NO SOUVENIRS
by
Piper Merlyn
Chapter 1
The Chapters
Joe Hardy was bored. He was stretched across his bed, tossing a tennis ball up and catching it first with one hand, then with the other. It was the first official day of spring break and he had no clue as to what to do with a whole week off from school.
Joe sighed and tossed the ball up again with his left hand and then had to roll to dodge the ball coming back down right at his head. In his roll, he fell off the bed. Joe glared at the carpet inches from his nose and pushed himself up. Maybe he should have gone with Frank grocery shopping after all.
The ringing telephone perked him up and he made a mad dash for the phone. "Hello?" He shook his head and grinned. "What makes you think that?...Maybe I just knew it was you...Plans? Me?"
Joe leaned against the wall, just as he heard the front door open. "What's up, Van?...News? Hmm, this sounds intriguing—"
"Joe! Come help unload," came Frank's voice from the front door.
Joe sighed. "Sure, Van, come on over. I'm curious now. Is it good news?" When she refused to explain, Joe shrugged. "Okay then, see you in a few." He told her goodbye and hung up, and then darted down the stairs.
Frank stood there with his arms folded and a frown on his face. "What took you so long?"
"Busy." Joe stepped past his brother and out the door.
"You were on the phone."
"Yep." Joe hefted two plastic sacks and looked over at Frank. What?"
"Who was it on the phone?"
Joe grinned, seeing Frank was curious. "Vanessa. She has news she has to share with both of us."
"Did she say what?" Frank took two sacks as well and started into the house, with Joe following.
"No. Just that she wanted to tell us both."
Frank and Joe had all the groceries in the kitchen by the time Vanessa drove up in her red Maserati. Frank was the first to notice Callie was with her. As the girls got out, he grinned. "Hey, Cal, what are you doing here?"
"Just wait." Callie flashed him an excited grin. "Van's news is awesome."
Joe frowned and looked at Vanessa. "You told her? But not me?"
"Stop pouting," said Vanessa, giving him a quick kiss. "Are your parents home?"
Joe blinked. "You have to tell them too?"
Vanessa nodded, her gray eyes dancing with excitement. "If you want to participate, I do."
The four of them went into the house and veered for the kitchen where Laura was. Joe slung an arm around Vanessa's shoulders. "Hey, Mom, is Dad in his study?"
Laura Hardy, a petite blond, turned and smiled at the four of them. "He was, last I looked. Is something wrong?"
Vanessa shook her head. "No, I just need to tell you and Mr. Hardy something when I tell Frank and Joe."
Laura arched an eyebrow. "Hmm, all right. Let's go into the living room. I'll get Fenton." She walked past them toward the living room and on into her husband's study. A few minutes later, Laura and Fenton were seated on the sofa.
Vanessa motioned for the rest of them to sit but kept standing herself, pacing from one chair to the other. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "My mom has this animation convention to go to in San Francisco. She said I could invite three people. I already talked to Mr. and Mrs. Shaw and they said Callie could come. So I was wondering if Frank and Joe could come with us? Please say yes?"
Fenton sat back on the sofa and looked thoughtful. "For how long?"
"We'll leave tomorrow. The convention lasts till Saturday."
Laura cocked her head to one side. "And what will you do while your mother's at the convention?"
"We can attend too, Mrs. Hardy. But there's also shopping and tourist attractions. And I have a pen pal there in San Francisco, I've been wanting to meet for the last three years."
Fenton and Laura shared a long look and then turned to look at their sons for a long moment. "Joe, Frank, do you want to go?"
"San Francisco, Mom?" Joe bounced to his feet. "You bet."
Frank nodded. "Sure, Mom."
Fenton shrugged. "I don't see why not, then." He gave each boy a hard look. "You'll be perfect gentlemen, right?"
Joe nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Dad. Come on, Frank, we have to pack."
Vanessa giggled. "Slow down, Joe, it's not like we're leaving today."
Joe grinned. "San Francisco, here we come." He gave Vanessa a quick hug and took off for the stairs. "Frank, time's a-wasting," he called, disappearing from view.
Frank gazed at the stairs and slowly shook his head. He stood up. "I think he was getting bored."
Laura chuckled. "All right, go on and start packing. If there's anything dirty, bring it down and I'll wash it." She got to her feet. "Best finish putting the groceries away."
Fenton stood up as well. "Need help?"
Laura gave him a wink, took his hand and led him into the kitchen. Frank heard her say, "You may regret asking, dear." He turned to Callie and nodded to Vanessa. "Sounds like fun."
"I'm so excited you can come," said Vanessa, grinning. "Come on, Callie, got to get you back home to pack, I've got to get home and pack."
Callie rolled her eyes and gave Frank a quick kiss. "See you later," she said softly.
Frank wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah. Pack a few nice things, we may go eat at fancy restaurants." He gave her a wink.
Callie smiled. "Will do. See you tomorrow." She gave him another kiss and left with Vanessa.
Seconds later, there was a rumble on the stairs and Joe skidded into the foyer. "Where's Van?"
"She went home to pack."
"Darn it, I wanted to tell her good-bye." Joe spun on his heel and raced back up the stairs. "Hey, Frank, where's my suitcase?" he shouted.
Frank bit back a grin and started up the stairs. Some things never changed.
***
Joe barely spared any time for supper, too intent on deciding what to pack. He was in the middle of trying to choose between the red polo or the green Henley when he heard the doorbell downstairs. He didn't bother to peek out his window to see who it was, he was in the middle of a dilemma. It's mid-March, is it still cold in San Francisco, he wondered, looking from the Henley to the polo shirt.
Something brushed his cheek, giving him a start. He looked around for some sort of moth or mosquito in his room but didn't see anything. Joe sighed and stood there, trying to decide a moment longer and then shook his head. He tossed both shirts into the suitcase.
It was nearly an hour later when he finally finished his packing and ventured downstairs. Frank looked up from the television. "You'd think you were going away for a year, not a week."
"First impressions, Frank. They're very important."
"First impressions? Are you planning to move to San Francisco?"
Joe rolled his eyes. "Of course not. That would be a silly thing to do. Hey, wait a minute," he added, focusing on the television. "That was James Bond."
"Considering recent events and a certain dream, haven't you had enough of Bond?"
"No. Turn it back."
"You've seen it a dozen times."
"Not this one. It's his latest one. I just love the ice castle." Joe slid a glance to the front door. "Hey, who was at the front door?"
Frank blinked. "What? That was an hour ago and you're just now asking?"
"I was busy." Joe glanced over at his brother and saw him just looking at him. "What? I couldn't decide which shirt I wanted to bring most...so I brought both."
Frank shook his head and sighed. "It was Merlyn. She brought back that power drill her dad borrowed last week."
Joe glanced at the television where Bond was chatting with a girl clad in nothing but a skimpy bikini and a wicked looking knife. "Thought it would be a bit more interesting," he muttered, settling to watch the movie.
Frank just shook his head again.
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.