The 18-year-old leaned back from his computer and closed his eyes. He had a lot of work to finish and didn’t think there were enough hours in the day to get it all done. He knew that he had no one to blame for the situation, except himself.  

Frank Hardy knew the case they had just solved had been a challenge, but they had gotten the job done.  

There had been a lot of vandalism to vehicles in the Bayport High School parking lot as well as at other location in town where students spent a lot of time. Frank and his 17-year-old brother, Joe, had searched for the ones responsible and had finally caught up with him.  

They had caught the person in the act and a chase began. They two of them had following the perpetrator into the woods. Joe had been able to narrow the distance between himself and the vandal while Frank had fallen behind.  

Frank’s pursuit was short-lived. His left foot had fallen into a rabbit hole. He felt it break and fell to the ground. After the initial pain eased some, he pulled his foot out of the hole. He could see it was already swelling and knew he wasn’t going anywhere.  

As he waited for Joe to come back through the woods, Frank looked for some branches he could use as a splint. He knew Joe wouldn’t be able to carry him back to the van, she he wanted everything in place to help on his own.  

Joe returned a short while later and assisted Frank to the van, where he was then taken to the hospital. The break had been a bad one and the doctor’s insisted that he stay off his feet for a couple days.  

And he had followed the doctor’s orders. He had contacted his professors and they had sent him the assignments that were due for the following class.  

“Hey,” a voice said, getting Frank’s attention.  

He opened his eyes and looked toward the door. Joe was leaning against the doorframe. “Hey. How was your date with Vanessa?”  

“It was fine. The movie had a lot of action, which I liked and some romance which Van liked.”  

“It sounds like you had a good time.”  

“I did.” Joe moved into the room and sat down on Frank’s bed. “You know, you could have come along if you wanted.”  

“I know, but I didn’t want to intrude,” Frank said, spinning his chair around to face Joe. “With this last case, I know you didn’t get to spend as much time with Vanessa as you would have liked.”  

“This one was time consuming, but at least it is over with now.”  

“I know.”  

“So, how’s the leg? Is it hurting at all?” Joe asked.  

“It’s not really hurting,” Frank admitted. “But having to keep this on for the next eight weeks is something I’m not looking forward to.”  

“Look on the bright side.”  

“And what’s that?”  

“At least you didn’t break both of your legs.”  

“True,” Frank said. “That would be a major pain.”  

“Well, I’m going to let you finish your work,” Joe said, getting to his feet.  

“Thanks. I’ve only got a little more to do.”  

“I’ll leave you to it. I don’t want you heading to class unprepared.”  

“I appreciate it,” Frank said and Joe left the room.  

Frank turned back to his desk and focused on his computer once again to get his assignments completed.  

* * * * *  

The next morning, Frank returned to the campus. He struggled along the paths on his crutches, trying not to be knocked down. He had only been to two classes so far and was looking forward to the end of the day.  

He arrived at his English literature class and slid into a seat along the aisle. Dropping his backpack to the floor, Frank let out a sigh, grateful to be sitting down.  

The professor walked in at that moment and began his lecture. Frank pulled out his notebook and a pen, and started taking notes.  

By the end of the class, Frank was tired of jotting down his notes. When the professor ended the class, Frank stayed where he was. He let the other students leave first so he wouldn’t get jostled.  

Frank got to his feet and his backpack fell to the floor.  

“Great,” Frank grumbled.  

“I’ll get it,” a female voice said.  

Frank turned and watched a girl he had noticed since the first class, lean down and pick up his backpack. She faced Frank and handed him the backpack. She stood about five foot seven and her long brown hair hung around her shoulders. And her hazel eyes seemed to show warmth.  

“Thanks,” Frank said, taking the backpack and sliding the straps onto his shoulders.  

“You’re welcome,” she said. “By the way, I’m Caren Anderson.”  

“I’m Frank Hardy. It’s nice to meet you.”  

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Caren said. She nodded toward his cast. “It looks like you’ll have a few challenging weeks ahead.”  

Frank sighed as he looked at the cast. “Yeah. Let me say that I could’ve lived without this happening.”  

“How did it happen?” Caren asked.  

Frank took a couple steps and they left the room. “I was running through the woods a couple days ago and got my foot caught in a rabbit hole. I didn’t miss the hole and fell into it. I probably should have been more careful.”  

“Sometimes those things happen,” Caren said, falling into step beside him. “I know that it sometimes happens when you’re doing the routine things.”  

Frank looked at her. “It sounds like you’ve had a broken bone.”  

“Well, yeah,” Caren admitted, a small blushing rising on her cheeks. “I was in fourth grade at the time. My dad had warned me not to do hand stands or cartwheels on the front lawn.”  

“But you did it anyway?” Frank asked.  

“I did. I had one a cartwheel and broke my arm. My dad was disappointed, but it was one of those things that you have to learn on your own.”  

“That does sound like a lesson that can only be learned one way,” Frank admitted.  

“It was,” Caren said. “So, where are you headed to now?”  

“Actually, I have a history class that I need to get to. What about you?”  

“I have a break now, and then a class at one.”  

“Well, I guess I’ll see you on Friday then,” Frank said with a smile.  

“I look forward to it,” Caren said returning the grin.  

“Bye,” Frank said and headed to his next class.  

As he made his way to his class, he realized he was feeling different than before. He then knew it as because he had met Caren. It had been some time since he had talked like he did with a girl, and felt a connection with Caren had been made.

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.