HDA - Fanfare for June Aspen & Evergreen Chapter 27

Frank Hardy stood in the crowded hallway, grinning at his baby brother with deep satisfaction. Joe was still pale from his injury, the drugging, and being in the hospital until the day before, but no one had ever looked happier in a graduation cap and gown! A small bandage peeked from beneath the edge of his dark green mortar board, and he looked a little shaky, but a radiant smile suffused his face – because his eyes were fastened on Vanessa, standing nearby in her gold gown with her cap tilted saucily over one eye, who smiled just as radiantly back at him.

"I’ve got to go now," Frank said, and leaned to hug Joe tightly. "You made it, bro. This is the day you waited for forever!"

Joe smiled. "Yeah, it is. Hard to believe, huh?"

"Hard to believe," Frank concurred, and left quickly, before he was betrayed into saying something sentimental.

Megan settled herself in her chair next to Frank. She knew they could count themselves lucky, actually getting to sit in chairs – the majority of the spectators were seated on the gymnasium bleachers! But for the families of the graduates, attempts had been made to provide slightly more comfortable seating, and Vanessa had only needed one of her tickets. Megan and Frank had benefited from that lucky circumstance.

She looked around, still marveling at the hordes of people who attended Bayport High School’s graduation. Little Lakeridge Academy had only graduated about 70 people in a class, and few people went to the ceremony unless they were related to a graduate. But here – it seemed as if the whole population of Bayport had decided to attend! And cramming themselves into the high school gymnasium was the task at hand.

Megan saw Tony Prito and his parents take places on the lower bleacher seats towards the back of the gym, and then spotted Phil, who waved vigorously when she caught his eye. He was accompanied by a thin young man with long hair and an engaging grin; Megan surmised this must be Phil’s roommate, Matt. They moved to join the Pritos, who scooted over to make room for them. Across the cavernous room, on the other side, she saw Jack Wayne, his sister April, and her boyfriend Todd Mitchell ascending the steps to seats near the ceiling. They are going to die of heat up there! she thought.

"Well, look who’s here!" Frank leaned to murmur discreetly in her ear. Megan looked where he indicated, and smiled when she saw Callie Shaw and her parents climbing the stairs to a bleacher seat in the upper section. She heard Frank make a sound halfway between a laugh and a disdainful sniff.

"Be nice," she whispered. "Callie’s got quite a few friends in this class, remember? Besides, I thought you two were friends again."

"Well…we are," Frank admitted. "And you’re right about her wanting to be here."

Seated on the other side of Frank, Laura and Fenton were both beaming with unalloyed pride and unabashed relief that Joe had recovered enough to graduate with his class. They were both nodding to acquaintances and accepting congratulations and good wishes for their younger son, as well as extending them to the other parents. Beyond them, Aunt Gertrude sat placidly, smiling with self-congratulation, and was heard to say more than once that it ‘never would have happened without me around to discipline that young whippersnapper!’

The empty seat on Megan’s other side was suddenly filled as Andrea Bender slid into the chair. She looked flushed and slightly ruffled – an unusual look for the ordinarily-composed Andrea.

"Parking!" she muttered. "Bloody parking! I had to walk four blocks!" She leaned to greet Laura and Fenton, then settled back, still grumbling under her breath.

"But you’re here in plenty of time!" Megan consoled her. "There’s still almost ten minutes until it’s supposed to start."

By the end of those ten minutes, every available seat in the vast gymnasium was occupied, except those reserved for the faculty and the graduates. Mr. Frame, the band director, raised his baton to signal to his students, and then the familiar strains of Elgar’s "Pomp and Circumstance" filled the room, played by the school orchestra – and two special guests! Angel Coussard and Allison Lewis had come to play, just for graduation. Allison had explained that this was her way of thanking the Hardys for finding her violin and, even though she might not have it back for a few weeks – until it wasn’t needed for evidence anymore – she WOULD get it back, thanks to them. And Angel had come as a favor to Allison. As the music poured over them, Megan instinctively extended her hand towards Frank, and he grasped it in his own.

Slowly, walking in twos, the graduating class entered the gym. Some of them were smiling broadly, waving to friends and relatives; others were solemn and keeping their minds focused on the task at hand, which was walking in time to the music and getting to the proper row of chairs. On and on they came, in what seemed to be an unending wave of green and gold robes and mortar boards. Gold honor cords hung about the necks of some, and each graduate wore a bronze medallion suspended from a coppery-colored ribbon.

It was difficult to distinguish one from another, in that sea of color, but Megan managed to spot Chet and Devon, Biff and Karen. She clung to Frank’s hand and thanked God that Joe was there with the others, intact.

She smiled to herself, thinking of a conversation held with Joe the previous day, when he had been released from the hospital. Frank, much to his frustration, had had to work at Wayne’s World, so hadn’t been around. Once Joe was settled comfortably, Fenton had left to do some work of his own, Gertrude went upstairs, and Laura and Vanessa had gone to the kitchen to fetch lemonade and snacks, leaving Megan to ‘baby-sit,’ as Joe had termed it.

For a short while they had sat in the family room in contented silence; Joe reveling in the enjoyment of being home. But there was something Megan wanted to say to him, and now was the perfect time.

"Joe – remember when you called me ‘Red’ at the restaurant and I got so mad at you?"

He looked over at her with a sunny smile. "Oh yeah, that I do remember! You darn near bit my head off!"

"Well…while you were asleep…at the hospital…" She stopped, not quite certain how to explain this. "Before you woke up," she began again, "I was talking to you. I made a bargain with you – I promised you something."

He nodded uncertainly, not sure where this might be going. "Okay…. A…bargain?"

"I told you that – if you’d wake up and be all right—" She stopped again. It seemed so ludicrous now, but she’d promised. It wouldn’t be fair not to go through with it. "I told you – that you can call me ‘Red’ if you want to. No one else can, but if you do – it’s…okay." She shook her head, and looked down at her lap, laughing a little. "I guess it sounds silly, doesn’t it?"

"Silly?" Joe voice was extraordinarily gentle. "I think it’s incredible. No one but you would think of offering me an incentive like that. I wish I’d been awake to hear it. You wouldn’t have had to tell me now, you know – since I don’t remember it…."

She looked up, into his smiling blue eyes. "A bargain is a bargain," she whispered. "You kept your part; I have to keep mine."

"Will it be so bad?" he asked gently. "Because if it is, Megan, no deal."

She thought about that for a moment. "No. It won’t. Because I know you wouldn’t say it just because you want to hurt me. From you, it’s … affection."

Joe smiled at her, and winked. "You got that right…Red."

After the graduates came the faculty, all in black robes with their colored velvet stoles indicating their degree category. Megan smiled, impressed; the faculty looked so elegant! As the final strains of the music died away, the principal, Mr. Alexander, rose from his chair and stepped to the microphone.

"Good evening, parents, friends, and most importantly, graduates…."

*****

Joe held tightly to Vanessa’s hand as they sat and listened to the speeches. Although he felt sorry that he had lost some memories – and the doctors didn’t seem to know when or if he might ever regain them – he decided it didn’t really matter anymore. He remembered the last time he saw Vanessa before he woke up in the hospital after all, at their special dinner, and that was what was most important.

He could feel the ring she wore on her finger, and he could see the chain of her locket under the thin fabric of her graduation robe. She’s so beautiful, he thought. And she’s washed away all of the pain I’ve felt ever since Iola’s death. Discreetly, he ducked his head and raised her hand to his lips, and felt her shake with silent laughter. He still felt weak from being in the hospital, and his head ached occasionally, but he wouldn’t have missed being there – not for anything!

*****

The speeches were done. Music had been performed – a special, wonderful rendition of the duet Angel and Allison had played at their concert, which brought tears to many eyes. Memories had been invoked by the student speakers, and a few more tears shed. And now, at long last, it was time for the diplomas to be presented.

At Lakeridge, Megan mentally compared again, we lined up alphabetically, and you walked with whomever you ended up next to. Here at Bayport, however, people chose who they wished for a marching partner, and the diplomas were arranged in that order. That was why each person graduating was so careful to be in his or her designated seat, and why so many rehearsals were required. No one wanted to be the one remembered for being out of order and spoiling the careful precision of the presentation. The first two rows of the class stood, and began to edge into the side aisles.

The principal and vice-principal stood on the stage, next to a table covered with stacks of the square, leather-covered diplomas. As Mrs. Parks announced a name, that person crossed the stage, received a diploma to the applause of the crowd, and then shook hands with a beaming Mr. Alexander as the photographer snapped a flash photo. Descending the steps on the other side, the newly graduated senior nonchalantly moved his or her mortarboard tassel to the opposite side, and returned to the proper seat.

Megan freed her hand from Frank’s. She wanted to be able to applaud!

"Chester Caldwell Morton." There was Chet, beaming all over his freckled face as he accepted congratulations from Mrs. Parks. Loud applause and congratulatory whoops from his classmates resounded.

"Devon Kathleen Marshand." Devon was blushing, but she looked very happy, and awed when she heard all the applause which greeted her name. No more the ‘Ice Princess,’ little blonde Devon was well liked now. Happily, she flipped her tassel and waved to the other graduates as she resumed her seat.

"Elizabeth Blair Webling." Liz looked cool and composed as she sauntered across the stage and accepted her diploma with a smile. It was difficult to fluster Liz.

"Donald Wentworth West." Liz’s boyfriend Don grinned and waved his diploma triumphantly over his head as he descended the steps.

"Allen Ray Hooper." Biff’s long strides took him across the stage in record time, and the congratulatory yells for the school’s most notable athlete were loud and emphatic. Biff grinned all over his handsome face, and raised both arms in a gesture of victory.

"Karen Elaine Kerr." Karen, laughing, whipped a tiny bottle of bubble-liquid out, and blew bubbles all the way back to her seat.

More and more graduates proceeded across the stage to the warm applause of the spectators. The big gymnasium became noisier and noisier as more and more triumphant graduates regained their seats, clutching their diplomas and waiting for the last class members to march forward.

*****

They weren’t in the middle of the pack, where they had been at rehearsals. They had been moved to the end, just in case…just in case. Just in case the unthinkable happened.

The tall blonde couple, nearly matched in height, walked arm-in-arm until they reached the steps. Then, with a swift kiss for her escort, the girl stepped forward first.

"Vanessa Marie Bender." Andrea, tears running down her face, applauded vigorously as Vanessa accepted her diploma. Laura and Fenton, Megan and Frank, clapped no less heartily for Vanessa…and then they waited, holding their collective breaths.

"Joseph David Hardy." Joe, still looking slightly wobbly, crossed the stage to thunderous applause, and one after another, observers rose to their feet to cheer for the youth who had come close to not graduating at all, until nearly everyone in the building was standing. As Mr. Alexander shook his hand, and flashbulbs flared, Joe broke into the widest smile Megan had ever seen on his face. Clapping until her hands stung, she finally stopped, and clutched Frank’s arm.

"Oh, Frank, isn’t it wonderful? It’s so incredible, after everything that happened…It’s so wonderful…I’m so glad—" The girl’s words tumbled over each other in her excitement.

Frank hugged her tightly. "Baby, it’s more than wonderful; it’s more like a miracle," he whispered…and went back to applauding his little brother’s achievements.

THE END

We would like to thank Jennifer ‘Sparks’ Hart for allowing Aspen & Evergreen to use Devon Marshand in this story, and for providing us with her middle name when we asked! Jenn, it took long enough, but at long last Devon can stop pressing that graduation gown!

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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 them without expressed permission of the authors.