Joe Hardy arrived at his house on the corner of High and Elm Streets a little before seven a.m. He had awoken early, as he had begun to do since the first day of summer vacation, and gone jogging. Unlike the mornings that had followed, however, Joe had to cut his run short and return early to get ready for school.
He pushed his damp blond hair away from his forehead where it clung in annoying ringlets and opened the back door. He heard his mother, Laura, in the utility room, humming as she loaded the washer, and he crept through the kitchen careful not to alert her to his presence.
Up the stairs he went, meeting neither his father nor brother, and slipped into his bedroom. He could hear the shower dribbling to a stop and he waited patiently for Frank to finish his morning ritual and exit into his own room before opening the door to the bathroom which connected his room with his brother's.
Joe quickly disrobed and climbed into the shower. Ten minutes later he was shivering as he stepped out and grabbed a towel from the bar on the stall door. He hastily dried off and dropped the towel into the hamper before hurrying back to his room for the clothes he had forgotten to take with him. He stepped into his briefs and pulled on his jeans then reached for a long-sleeved shirt. He paused as his blue eyes fell on the figure reflected in the mirror. He could see a noticeable difference in his physique from the way he had looked at the start of summer but here it was, the first day of school, and no one had observed anything different about him. Am I doing something wrong? he wondered as he put the shirt on and buttoned it up, leaving only the top button undone.
He picked out a belt and slipped it through the loops on his jeans and buckled it using the last hole available. He frowned a bit as he noticed how baggy his clothes seemed but there was nothing he could do about it now. He was wearing the oldest clothes he possessed; also the smallest. Maybe he could borrow a pair of Frank's old pants tonight without him noticing.
Shrugging his shoulders as if to rid himself of some kind of funk, he finished dressing and brushed his hair. He grabbed his backpack and shoved a new notebook and a couple of pencils inside then slowly made his way downstairs to the kitchen.
"Ready?" asked Joe, smiling at his brown-eyed brother, Frank, who had looked up as Joe entered the room.
"Yeah," answered Frank, setting down his empty glass and rising from the breakfast table.
"Joe, you haven't had breakfast yet," Laura admonished her seventeen-year-old son.
"I ate before I went jogging," Joe fibbed, smiling glibly at her. "Come on, bro," Joe urged Frank, running a hand over the top of his wavy brown hair. "Don't want to be late on the first day of school."
"If you don't quit that we will," snapped Frank in annoyance as he fixed the mess Joe's hand had created.
"Have fun," said Fenton Hardy as the boys headed for the door.
"At school?" Joe demanded, his blue eyes wide in shock as he turned back to stare at his father. "Yeah, right."
Fenton laughed, his brown eyes twinkling merrily as he met the blue ones of his wife. "We'll see you later," said Frank, putting a hand on Joe's shoulder and pushing him out the door.
"It will be good to see everyone again," Frank said later as he brought their van to a halt in the school parking lot. Frank's girlfriend, Callie Shaw, had gone to LA for the summer to stay with her cousin. Joe's girlfriend, Vanessa Bender, had left with her mom on a month long trip to Japan and had returned to town only last night as had Callie.
Their closest friends had also gone away for the summer, Chet Morton and Biff Hooper, both seventeen, had attended football camp and Phil Cohen had gone to LA to work for his uncle's company. Tony Prito had gone with his mother to visit his grandparents in Italy. Frank and Joe had opted to spend their summer at home helping their father, a world-renowned private investigator formerly of the New York Police Department, on some of his cases.
Today would be the first time they all were back together since the end of the previous school year. Joe grinned, thinking about the blond-headed beauty he had been dating steadily for some time now. All he had to do was look into her sultry blue-gray eyes and his insides turned to mush. Beside him, Frank was considering his own soft spot for a certain brown-eyed blond who had held his heart since the first day he had seen her.
The two teens exited the van and made their way inside. "Frank!" blond and beefy Biff shouted, spying him entering. He hurried up to Frank along with Chet and Phil with whom he had been talking. "Long time, no see." Biff declared, grinning. "Where's that no-good brother of yours?" he teased.
Normally, Frank would have gotten mad over a remark like that but Biff had been Joe's best friend since fifth grade so Frank just smiled and remained quiet as Joe answered Biff's question from his right. "Ha, ha," Joe said dryly, his expression a bit sardonic.
"Hey Man!" Biff said, looking around. "I didn't see..." he broke off as he got a good look at Joe. Biff's eyebrows drew together in a concern as he frowned at the stranger before him.
"Have you been sick?" inquired Phil in the quiet tone he normally maintained. His worried green eyes stared at Joe.
"No," Joe denied with a nervous little laugh. "I've never felt better."
Frank, confused, turned to look at Joe, taking time to observe the way he was dressed and his face, which did look a bit sunken in.
"Then why have you lost so much weight?" Chet demanded, his brown eyes hard as he waited for an explanation.
He pushed his damp blond hair away from his forehead where it clung in annoying ringlets and opened the back door. He heard his mother, Laura, in the utility room, humming as she loaded the washer, and he crept through the kitchen careful not to alert her to his presence.
Up the stairs he went, meeting neither his father nor brother, and slipped into his bedroom. He could hear the shower dribbling to a stop and he waited patiently for Frank to finish his morning ritual and exit into his own room before opening the door to the bathroom which connected his room with his brother's.
Joe quickly disrobed and climbed into the shower. Ten minutes later he was shivering as he stepped out and grabbed a towel from the bar on the stall door. He hastily dried off and dropped the towel into the hamper before hurrying back to his room for the clothes he had forgotten to take with him. He stepped into his briefs and pulled on his jeans then reached for a long-sleeved shirt. He paused as his blue eyes fell on the figure reflected in the mirror. He could see a noticeable difference in his physique from the way he had looked at the start of summer but here it was, the first day of school, and no one had observed anything different about him. Am I doing something wrong? he wondered as he put the shirt on and buttoned it up, leaving only the top button undone.
He picked out a belt and slipped it through the loops on his jeans and buckled it using the last hole available. He frowned a bit as he noticed how baggy his clothes seemed but there was nothing he could do about it now. He was wearing the oldest clothes he possessed; also the smallest. Maybe he could borrow a pair of Frank's old pants tonight without him noticing.
Shrugging his shoulders as if to rid himself of some kind of funk, he finished dressing and brushed his hair. He grabbed his backpack and shoved a new notebook and a couple of pencils inside then slowly made his way downstairs to the kitchen.
"Ready?" asked Joe, smiling at his brown-eyed brother, Frank, who had looked up as Joe entered the room.
"Yeah," answered Frank, setting down his empty glass and rising from the breakfast table.
"Joe, you haven't had breakfast yet," Laura admonished her seventeen-year-old son.
"I ate before I went jogging," Joe fibbed, smiling glibly at her. "Come on, bro," Joe urged Frank, running a hand over the top of his wavy brown hair. "Don't want to be late on the first day of school."
"If you don't quit that we will," snapped Frank in annoyance as he fixed the mess Joe's hand had created.
"Have fun," said Fenton Hardy as the boys headed for the door.
"At school?" Joe demanded, his blue eyes wide in shock as he turned back to stare at his father. "Yeah, right."
Fenton laughed, his brown eyes twinkling merrily as he met the blue ones of his wife. "We'll see you later," said Frank, putting a hand on Joe's shoulder and pushing him out the door.
"It will be good to see everyone again," Frank said later as he brought their van to a halt in the school parking lot. Frank's girlfriend, Callie Shaw, had gone to LA for the summer to stay with her cousin. Joe's girlfriend, Vanessa Bender, had left with her mom on a month long trip to Japan and had returned to town only last night as had Callie.
Their closest friends had also gone away for the summer, Chet Morton and Biff Hooper, both seventeen, had attended football camp and Phil Cohen had gone to LA to work for his uncle's company. Tony Prito had gone with his mother to visit his grandparents in Italy. Frank and Joe had opted to spend their summer at home helping their father, a world-renowned private investigator formerly of the New York Police Department, on some of his cases.
Today would be the first time they all were back together since the end of the previous school year. Joe grinned, thinking about the blond-headed beauty he had been dating steadily for some time now. All he had to do was look into her sultry blue-gray eyes and his insides turned to mush. Beside him, Frank was considering his own soft spot for a certain brown-eyed blond who had held his heart since the first day he had seen her.
The two teens exited the van and made their way inside. "Frank!" blond and beefy Biff shouted, spying him entering. He hurried up to Frank along with Chet and Phil with whom he had been talking. "Long time, no see." Biff declared, grinning. "Where's that no-good brother of yours?" he teased.
Normally, Frank would have gotten mad over a remark like that but Biff had been Joe's best friend since fifth grade so Frank just smiled and remained quiet as Joe answered Biff's question from his right. "Ha, ha," Joe said dryly, his expression a bit sardonic.
"Hey Man!" Biff said, looking around. "I didn't see..." he broke off as he got a good look at Joe. Biff's eyebrows drew together in a concern as he frowned at the stranger before him.
"Have you been sick?" inquired Phil in the quiet tone he normally maintained. His worried green eyes stared at Joe.
"No," Joe denied with a nervous little laugh. "I've never felt better."
Frank, confused, turned to look at Joe, taking time to observe the way he was dressed and his face, which did look a bit sunken in.
"Then why have you lost so much weight?" Chet demanded, his brown eyes hard as he waited for an explanation.