DISSONANCE
by
Duckling
Chapter 6
The Chapters
As Biff and Joe went from house to house, the group grew larger as each friend expressed a desire to join the two in breaking the news. The end result being that by the time the boys reached the Mortons’ farmhouse, almost every member of the gang was there too. Olive-skinned, dark-eyed Tony Prito had offered to pick up Callie so as not to leave her out. Slight, sandy-haired Phil Cohen, Frank’s former best friend, had wanted to go with him. The trio pulled up in the Morton yard a minute after Biff and Joe had arrived. Strong, stout, good-natured Chet Morton was Frank and Joe’s oldest friend, and his dark-haired, green-eyed sister Iola was Joe’s girlfriend.
Chet and Iola had been waiting for Joe on the porch swing. They seemed surprised to see the rest of the gang pile out of the vehicles, Biff and Tony with grim faces, Callie still somewhat weepy. One glance at the sadness in Joe’s eyes and Chet feared for the worst. Frank’s absence had not escaped his notice. Iola rushed down the steps and embraced her boyfriend, not quite sure if it were she who was comforting him or rather he comforting her. Joe hugged Iola close and then gently released her. None of the others spoke; they all seemed to understand that it was Joe who was to speak first.
“Frank ran away,” Joe stated solemnly. “He left sometime yesterday morning. I didn’t think it fair to wait to tell you right before class tomorrow morning.”
Chet gave a small gasp. He looked up at the other somber faces of the group and read the pain and anger and betrayal he saw there. Suddenly, he felt those very emotions flood his being. He clenched his jaw in anger.
Iola moved over to her best friend’s side as Callie began to cry again. She led her gently up the porch steps and sat her in the swing. Phil offered to fetch some tissues from the bathroom, and Iola smiled her thanks to him. Tony, Biff, and Chet gathered close together in angry companionship, watching as Joe went up to sit beside Callie while she cried.
The three boys exchanged solemn glances. There was no need for words. They understood each other perfectly. Joe had to be the one in the group who was most affected by Frank’s abandonment. As yet, he had shown little emotion, if any. When he did, the boys vowed to be there for him. And woe to Frank Hardy, should he be foolish enough to ever step back into Bayport. The gang had never tolerated betrayal.
Phil had returned with the tissues, and Callie was now in the process of composing herself. Iola glanced at her silent boyfriend and asked suddenly, “Would you like to play?” The Mortons were probably the only people outside of the Hardy family who knew that Joe was an excellent pianist. Joe had often played for them as a thank you for some of the fine dinners they had prepared for Frank and Joe. He nodded and the little group got up and followed Iola into the house. The gang’s initial curiosity turned to surprise when Joe seated himself at the old upright and suddenly began playing. Settling themselves onto couches and chairs, they listened in rapt attention as the emotions poured out through Joe’s fingertips, trilling lightly over the piano keys.
Biff stared at his friend in amazement. He had thought that he really knew who Joe Hardy was. Now it was apparent that there was a whole side to the blond boy of which he had been totally unaware. Glancing at Tony and Callie’s faces, he consoled himself with the thought that he wasn’t alone in this feeling. Chet caught his eye and smiled sheepishly.
Obviously, thought Biff, he knew. Iola, too. But that was only natural. The Hardys and Mortons had been good friends forever, it seemed. But for Joe never to say a word about his ability? That surprised him. No, that wasn’t true, Biff corrected himself. Joe was never one to boast. Neither brother was, actually. As many faults as Frank had in Biff’s eyes, arrogance and conceit were not among them.
As Joe continued to play, Biff found his thoughts turning to Frank and his own friendship with the dark-haired boy. Up until now, he had always admired and envied Frank. Feelings that he had first experienced from the moment he had met him. Biff smiled suddenly at that memory.
They were eight, and Joe was seven. Biff didn’t know either brother at that time. He had watched with interest every day during recess as the small, but bold, seven-year-old stood up to kids meaner and bigger than himself. The blond boy was the champion of the small and powerless, mostly because he knew that he had his own dark-haired protector to help him if things got out of hand, which they usually did. Joe may not have won every battle physically, but in eroding the power the bullies exerted on the more vulnerable children, Joe beat the meaner kids every time. Fortunately for the bullies, Frank’s class had recess at a later hour; he only found about his brother’s incidents with the bullies after the fact.
The day that Biff formally met the Hardy brothers was a school sports day. As usual, one of the nastiest of the older bullies was terrorizing a small girl. All the teachers were busy getting the participants for the hundred meter dash lined up; no one saw the small girl’s plight, no one save Joe Hardy. Joe ran up behind the bully and jumped on his back, kicking and punching him as best he could. The older boy, enraged, succeeded in throwing Joe off his back and onto the ground.
The stunned Joe was pummeled with vicious kicks and punches until a furious Frank arrived. With one well-placed kick, the older bully fell to the ground. By this time the staff had been alerted to the fight. As the small girl sobbed in a teacher’s arms, Frank knelt beside his still brother and gently touched his cheek. Joe’s soft moan had been a welcome sound, and the teachers had sighed with relief. Biff didn’t remember much after that, except that while they were waiting for the school nurse to arrive to reassure the teachers that Joe’s injuries were no worse than the feisty boy had claimed, he had slipped over to where the brothers were waiting and had expressed his admiration of the older boy’s fighting skills.
Frank had looked into his face with wary determination, sizing Biff up as a potential friend or foe. Finally he stuck out his hand and said thanks. Biff then told him how he had watched Joe daily tackle the bullies and how impressed he was with the smaller boy. That had been the key to his friendship with Frank. Frank suddenly looked up at him and smiled. He said proudly, “That’s my brother.” Then he introduced himself and Joe, and Biff knew that he had just made a new friend.
At that point, Joe had twisted his head to get a better view of Biff through his half-swollen eyes. After a moment of careful scrutiny he had given Biff his own crooked smile. Biff smiled back and squatted down beside Joe to wait with them; he had felt inexplicably as if he belonged.
As the boys grew up, their friendship grew stronger. And so did Biff’s admiration and envy of the older boy. Biff most envied Frank his role as Joe’s protector and big brother. It wasn’t so serious as to cause friction in their relationship; Frank was Joe’s brother, Biff was not. But Biff longed to have a little brother like Joe. Secretly, he thought of Joe as his own brother. He was just as proud of Joe’s accomplishments as any Hardy was and tried to be as loyal and supportive of his friends as they were of him. Frank must have sensed Biff’s feelings, because he often thanked Biff for looking out for Joe. Many times he left Biff to care for Joe when he could not. It was an arrangement with which both boys felt comfortable.
So Frank’s sudden betrayal infuriated Biff. Everyone knew how close the brothers were. The idea that Frank could spurn his brother’s love lit a fire of resentment within Biff. Well, he vowed fiercely to himself, I will never abandon Joe like that. From now on, Joe is my brother, my responsibility.
Let the author know what you think of this story
Home Library Authors Rogue's Gallery Vehicles Chums Message Board Rap Sheet Links Contact
Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors 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.