DISSONANCE
by
Duckling
Chapter 8
The Chapters
“Ladies and gentlemen,” James announced grandly to the group gathered at his table with a wink, “allow me to present to you our newest student, Hank Hardin.”
Frank sat down to a chorus of warm hellos. As he ate his lunch, he gazed curiously at the young faces surrounding him. He himself was sitting to James’ immediate right. Next to him sat a slight girl with olive skin and beautiful eyes named Sophia. Her family was Pakistani and she had grown up in cities around the world. Beside Sophia sat Laura, the very image of a Greek goddess, her rich, dark hair framing the perfect face. Only her soft southern accent betrayed the fact that her family was originally from Kentucky. A blond boy of medium height and build sat beside her. His name was Matthew and he had appraised Frank carefully before nodding his hello. Adrian, a powerfully built black boy, had flashed a bright smile at Frank before resuming his conversation with a beautiful girl with ebony skin and eyes dancing with good humor. The girl later introduced herself as Melanie. Sandwiched between Melanie and James sat Brian Bixby, a tall, dark haired boy with pale brown-gold eyes and a surprisingly deep voice, who was simply referred to by the others as Bix.
As Frank listened to the chatter of his new friends, he noted with interest their interactions. Apparently Adrian and Melanie were a couple, and he guessed that Matthew had feelings for Laura, although it was uncertain whether or not Laura felt the same. James was happily leading Brian into and out of a series of mock debates on a variety of subjects, to everyone’s amusement.
Sophia leaned over conspiratorially towards Frank and whispered, “James is the only one who can get Bix to lighten up and get away with it. Let anyone else try, and you’ve earned an enemy for life. Okay,” she suddenly amended, “for a day. Bix isn’t quite as bad as that.”
Frank was tempted to ask why, but decided it would be unwise to do so with Brian sitting there too. Instead he focused on cleaning his plate, listening in on the conversation with keen interest.
Suddenly, Brian turned to Frank with a question. “Do you play football, Hank? We could use a good defensive linebacker.”
“Bix is our star quarterback,” Sophia cooed.
“And don’t forget about our favorite redhead,” added Laura warmly. “He’s the fastest receiver in the state.’
“Second-fastest,” corrected James with a smile. “I’m not fast enough to keep up with number one.”
“I was on the varsity team at my old school,” Frank conceded, “although I never played on defense.”
“What position,” Adrian asked curiously.
“Well, it hardly matters since the position you have open is defense.” Frank responded with a smile. Then he turned back to Brian, “You mean the position is there for the taking?”
Brian smiled for the first time. “Depends upon who wants to do the taking,” he said. “If you’re interested, I can introduce you to Coach at today’s practice.”
“Deal,” Frank said cheerfully. “But what makes you think I can play defense when I’ve only ever played offense.”
“Let’s just say I have a sneaking suspicion that you are an excellent player, regardless of the position you’re in.” A hint of mischief gleamed in his eyes.
Suddenly the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Frank was stunned. What did Brian mean? What did he know? How could anyone know his true identity? Managing to conceal his shock, he gathered his belongings and tray and shuffled along to his next class beside James. Deciding to leave it for later consideration, he pulled his attention back to the tall redhead chatting happily along beside him as they pushed their way through the halls.
***
Monday afternoon found Phil Cohen seated at his carrel in the library, morosely staring out the window. A stack of books on nuclear fusion sat unheeded in front of him; a pad of paper and a pen abandoned. Why couldn’t he have said goodbye? Phil wondered. Did our friendship mean so little to him, that he could just shrug it off like that? Shrug me off like that? The painful words reverberated through his mind. Or Callie?
Thoughts of Callie only made Phil more uncomfortable. He had loved the beautiful blonde girl from the moment he had met her. But she had eyes only for Frank. When Frank realized that he liked Callie at least as much as she liked him, Phil allowed his own hopes to die for the simple reason that he valued Frank’s friendship. Now that Frank was effectively out of the picture, the old feelings had resurfaced, alarming in their intensity. The awkwardness of his feelings for Callie combined with a jumble of emotions caused by Frank’s abrupt departure left Phil feeling emotionally and mentally muddled.
What did it matter if he could comprehend the interactions of particles if he couldn’t even understand how he felt about his own interactions with people? With Frank gone, he even questioned his validity as a member of the gang: did he truly belong anymore? He had been Frank’s friend first, not Joe’s. Wouldn’t Joe tire of him, this tangible reminder of a brother who had abandoned him?
A soft voice startled him: “Hi.”
Looking up into bright blue eyes, he wondered if he was dreaming. People don’t just materialize from your thoughts, do they? But here was Joe, standing patiently beside him, concern and compassion evident in his eyes.
“You okay?”
Phil blinked. No, he must not be dreaming. The look he dreaded to find in those eyes wasn’t there. Surely, if Joe were a figment of his imagination those blue eyes would be hard and cold, or sorrowful and full of pain. Instead, they were bright with slight anxiety. Anxiety for him, Phil realized suddenly.
“Yes,” Phil responded at last, “I’m okay.” Why is Joe here, he wondered. And how did he know where to find me?
Joe smiled, although the concern in his eyes didn’t lessen. “I was wondering if you wanted to go out and grab a bite to eat. Dad’s gone away again and Mom’s visiting a sick friend about an hour away. She’ll be staying the night. She didn’t want to leave me, but I insisted that she go,” he added suddenly, “It’s her best friend from high school.”
“You’re alone?” Phil asked incredulous. Frank hadn’t even been gone three days and already Joe’s parents had left him alone. Phil shook his head in disbelief.
“Biff offered to stay the night,” Joe replied suddenly shy, “but I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind.” Joe’s voice dropped to a whisper and he fidgeted nervously as he continued. “I wanted to gaze at the stars tonight, and I thought, since you and Frank would sometimes have star-gazing parties, that you might want to, too.”
An unspeakable happiness welled up within Phil. Joe had sought him out. Joe had chosen Phil over his own best friend. Joe needed him. And suddenly, a new understanding broke over him: Joe understood how Phil was feeling and was attempting to assure him that he still belonged, that he was a friend of Joe’s, not just Frank’s cast-off friend.
Phil looked up and smiled. “I’d love to,” he said simply. “Let me stop by my house to get my new telescope. And I have the neatest astro-imaging program,” he said enthusiastically, “I can show you how to take pictures of the night sky. Frank always said you wanted to do that someday.”
“That’d be great,” Joe answered, happy to see Phil looking less sorrowful. “Maybe we could even hook up dad’s old printer and print them out. Mom’s been saying how we need to redecorate. I think a picture of Jupiter or Saturn might just be the answer. And I could put up those little glow-in the-dark stars on the ceiling,” he rambled on light-heartedly.
“Or just put up your sophomore-year picture,” Phil quipped, “as a Martian.”
Joe stopped and pretended indignation. “I am not a Martian,” he declared haughtily. “Everyone knows that I am a weirdo; that is something quite different indeed.”
“Yes,” Phil chuckled as he gathered up his things. “You definitely are something quite different indeed.”
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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.