Joe spun around to look at the bleachers. He saw all the people who were on the bleachers were now piled on the ground. He dropped the football and ran toward the bleachers, eager to help those who were injured.  

The closer he got, he saw those that weren’t hurt were slowing getting to their feet and helping the others.  

Joe made his way to where Frank had been sitting. He saw the girl who had been sitting beside Frank standing up. He maneuvered himself toward the girl. He then saw Frank’s brown hair. His brother was still sitting on the broken bleacher.  

“Frank! Are you all right?”  

Frank looked up at him. “I’m no worse than before.”  

“Let me help you up.”  

Joe stepped forward, as did the girl. They each took one of Frank’s arms and helped him up. Frank wrapped one arm around Joe’s shoulder to keep his balance.  

“Your crutches are gone,” the girl said.  

“They can be replaced,” Frank said.  

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” Joe asked, looking his brother over.  

“I’m okay. I may be a little stiff, but I’m okay.”  

Joe looked over his shoulder and saw the authorities were arriving on the scene. He realized they had arrived quickly.  

“Do you think you can make it to the van?” Joe asked.  

“Yeah, but with some help.”  

“All right,” Joe said.  

“You can lean on me as well,” the girl said.  

“Then let’s get away from this mess,” Joe said.  

The three of them made their way from the bleachers toward the parking lot. Joe figured he’s go back to the officers once he was sure his brother was comfortable.  

Once they reached the van, Frank unlocked the side door and then sat down, letting out a groan.  

“You know, Frank, maybe you should just get checked over by the medics,” Joe said.  

“I was seen by Dr. Bates earlier. I don’t need to see another one.”  

“All right,” Joe said. “Just stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I talk to the officers.”  

“I’m not going anywhere.”  

Joe turned and headed back to the field. He was a little ways from the van when he glanced over his shoulder. He saw the girl had taken a seat beside Frank and they were talking.  

Joe found an officer who was taking statements and told him what he knew, which wasn’t much. When he finished, he let the officer know where his brother was since he had been on the bleachers.  

Once that was taken care of, Joe approached the coach, who was standing by the team bench, staring at the destroyed bleachers in disbelief.  

“Joe,” the coach said as he approached.  

“Yeah, Coach?”  

“If you’ve talked to the police, go ahead and head on in to the locker room. The game is over.”  

“Has the rest of the team gone on in?”  

“Most of them,” the Coach admitted. “The rest of them are finishing up right now.”  

“Okay.” Joe turned around once again. He looked at the collapsed bleachers and wondered what had happened. He could see the officers were going over everything and knew he wouldn’t be welcomed to poke around.  

“Joe! Head on in!”  

“I’m going,” Joe said.  

* * * * *  

A short while later, Joe exited the locker room and headed for the parking lot. He saw the lot was emptier than before and people were still leaving. He made his way to the van and saw the girl was still sitting with his brother.  

“Are you ready to get out of here?” Joe asked when he reached them.  

“Absolutely,” Frank said. He nodded toward the field. “Are there any clues as to what happened?”  

“Nothing yet,” Joe said. “But it’s probably just a matter of time before we do know.”  

“You’re probably right.” Frank looked at Joe, and then the girl. “Joe, I’m sorry about not introducing you. This is Caren Anderson. She’s in my English literature class. Caren, this is my brother, Joe.”  

“It’s nice to meet you,” Caren said.  

“Nice to meet you, too,” Joe said.  

“I really meant to introduce you a while ago,” Frank said. “But with all that happened, it kind of slipped my mind.”  

“It’s all right,” Joe said.  

“Yeah,” Caren said. “You couldn’t have expected the bleachers to collapse.”  

“True,” Frank said. “So, let’s get out of here.”  

“All right,” Joe said. “I’m ready to get out of here and get something to eat. This game was a tough one.”  

“It looked like it was,” Frank admitted. “It didn’t look like you all were playing on the same team.”  

“That’s exactly how it felt out there,” Joe said. “Come on. Let’s get you in the can so we can head on out of here.”  

“All right.”  

Joe and Caren watched as Frank slid himself into the van and then maneuvered to the drivers seat. Frank turned back to them and asked, “Caren, you are coming over, right?”  

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”  

“I’m sure,” Frank insisted.  

“Join us,” Joe said. “You’re probably hungry too and that we, we all can eat.”  

“All right,” Caren said. “Let me get my car and I’ll follow you.”  

As Caren headed to her car, Joe looked at Frank and grinned. “I like her and I’ve only just met her.”  

“Should I tell Vanessa she has some competition?” Frank teased.  

“No one can compete with Vanessa,” Joe said with a grin. “No one.”  

“That’s good to hear.” Frank glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Caren was approaching them with her car. “Close the door and I’ll meet you at home.”  

“See you there,” Joe said and did as his brother said.  

* * * * *  

Hours later, Frank, Joe and Caren were sitting in the living room of the Hardy home, talking about school and their classes. As they talked, Frank was very aware of how well Joe and Caren were getting along. They were already teasing each other as if they’d know each other forever.  

He had that same feeling himself. Caren seemed like someone he had known all his life. They had really talked while they watched the game and found they had a lot of interests in common.  

Caren loved the outdoors and tried to camp as often as she could. She loved playing sports and had been a member of her high school volleyball and softball teams. While in high school. She had also been a member of the school newspaper, which helped her decide what kind of career she wanted. She wanted to be a journalist.  

“So, Caren,” Joe said, getting Frank’s attention. “I noticed you have an accent, but I can’t seem to place it. It seems as of it’s a southern accent, but I’m not certain.”  

“It is a southern accent, but it’s a mix of a lot of different areas,” Caren explained. “You see, growing up, we moved around a lot because of my father’s job and in each place we were at, I picked up the accent really quickly.” She grinned at them. “Give me some time, and I’ll have the New York accident down pat.”  

“I like your accent,” Frank admitted and Caren smiled.  

“So, Caren,” Joe began again, seeing the color rise in her cheeks. “What made you decide to come to Bayport University?”  

“Well, the journalism-communications program they have here is one of the best,” she said. “I also wanted to venture out on my own a little bit. I had never been up north this way and thought it would be a different experience, especially since you get snow in the winter.”  

“Ah, yes, snow,” Joe said. “Just wait until you get snowed in for several days. It will definitely be a different experience.”  

“You talk like you’ve had a lot of experience,” Caren said.  

“We can’t even count how many times we’ve been stuck in a snowstorm,” Frank said.  

“Or buried in an avalanche,” Joe added.  

“Maybe I should have chosen another school,” Caren said slowly.  

“Don’t worry,” Frank said. “Most of what we said happened usually took place when we were out of town.”  

“It’s rare that Bayport gets buried in a lot of snow,” Joe said. “But there is enough for skiing, ice skating, hockey and even sledding.”  

“That sounds like so much fun,” Caren said.  

“Well, by the time the snow flies, I should be out of this cast,” Frank said. “I’ll teach you if you want.”  

Caren smiled. “I’d like that.” Caren looked at her watch. “I really enjoyed tonight, but I need to get going.”  

“We were glad you came,” Frank said.  

“It was nice meeting you,” Joe said.  

“It was nice meeting you as well.” Caren got to her feet.  

Frank stood up with the aide of the crutches Joe had gotten out of the basement, and walked Caren to the door. He headed outside with her to her car.
Caren turned to look at him when they reached the car. She said with a smile, “It was nice meeting your brother.”  

“I’m glad you got to meet him, but I think the introduction could have been done with a little less excitement.”  

“I kind of liked it,” Caren said.  

Frank smiled. “So, I guess I’ll see you Monday in class.”  

“Definitely.” Caren leaned toward Frank and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “See you Monday.”  

“Bye.”  

Caren got in her car with a wave and drove away. When she was out of sight, Frank made his way back inside.  

Closing the door behind him, Frank headed for the living room. He saw Joe was sitting on the couch, watching the news. It was coverage of the bleacher collapse. He remained silent as he listened to the news anchor.”  

“The football game between the Bayport High School Warriors and the Timeville Vikings ended with less than a minute to play when the bleachers collapsed, sending hundreds of fans, tumbling to the ground.” The camera swung to police investigators picking their way through the rubble. “Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the collapse. They are not speculating as to the cause, but we will keep you posted as soon as any information becomes available.”  

As the news anchor switched to another story, Frank said, “I wonder if the investigators do know something.”  

“It’s possible,” Joe said. “They probably don’t want to say anything to the media in case it’s connected to another investigation.”  

“What else could they be investigating?” Frank asked. “Have their been any peculiar incidents that you’ve heard of?”  

Joe looked at Frank. “I haven’t heard a thing. But I don’t hear everything that goes on.”  

“Well, we just might want to keep our eyes open. Somehow, I don’t think this was an isolated incident.”  

“You’re probably right,” Joe said.  

Frank looked at the glasses on the table and moved toward them. He reached down and picked two of them up with his fingers. He looked at Joe. “You’ll take yours to the kitchen later, right?”  

“You could probably take it with yours now,” Joe suggested.  

“You are extremely difficult at times, do you know that?”  

“Aww, you love me and you know it,” Joe said. He got to his feet and took the glasses from Frank’s hand. “And I was kidding. I’ll take them into the kitchen.”  

“I appreciate it,” Frank said.

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.