Thanks for the reviews, peepz! Here's another chapter.

-xx-

Chapter 5:

The school was rather chaotic when they came out. Students were lounging near the steps, talking excitedly about the blaze still furiously burning. Pushing their way through the crowd, the Hardys made their way out

Mr. Wilson came up to them at once. "Get back inside!" he ordered. "Students are to remain in the building. It's much too dangerous here."

But Frank and Joe brushed past him, heading towards the school parking lot to get a closer view. Together, they stood at the edge, staring at the burning wreckage which had been once their van. The smoke rose denser and blacker, the heat intensely scorching as the fire burned fiercely on. But that was all there was – heat, smoke and fire - apart from the cars safely parked on this side of the grounds.

Frank noted the wide gap between the blazing wreckage and the rest of the cars. A good thing that those cars had all left, he thought. Otherwise there might be more cars which might have caught the fire, and people hurt even. But it was fortunate that many of the students had left early, being the first day at school.

"Boys! What are you doing here?" Mr. Wilson's angry voice thundered behind them. "Do you want to be killed? Get back there at once!"

"But that was our van in the fire," Joe protested, although their teacher would not hear of it. Reluctantly, they walked back to the building, led by a firm Mr. Wilson.

Miss Parker, who was nearby, sighed and shook her head. "I should have known that the van belonged to you boys," she said. She had been their English teacher for the past one year, and knew all about their exploits in mysteries. "But there's nothing you can do now. We're waiting for the fire engine and the police to arrive."

"Whose car was the other one?" queried Frank instantly.

Miss Parker sighed. "It belongs to a new girl called Katie Ryan. All on her first day too, poor girl. We are still trying to contact her parents."

"Katie?" Frank and Joe echoed in unison.

"Tha… that's her car?" Joe gulped. "She… she wasn't at her car, was she?" stammered Joe, remembering what happened to Iola.

Frank, too, felt the color drain from his face. "Is she alright?" he asked, swallowing hard as a glimpse of the girl's sunny smile flashed in his mind.

To their relief, Miss Parker nodded. "She's fine, though she's rather badly shaken. Poor girl – She was just coming out, and she saw the cars explode before her eyes. Some of the girls have her taken back to the building. Your homeroom teacher, Miss Thompson, is with her right now."

Frank nodded. Together, he and Joe strode back into the school.

"Frank! Joe!" The school secretary called them as soon as they entered the main hall. She knew the boys rather well, and was certain beyond a doubt that they could be trusted. "Can you help me out here?" she asked. "We've already notified your dad, but we're having some problems locating Katie's parents. Could you please help to get hold of them? I have other things to attend to."

Joe offered to call. "Just ask for Mr. or Mrs. Ryan," the secretary told him, as she handed him a slip of paper with two numbers on it. Joe nodded, but seeing that the phones were all in use, and that their cellphones were still in their lockers, he sprinted upstairs to use the phone in the school office.

He had just reached the top of the stairs when someone collided straight into him, sending him off balance. The force sent him flying backwards, and before he could even realize what was happening, he found himself hurtling down the stairs at top speed!