowl in the sink and rinsing it clean.
"You're welcome, I'm glad you liked it," she smiled at me; I always liked it. I went upstairs to my room. My clock read 6:50 p.m. I walked over to my bed and grabbed my phone. I had one text:
Ned: How are you?
I replied: Good. How are you?
Ned: Fantastic :)
Me: Found another mystery. Gtg early tomorrow morning :(
Ned: Oh:/ Well, I hope you have fun. Be safe. Love you 3
Me: Thanks. I will. I'll miss you Xoxo Love you too 3
I stared at Ned's name on the phone for a while. I hadn't seen him for a while. Despite how much I was going to miss him, I was also anxious to start this mystery (and, guiltily, see Frank too), so I brushed my teeth, let me hair down, and dressed in PJ's. I set my alarm for 4:00 a.m. and collapsed on my bed, falling asleep instantly.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzz
My alarm started buzzing and I sat up groggily. I fumbled to get out my bed and turn my alarm off. I rubbed my eyes and yawned. I was suddenly assaulted by the harsh bright light of the hallway and I squinted. Hannah walked in.
"Oh, you're awake. Your father wanted me to come get you. Hurry up, girl," she smiled at me. I smiled back, thanked her and shooed her out, grabbing my prepared change of clothes. I changed quickly and went downstairs for breakfast.
It was still dark outside. My father and I quickly ate our breakfast and then went off to do whatever we had to do before we left.
I went upstairs to my bathroom. I brushed my teeth and did everything else I needed to do before I left. I grabbed my bag, gave my room a onceover and then went downstairs. My dad was already waiting by the cab outside.
"Thanks for breakfast, Hannah. I'll miss you," I said, hugging her and kissing her cheek.
"I'll miss you too. Have fun and stay safe, Nancy," she said. I hurried out the door and let the driver take my bags and put them in the trunk. My father and I climbed in the back. We watched Hannah wave and smile until we couldn't see her anymore. Now, to pick up Bess and George.
When we got to their house, their parents were up, and George was racing around getting any last minute things.
"Come on, Georgia," Mrs. Fayne scolded George as she came down holding her bag. George frowned at her real name, Georgia. She hated it, which is why people called her George.
"Okay, mom. Sheesh, let me just grab one more thing," she said, disappearing around the corner and reappearing a few seconds later. Bess and I laughed. She was holding an electronic gadget.
"Let's go," she said. We all hurried out to the cab and Bess and George's luggage was loaded, and then we were on our way to the airport.
Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww wwwwww
The airport security took long enough, and we made it to our plane just as they were boarding. We got to our seats and got as comfortable as you can on a plane. Soon, we took off and were in the air.
Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww wwwwww
Bess woke me up.
"Come on, Nance, we're getting ready to land. You're going to want this," she said, and handed me a piece of gum. I unwrapped it and popped it in my mouth. She and George and my father were already chewing. It took ten minutes to land and another fifteen to get off. We went into the terminal, looked for our bags, grabbed them, and then went outside.
We got a taxi to the car rental place; in half an hour, we had our car.
"Golly, it's already eleven ten," George commented looking at her watch. Suddenly, I remembered Frank telling me to call him when we got here. I got myself in the car before pulling my phone out. I dialed Frank's number and waited.
"Hello?" Frank's voice came out more quiet than usual, and with a small hint of worry.
"Um, hey. I'm here. Well, in Spring Bay, but I'll be there soon, like an hour or two. Are you all right? You sound…..well, not too happy," I asked.
"No, not really. Joe's missing, and it's my fault," he said, sighing.
I gasped, and Bess and George turned to me, and my father looked at me in his rearview mirror, frowning.
"Frank, I am almost 100 percent sure it is not your fault. What happened?" I demanded.
"We got to our hotel after the plane ride and my dad went to go get us something to eat. Joe and I were talking when he freaked out because we heard someone come through the door, but I thought it was dad. He called my name, trying to warn me, but when I turned around I got clobbered real good. When I woke up, he was gone.
"And on top that, my dad got a video via email this morning. I'll wait until you get here, then you can see it."
"Frank, that's awful. We'll make him our first priority, I promise," I tried to reassure him.
"All right," he said with a sigh.
"Good, let's talk more about this when we get to your place, okay?"
"Sure," he said.
"OK. See ya. Bye."
"Bye."
"What's wrong?" Bess and George demanded as soon as I closed my phone. I sighed.
"Joe's missing."
I know, Nancy wanting to invite the Hardy's is not a Nancy thing and is uncalled for, but I just had this all already planned out in my head so deal with it. Plus, wouldn't it make sense she wants to see Frank? Please R&R!