Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Joe raised his nearly empty glass. "I guess I might as well have it filled up. Forget about Frank and Callie, Tony. They're heading to the movies after this and they certainly don't want to be getting up every few minutes to visit the bathroom."

"That's rather thoughtful of you, Joe, to decide for us whether we need a refill or not," Callie looked at her boyfriend's brother with a raised brow.

"Hey, Callie, I just don't want you to miss any of the movie." He suddenly stopped, frowning. "Come to think of it, Frank maybe you should get a refill or two. If you spend half of the time in the bathroom, then you won't have to watch all those gushing scenes on the screen."

"Gushing scenes? This movie is critically acclaimed and has won all sorts of awards at film festivals around the world. But then, that's probably not something that you would read about, Joe. Film reviews are not usually printed on the same page as the comics." Callie gave Joe her sweetest smile.

Joe reciprocated the smile. "Maybe you should start reading the comics, Callie. You might even develop a sense of humour. And my understanding of critically acclaimed films is that they are so artsy that nobody in their right mind knows what the film is trying to say. And those who claim that they know what the film is about are just lying through their teeth or they have been sniffing too much glue."

"You just have no appreciation for the finer things in life," Callie said, shaking her head. "Why sip champagne when you can slurp beer?"

"I'll let you know when I'm old enough to drink," Joe said with a smile. "Yup, if I go to a movie, I want to see plenty of action, shoot them down, blow them up, a car crash every ten minutes and special effects flying at me from all directions. Now those are the real movies!" Joe turned to his brother. "Hey Frank, I thought you prefer those action packed films too. Whatever possessed you to go to the one tonight?"

Biff snorted into his glass of pop at Joe's last question and Chet watched the brothers with an anticipatory grin plastered on his face.

"Joe, see that last piece of pizza? It would fit nicely into your mouth," Frank said, glaring at his younger brother.

Chet reached out and grabbed the said piece of pizza with a speed that was dazzling. "Oh no, you don't! This piece has my name on it. Frank, you will have to order another pizza if you want to shut Joe up."

"Okay, okay, stop glaring at me, Frank. I'll shut up," Joe said with a wide grin. "Boy, if looks could kill, you'd be arrested for fratricide."

"Oooh, such a big word, Joe. Have you actually been reading the dictionary?" Callie asked.

"Yup, got all the way up to F just the other night," Joe said and then gave her a wink. "There were some pretty juicy words starting with the letter F. You should try looking some of them up yourself, Cal."

The boys burst out laughing and after a brief hesitation, Callie joined in as well. "All right, you win this round, Joe." She then turned to Frank who had draped an arm across her shoulder. "When did he get this witty? Have you been helping him, Frank Hardy?"

"No, actually he's been sharpening his tongue on Mom's whetting stone," Frank deadpanned. "Seems to have worked, amazingly enough."

More laughter exploded around the table.

Joe glanced at his watch. "Well, if you guys are still planning on going to the movie, you should get going soon."

"You're going to the Centre tonight, aren't you? We’ll drop you off first," Frank said.

"It's too out of the way. I'll just bus it," Joe said. "I've got plenty of time anyway."

"You are not taking the bus there," Frank cut in quickly.

Joe rolled his eyes. "It's broad daylight right now. I am not going to get lost."

"It may be daylight now, but it'll get dark before you get there. We've still got a bit of time. I can drive you," Frank insisted.

"I can drop Joe off," Biff offered. "I've got my car here and I'm driving Chet home anyway."

"You sure that's not out of the way for you?" Frank asked, looking relieved.

"No problem. I don't have anything else planned for tonight anyway. Go ahead and enjoy the movie with Callie," Biff said.

"Thanks, Biff. I'll come and pick you up after the movie, okay, Joe? We shouldn't be too late as we are going to the earlier show. Wait there for me," Frank said.

"Yes, big brother. And I promise I won't talk to strangers either," Joe said, rolling his eyes.

Callie patted him on the head and smiled. "Yes, Joe, be a good boy and don't talk to strangers or accept candies from them."

"Love you too, Cal ," Joe grumbled, swatting her hand away.

"Thought so," Callie laughed. "Come on, Frank or we will be late. See you guys later."

"Hey, Joe, can you hang around for another ten minutes or so?" Tony asked as he began clearing away some of the dishes.

"Sure, why?" Joe looked at his friend questioningly.

"Dad heard about you volunteering at that Youth Centre. He wants to send some pizza and pop along with you for the kids there."

Joe grinned. "Wow! That's really great of your dad! The kids there will love it. I must go into the kitchen and thank him personally."

"Thank him when the pizzas are done. He's running around trying to get everything together right now. Hey, I think it's pretty cool for you to do your volunteer work there."

"I don't know about being cool, but it has certainly opened up my eyes and makes me really appreciate what I have," Joe said, the smile dropping from his face. "I feel so bad for some of the kids at that place. Wish there's more that I can do for them."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Biff said. "I did my volunteer work last year at the gym working with some kids from a pretty rough neighbourhood. My heart really went out to some of them."

"I still haven't decided where to do my volunteer work," Chet said glumly. "Maybe I'll try some of the hospitals."

"Well, you better do something before the school year's over or you won't get your credits," Joe said.

"If you spoke Italian, then I'd introduce you to this Italian community centre where you can teach new immigrant children English. That's where I got my quota of volunteer hours," Tony said. "Ah, there's Dad with the pizzas. I'll help you guys load them into the car."

"Mr. Prito, I want to thank you for all this. It's very generous of you. The kids at the Centre will love them," Joe said to Tony's father. "This is really great!"

Tony's father shrugged and smiled. "It's just some dough with tomato sauce on it, no big deal. I just hope they like them."

"They will love it!" Joe said confidently. "I mean, what kid doesn't like pizza?"

"Food is good," Mr. Prito nodded. "When your stomach is full, your problems grow smaller."

"I will attest to that!" Chet said quickly. "I'm the happiest when I am eating."

"That we know, Chet," Biff said with a laugh. "I'll carry these cases of pop out to the car."

"Thanks again, Mr. Prito. We'll see you later," Joe said as he picked up several of the pizza boxes. "Chet, are these pizzas going to be safe with you in the same car?"

"It pains me greatly to say this, but I will refrain from eating them since they are going to stomachs that are needier than mine," Chet with resignation.

"What a sacrifice," Joe said, laughing. "Come on, you can carry the remaining boxes. Exercise is good for you after that big meal."

"Coming, coming," Chet grunted good-naturedly. "At least I can smell them even if I can't eat them."

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.