HDA - December Magic by RM Chapter 1

Frank knew he should be focusing on his final college exams, but there were several other things weighing heavily on his mind. First of all was what he was going to do after graduation. The plan had been to open up a detective agency with his father and brother, but that wouldn’t be for another year. He knew they could start laying the groundwork for the agency, but that would be done around Joe’s course schedule. He also knew he could start investigating cases, but the thought of that just didn’t seem right. Joe was his partner and he preferred to work with him. The bottom line was that he needed to figure something out.

The other item taking a lot of his attention was Caren. Caren Anderson had been his girlfriend since they started college having met in an English literature class. In about four weeks they would graduate. And Frank had no idea what was going to happen to their relationship. He knew he loved her, but they had not talked about what would happen after graduation. He didn’t want to think about it, but he couldn’t stop. He knew it was possible Caren would head south again and that thought really bothered him. He wasn’t sure they could make the relationship work. They both knew Frank’s plans were to have the agency with his brother and father, but he had no clue as to what Caren was planning. The situation was beginning to frustrate him.

“You look deep in thought,” a voice said.

Frank looked up from his open textbook and gazed at the person he had been thinking about. Caren.

Frank smiled. “I thought I’d get a jump start on preparing for my finals.”

Caren moved over to the tree and settled on the ground beside him. “I should be doing that as well, but with this gorgeous weather, I just haven’t been able to concentrate.”

“Believe me, I know.” Frank glanced down at his open criminal justice textbook. “I think I’ve read the same sentence about eight times.” He closed the book before looking at Caren. “I think it’s a lost cause today.”

“Well, since studying seems to be out of the question right now, why don’t we get out of here?”

“What do you have in mind?” Frank asked slowly.

“Well, on my way across campus, I saw a bunch of students had converged on the ice cream stand across the street.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Frank said. “Let’s go.”

Frank stood up, tossed his book into his backpack and then helped Caren to her feet. They made they way across the campus to the stand. Once there, they each ordered a cone. Frank got vanilla while Caren ordered a twist. They moved away from the stand and settled at one of the picnic tables.

“So,” Caren began, “what do you have planned for the rest of the day?”

“I have class as one and then two-thirty. Then I’m going to head over to the baseball game.”

“Joe’s playing today?” Caren asked.

“Yeah. There are two more games after this. If the team continues playing as well as they have, they could make it to the division championships.”

“That would be great and the school could use the prestige.”

“Absolutely.” Frank looked at Caren. “So, what’s on your docket for today?”

“Well, I have classes at one and two-thirty as well. And then I agreed to meet up with a couple people from my communication law class to review for our final. We’ve been told it will be very challenging.”

“How long will you be reviewing?” Frank asked.

“Several hours. We planned to work until eight. Why?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go do something afterwards. Maybe go out to a movie?”

“That sounds great.”

“I’ll pick you up at your dorm about nine then.”

Caren smiled. “That would be great.”

“Then it’s a date.”

* * * * *

Later that afternoon, Frank made his way to the baseball diamond. He had promised Joe he would be there to support the team. All the players had been working hard to make it to the championships and were only a few days away from attaining that goal. He headed for the bleachers but stopped when his name was called out. Turning around, Frank saw Joe making his way toward him in his uniform.

“Are you ready to play?” Frank asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Joe said. Together they started moving toward the team bench. Joe dropped his glove on the bench. “I just hope everyone else is. We have a tough game on our hands.”

“You guys will do fine,” Frank said. “Just focus on completing the plays as you’ve done in practice and everything will turn out all right.”

Joe smiled at his brother. “Thanks. I need to hear that.”

“No problem. Now, go join your team before the coach decides to bench you.”

“Like he would want to do that to his best first baseman.”

“Anything’s possible,” Frank said and made his way to the bleachers.

He climbed the bleachers and settled in a seat where he had a perfect view of the entire diamond. After the opening ceremonies, the Bayport team headed out on the field. He watched Joe take his position at first base and begin tossing the baseball around to his teammates.

Within minutes, the first batter was at the plate and the game was underway. The first two and a half innings went by quickly as each batter struck out.

Frank watched as Joe stepped up to the plate and took a couple practice swings. He firmly planted his feet in the dirt and waited for the pitch. As the ball flew across the plate, Joe swung the bat. As the ball and bat connected, they heard a loud crack and saw the ball sailing straight at the pitcher’s head.

Instead of reaching up to grab the ball, the pitcher hit the mound sending dirt flying in every direction. Frank watched Joe run to first base and start toward second, only stopping when he saw the second baseman had the ball.

The crowd cheered and a smile could be seen on Joe’s face.

The next two Bayport players also got his. And Joe ended up on third base. As the next batter stepped up the plate, Frank watched his brother and saw he was getting a decent lead off the bag. The crack of the bat forced Frank to look to see where the ball was going. He saw the ball had gone past the second baseman. Frank caught sight of Joe making his way home. As he touched home plate, the crowd cheered again.

The next two batters struck out and the team returned to the field. The lack of runs continued into the top of the ninth inning with Bayport back in the field.

Frank had noticed that the opposing team was getting angry at how poorly they were playing. Many of the players were throwing the bats as well as their helmets and gloves. He had a terrible feeling trouble was brewing.

As the first two batters struck out, Frank could easily see Bayport taking home the win.

The ball was thrown and the batter swung, missing the ball by mere inches. It was returned to the pitcher who waited for the pitch signal. The pitcher nodded his head and got into his stance. He wound up and threw the ball. Instinctively, the batter fell to the ground as the ball came over his head.

Jumping back to his feet, the batter strode toward the pitcher’s mound with the bat still in his hand. The looked on the batter’s face was not a happy one.

Silence descended on the crowd in the bleachers as they waited to see what would happen. The batter showed the pitcher angrily and started poking him in the chest. The pitcher pushed the batter back.

Suddenly, the visiting team bolted off the bench and charged the field. The Bayport team followed suit. All the players began swinging at one another.

Frank watched as the umpires tried to pull the players off one another, but they were having little success. He noticed the batter who had approached the pitcher had been pushed out of the crowd. The batter hefted the bat over his head and swung it at the melee. Many of the players scattered from the batter. The umpires were now able to stop the fighting. One by one the players were dragged off the pile and sent to their respective benches.

As the crowd thinned, Frank was noticing that one player was still sprawled on the ground. From the number on the back of the shirt, he realized it was Joe.

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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 original characters without express permission of the authors.