Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the HDA - Brain Child

Joe rubbed his bright blue eyes with his fists and then ran both hands through his blond hair, causing curls to fall haphazardly over his forehead. He put his head down on the kitchen table, just for a minute he told himself.

He was tired, but he had to pull himself together. He knew that, once again, Frank would be worrying about him if he appeared as completely worn out as he felt, and Joe didn’t want him to keep worrying. It wasn’t fair that Frank was spending his senior year in school fretting about Joe.

Joe had been unable to sleep well for the last two weeks due to nightmares. It had been a few months since he had a nightmare about Iola, but now that her birthday was close, they had come back full force. And once he had the nightmare, he found himself not wanting to go back to bed.

Frank came down the steps and opened the kitchen door. Surprised Joe was up before him for school; Frank started to make a sarcastic comment that Joe must have stayed up all night to be up this early. Before a word left his mouth though Joe rubbed his eyes and dropped his head on the table. Before Frank could ask what was wrong, Joe sat up straight, shook his head a few times, and started to play with his breakfast.

Frank took this opportunity to make his presence known. “Hey little bro. How are you doing this morning?”

With a big grin on his face, Joe replied, “Never better, though it would be great if we didn’t have school.”

Frank could see right through the silly grin. He had had 17 years of practice. No grin could cover the dark circles under Joe’s eyes. And a quick glance at the calendar had reminded him vividly that it would have been Iola’s birthday next week. She would have been 17.

“Well we do have to get to school. No choice on that one. Mom and Dad said we’ve missed enough school due to cases that we better make every day of class,” Frank said.

“I know, I know. I’m done with breakfast anyway. Let’s just go,” Joe said.

“You have time. I don’t think pouring milk and cereal in a bowl and stirring it around constitutes eating breakfast,” Frank pushed a little.

“I’m not hungry anyways. Let’s just get on with it.” Joe dumped the cereal down the drain and grabbed his backpack. “Okay, I’m ready now. I’ll wait in the van for you.”

Frank took a few minutes to heat up some breakfast and walked out to the van. As Frank approached, he saw Joe in the driver’s seat with his head on the steering wheel. Frank opened the passenger door just as he heard Joe yell, “No! Please! No! Iola!” Joe jerked up so fast he smacked his head on the door frame with a sickening crack. He was looking around wildly, tears streaming down his face.

Frank dropped his breakfast and reached through the van. He grasped Joe’s shoulder, trying to get him to focus. “Joe? Joe, look at me.” Frank finally succeeded in getting Joe to look at his face. Once Joe had focused on Frank, he seemed to snap back to reality.

Joe quickly swiped at the tears on his face and said “Frank, are you ready to go? We’re going to be late if we don’t get moving.”

“Joe, are you okay?” Frank asked cautiously. When Joe continued fumbling with the keys, Frank said, “Slow down a minute. If we’re late, we’re late. You really hit your head. Let me see it.”

Joe sighed, “I’m fine. You need to stop worrying about me and focus on having fun. It’s you senior year.” Frank had come around to the driver’s door though to check out Joe’s head.

Slightly miffed, Joe turned his head so Frank could see and said “See, I’m fine.” But he gasped sharply and winced when Frank touched the lump that was now forming.

“I’m going to get an ice pack. Move over to the passenger’s side – you’re not driving.” Joe shrugged and did as he was told. There were certain times it didn’t pay to argue with Frank. Pick your battles – and this wasn’t one of them.

Frank returned a few minutes later with a bag of ice and a towel to wrap it in. Joe was in the passenger’s side of the van. Frank sighed, “Thank goodness he chose this time not to argue,” he thought. But as Frank opened the door, he realized Joe was asleep again. “I’ve only been gone a few minutes,” he thought. Knowing how many times they’ve both received concussions, any crack on the head made him nervous.

“Joe? Joe, wake up.” Frank said as he got into the van. No response. Frank gently shook Joe’s shoulder. “Joe, wake up! Come on Joe, you’re scaring me!” After a few minutes of trying to rouse Joe, and just as Frank made up his mind to take Joe to the hospital, Joe’s eyes fluttered open and he looked around.

“Where am I?” Joe asked.

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 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.