A SMACK OF COMMON SENSE
by
Duckling
Chapter 4
The Chapters
Vanessa
shifted uneasily in her chair. “You mean to tell us that you hit Callie
with the lamp-”
“Lightly,”
Frank corrected anxiously, “It was really only an exasperated love
tap.”
The
blonde girl snorted softly in derision.
“Okay,
then,” She amended. “You tapped Callie lightly
on the head with the lamp, she vanished, and in her place a genie
appeared?”
“Yes,”
Frank said simply.
The
teens looked at each other in weary resignation.
“Well
then,” Joe finally stated, “let’s go find that genie.”
“But
first,” the blond boy continued as the trio stood up from the table,
“I think we should make Vanessa the keeper of the lamp. No offense, big
brother, but I don’t know that you’re all that trustworthy when it
comes to magic. And I certainly
don’t want anything to do with it.” Joe shuddered at the memory of his
own experience with the metal object, so deceptively ordinary in its
appearance.
Vanessa
reluctantly picked the lamp up and placed it carefully in her bag. If it
weren’t for the fact that her good friend was trapped inside, she
doubted anyone could persuade her to come within ten yards of the thing,
let alone touch it.
“So,”
she began as they headed out of the library. “What does our fugitive
genie look like?”
“He’s
of Arabic descent: dark hair, dark eyes, rather light complexion. I
don’t know how tall he is because I first met him sitting down. And . .
. um, I wasn’t quite firing on all four cylinders at the time,” Frank
said somewhat sheepishly.
Joe
rested his hand against his brother’s shoulder for a minute. “It’s
perfectly understandable,” he said softly. “You’ve given us
something to go on at any rate. With a genie, you never know what to
expect: a big, burly blue creature or something wispy and red. Knowing
this guy looks like us is a good start.”
“Do
you think he’s even still here?” Vanessa questioned dubiously. “I
mean, he might have hopped the first bus out of town, or carpet, or
whatever.”
“I
don’t know,” Joe conceded. “But I’m not going to rest until we get
Callie out of that thing. It’s . . . it’s unsettling not being where
you belong,” he declared soberly.
Frank
and Vanessa nodded in agreement. Although they had never personally
experienced such a thing, they saw too often the fear and despair that
still haunted Joe’s sapphire eyes; emotions that they rarely ever saw
before his banishment.
The
teens had by now gained the hall, and stood in a loose knot as they
debated their next steps.
“I
guess we should split up,” Frank stated. “We’d have a better chance
of finding him if he’s still on school grounds.”
The
other two readily agreed, and a meeting time and place was quickly chosen.
“Van,”
Joe cautioned his girlfriend suddenly, before the trio had separated,
“Please, whatever you do, don’t in any way touch the lamp. I don’t
know what I’d do if you vanished as well.”
The willowy blond gulped, as she nodded her head. “Believe me,” she asserted, “I wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing.”
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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.