Frank sat forlornly on his bed; he was trying to figure out how his life had turned upside down. It had only happened once! How could one indiscretion affect his life this way? Frank wondered how he was going to tell his parents. They were going to be so disappointed in him. As much as Frank dreaded what he had to do, he had promised Callie that he would take care of everything. There was no way Frank was going to let Callie down.

*****

**Four and a half weeks earlier**

It was a dreary Saturday afternoon, the sky was overcast and light drizzle had been falling since early morning. Frank and Joe were vegging out in the living room, the television was on but they weren’t really watching it. Hearing the sound of a car, Joe looked out the front window.

“Mailman’s here.” Joe said with a yawn.

“Hmm.” Frank had found the remote and began to channel surf.

“Frank, go back, go back to the last channel!”

“Why?”

“Just go back and you’ll see why.”

With an exasperated sigh, Frank changed the channel. When he saw what show was playing, he turned to Joe and smiled.

“Baywatch!” Frank and Joe chimed together. The brothers got more comfortable on the couch.

Fenton Hardy, the boys’ father, came down the stairs; he joined his sons sitting in the recliner.

“What are you two watching?”

“Baywatch!” Joe said gleefully.

“Baywatch? Why do you boys even watch such a pointless show?” Fenton asked. Just then a beach scene came on, two scantily clad women were shown running in slow motion. Frank and Joe let out contented sighs.

“Forget I even asked.” Fenton chuckled. “Has the mail come in yet?”

“The mailman passed about three minutes ago.” Joe replied. “Would you like me to go get it?”

“No, wouldn’t want to deprive you of anymore bathing suit scenes. Besides, I’m expecting an important letter.”

Mr. Hardy chuckled softly when both Frank and Joe grunted their reply. Grabbing a jacket, Mr. Hardy went outside to get his mail; opening the mailbox, he found a large manila envelope. Thinking this was the letter he had been waiting for, Mr. Hardy was surprised to see that it was addressed to Frank.

The Starlight Foundation was written at the top of the return address. The name sounded very familiar to Mr. Hardy. Hurrying back inside the house, he found the living room empty and the television turned off. Hearing laughter coming from the kitchen, Mr. Hardy knew Frank and Joe were getting something to eat.

“I thought that program was an hour long.”

“It is,” Frank replied. “We only caught the last ten minutes of it.”

“Here Frank, this is for you.” Mr. Hardy gave Frank the manila envelope. “And be sure to clean up this mess or your mother and Aunt Gertrude will have your heads!”

“Don’t worry, Dad. I like my head too much and so does Vanessa.”

Frank had been silently reading the contents from his letter; his eyes grew wider as what he was reading began to sink in. Frank startled Fenton and Joe as he let out a whoop of joy.

“I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it!” Frank exclaimed over and over again.

“Mind telling us what you can’t believe?” Joe asked.

“I almost forgot about this! A few months ago, Mrs. Price, my English teacher, she told me about the Starlight Foundation. They give out college scholarships to students who they consider to be exceptional. They pay for everything, Dad! The tuition, room and board, if I went to an out-of-state college, books…everything!”

“I knew the name sounded familiar. I read about the founder, Mr. Brian Chase. His great-great-grandfather started the foundation and he’s keeping the tradition.”

“Yes, that’s right. Well, Mrs. Price asked if anyone wanted to apply for the scholarship. When she asked, I felt like she was looking right at me. I thought it wouldn’t hurt, I didn’t think I would get picked for consideration.”

As Joe and Fenton congratulated Frank, the phone rang; answering the phone, Frank listened to an excited Callie Shaw.

“You did!….So did I!…. Are you going to go?….Just Dad and Joe know, Mom and Aunt Gertrude went food shopping….Okay, I’ll call you later-and Callie, congratulations….Bye.”

While Frank was speaking with Callie, Mr. Hardy was reading the letter.

“It says here that a representative of the Foundation, a Ms. Young, will be arriving on the 10^th to interview you.”

“Actually Dad,” Frank replied. “I think she’s supposed to interview the whole family.”

“I see, I suppose this Ms. Young wants to make sure you weren’t raised by a pack of wolves.”

“Something like that,” Frank laughed.

“Hmm, how are we going to explain your brother?”

“Hey, I resemble that remark!” Joe protested.

When Laura Hardy and Gertrude Hardy arrived home, they found Fenton, Frank and Joe laughing uproariously in the kitchen.

“What’s so funny?” Laura asked her three men.

“Yes, let us in on the joke. I hope someone is cleaning up this mess,” Gertrude said sternly.

While Frank told his mother and aunt about the scholarship, Joe hurriedly cleaned up while Fenton went to get the rest of the bags.

Ms. Pamela Young had been working for the Starlight Foundation for ten years. When she first started she had just turned twenty-five. Pamela loved her job, loved meeting the students who applied for the scholarship. She only wished that she could give all them a chance to attend the best college. When she found that two of the applicants lived in the same town, Pamela decided to take the two families out to dinner. She wanted to see how the two students would act toward each other. Would one of them try to sabotage the other?

As the evening progressed, Ms. Young was becoming more and more impressed with Callie Shaw and Frank Hardy.

*****

Joe sat on Frank’s bed, watching his brother pack a small suitcase. Frank and Callie would be flying on a private plane to New York. They would be meeting a few other students on the way.

“I wish I could go with you,” Joe sighed. “What a way to end summer vacation, spending a few days in New York having a blast.”

“This isn’t going to be all fun and games you know.” Frank smiled over at Joe. “I’m going to be meeting some of the board members, maybe Mr. Chase himself.”

“Yeah, but those interviews will be in the morning or afternoon. You’ll have the rest of the day to have some fun.”

“Callie and I might do some sightseeing. Too bad it is summer though; if it was winter, we could go skating at the Rockefeller Center. That would be cool.”

“No, that would have been cold…freezing, in fact! You and Callie could go for a nice romantic walk in Central Park.”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing the Empire State building.”

“Gonna play King Kong to Callie’s Fay Wray?” Joe asked with a sly wink.

Frank swatted Joe in the head with one of his T-shirts; Joe fell onto the bed laughing hysterically, and Frank soon joined in.

Finished with his packing, Frank sat down next to Joe.

“So what are you going to do with yourself while I’m gone?”

“Oh I don’t know, I thought I’d go wild now that my calming influence will be gone. Maybe I’ll take up smoking!”

“Ha, ha, very funny…NOT!”

“Okay, okay, I won’t take up smoking. Actually, Biff told me about a party tomorrow night. Vanessa and I might go to that.”

“Party, what party? Who’s throwing it?”

“Some new guy, name’s John Samuels. He moved next door to Phil. Phil said he was nice.”

“Phil did mention he had new neighbors. Have fun, but not too much fun. Try not to get into any trouble.”

“Moi?” Joe said innocently.

“Oh please, don’t give me that look. Those baby blues might work on Vanessa and Mom, but not me.”

Joe laid his head on Frank’s shoulder, giving Frank a sad puppy-dog look.

“Aww, Frankie don’t you wubba me anymore?”

Frank was trying to give Joe a stern stare, but soon his mouth began to twitch. A smile slowly began to form, and then Frank burst out laughing again.

“You are incorrigible!” Frank cried as he pushed Joe away.

Joe laughed and continued to tease his brother until it was time to go to bed.

Early the next morning, the Hardy family and the Shaw family were at the airport. Although assured by Ms. Young that all of the students would be properly chaperoned, the Shaws were still worried about Callie. This would be Callie’s first trip alone, Fenton Hardy tried to calm Mr. and Mrs. Shaw. Frank also promised to watch over Callie.

“Mom, Dad, if I get this scholarship, I’ll be leaving Bayport to attend college. Just pretend that that’s what I’m doing.”

Catharine Shaw caressed her daughter’s face, a sad smile on her face.

“When did my baby become a young woman? Stay safe and enjoy yourself.”

Ms. Young informed everyone that the plane had arrived. Getting one last hug from their parents, Frank and Callie waved goodbye.

When they boarded the plane, they found four more students already on board. Ms. Young introduced Frank and Callie.

“Frank Hardy, Callie Shaw, this is Benjamin Taylor, from Washington High in Phoenix, AZ.”

Benjamin, a plump, sandy-haired boy smiled at Frank and Callie. His green eyes twinkled with merriment.

“Chloe Sulliven, from Woodcrest High in Tarzana, Ca.”

Chloe brushed back her dark raven hair; she gave Frank and Callie a polite smile.

“Victor Gonzales, from Central Catholic High in San Antonio, TX.”

Frank didn’t care for the appreciative glance that Victor gave Callie. Victor stretched out his long legs as he slid lazily down into his seat. His dark brown eyes were filled with mischief as he caught the glaring stare Frank gave him.

“And last but not least, Chad Singer from Wilde Lake High in Columbia, MD.”

Chad lifted his hazel eyes up to stare at Frank and Callie. He gave them a small smile. Frank let Callie have the window seat; a few minutes after they were buckled in, the plane got clearance to take off.

Callie didn’t care for the way Victor had stared at her; it felt like he was undressing her with his eyes. Callie had also noticed the stern look that Frank had given Victor. Laying her head on Frank’s shoulder, Callie gently stroked Frank’s arm.

Feeling tense and angry after meeting Victor Gonzales, Frank began to relax when he felt Callie’s gentle touch. Placing his hand over hers, with a soft squeeze, Frank let Callie know that he appreciated her gesture.

“You’re the only one for me, brown eyes,” Callie whispered tenderly.

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.