THE PARTY

by

AUTHOR E

Chapter 1

The Chapters

INTRO

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

“Frank! Joe! You won’t believe it,” a voice said.

Frank and Joe Hardy stopped on the walkway up to the school to see their friend Tony Prito hurrying in their direction.

“What’s going on?” Joe asked as Tony came to a halt beside them on the warm fall morning.

“How would you two like to attend a Halloween party?” Tony asked, a smile filling his face.

“A party?” Eleven-year-old Frank asked.

“Uh-huh,” Tony said as he nodded his head. “I asked my dad if I could have a party and he was fine with it. He said I could have it at Mr. Pizza on Halloween since it’s a Friday night. He also said he would take everyone trick-or-treating during the party.”

“Really?” Joe asked, his eyes wide in surprise.

“Really,” Tony said. “So, are you going to come?”

“We’ll have to check with our parents,” Frank said before Joe his ten-year-old brother could speak.

“Not a problem,” Tony said. “I’ll have all the details later.” He yelled. “Chet!” He looked at Frank and Joe. “I’ve got to tell the others. I’ll see you later.” Tony ran off.

Joe turned to Frank. “A Halloween party at Mr. Pizza sounds great.”

“It sure does,” Frank said. “But we really need to check with Mom and Dad. They may have something else for us to do.”

“I hope not,” Joe said as they headed inside. “This sounds like it will be a great party.”

“It sure does,” Frank said. “I’ll see you after school.”

“Bye,” Joe said and headed off down the hall.

Frank went to his locker and quickly left his backpack and jacket inside. As he slipped into his classroom, he wondered what activities there would be at the party. He was excited and just hoped he and Joe would be able to attend.

* * * * *

That afternoon when Frank and Joe got home, they quickly got to work on their assignments after having a snack with their Aunt Gertrude. They had been told their mother was working later than usual, but would be home for dinner.

Their father and mother arrived home at the same time and with all hands on deck, the table was set and the food placed on it as well.

As the family ate together, Laura and Fenton Hardy questioned their sons about their lessons and the homework they had for the evening.

When they had started on dessert, Joe brought up the party and related all the details they knew.

“Can we go?” Joe asked when he had finished.

“May we?” Laura corrected.

“May we go?” Joe asked, his _expression hopeful.

“I don’t know,” Laura said. “There’s a lot of trouble that occurs on Halloween and I’m not sure I want you two out there unsupervised.”

“But we won’t be unsupervised,” Frank protested. “Tony’s dad is going to take us trick-or-treating as part of the party at Mr. Pizza.”

“I understand,” Laura said. “But I’m concerned that there will be too many of you for him to keep track of when you’re out.”

Frank and Joe both felt that they were going to miss out on the party of the year.

“I know you two want to have fun with your friends, but I have to think about your safety,” Laura said.

“So the answer is no?” Joe asked quietly, staring down at his half-eaten piece of chocolate cake.

“I haven’t said that,” Laura said and Joe’s eyes went wide as saucers as he looked up with a smile on his face. “But I haven’t agreed to it either. This is something your father and I will need to discuss.”

“We understand,” Frank said. “May I be excused? I have some homework I need to finish.”

“Of course,” Fenton said.

Frank carried his dishes to the sink and then hurried up to his room. He was disappointed his parents couldn’t give them a definite answer and had a feeling that when they got it, they weren’t going to like it.

He decided to push it out of his mid and focus on the math problems he needed to finish for class the next day.

A short while later there was a knock on the door. Frank said, “Come in.”

The door creaked open and Joe came in. He closed the door and then settled on Frank’s bed.

“We are going to miss the party of the year,” Joe said.

“We don’t know that,” Frank said, turning away from his desk. “Mom and Dad said they were going to discuss this. They haven’t made a decision yet.”

“But you heard Mom,” Joe said. “She said she was worried about our safety and there not being enough supervision.”

“Joe, she’s our Mom. She is going to worry because she cares. And this isn’t the first time they’ve had to discuss something before giving us an answer.”

“The party is supposed to be the best. I don’t want to miss it.”

“And if they do say we can’t go to the party, then we’ll go trick-or-treating with Mom and Dad and hang out with our friends on Saturday.”

“You sound like you don’t want to go to the party,” Joe observed.

“I think the party sounds fun, but if they say we can’t go, there’s nothing we can do. we have to live with it.”

“I wonder if there is something we could do to make sure we can go,” Joe said.

“Don’t even try it, Joe,” Frank warned. “Just give it time and things will work out.”

“I guess,” Joe sighed.

“So, do you have any homework or is it all done?” Frank asked.

“It’s done,” Joe said. “I didn’t have much.” He motioned toward the open book on Frank’s desk. “Do you have a lot left?”

“Just some history to read,” Frank admitted. “It shouldn’t take me much longer.”

“Well, I’ll let you get it done,” Joe said, getting to his feet. “Night, Frank.”

“Night, Joe.”

His ten-year-old brother left the room, closing the door behind them.

As Frank turned back to his history book, he hoped they would be able to go to the party.

* * * * *

Frank and Joe were quiet as they walked into school the following morning. Both of them had been hoping their parents would give them an answer at breakfast, but their father had left before sun-up and their mother didn’t touch the subject.

“What did you parents say?” Ton asked as he hurried up to them, forgoing any greeting.

“We…didn’t have a chance to ask them,” Joe lied. “They both ended up working late yesterday.”

“Make sure you ask them today,” Tony said. “I wouldn’t want you two to miss out on the fun. This party is going to be the best.”

“We will,” Joe said and Tony hurried down the hall.

“Joe,” Frank said eyeing his brother carefully.

Joe looked at his older brother. “What? Did you really want me to tell him that they are thinking that there won’t be enough supervision and that there will be trouble on Halloween?”

Frank was quiet for a moment. “I guess you’re right. But you didn’t need to lie about it.”

“I didn’t lie,” Joe said. “Not completely.”

Frank looked at him skeptically.

“Mom and Dad did work late yesterday and we didn’t have a chance to ask them this morning. So it really wasn’t a lie.”

“I guess,” Frank said. “Hopefully they will have an answer for us tonight.”

“So do I. I don’t want to miss this party.”

“Me either.”

The warning bell rang and the brothers parted ways, hoping they got some good news when they got home.

* * * * *

The house was quiet when the boys returned home. They entered the kitchen and saw their Aunt Gertrude was preparing dinner.

“Your mother had to work late again, boys,” she said as she handed them each a couple of cookies and a glass of milk. “But she said she would be home for dinner.”

“Thank you,” Frank said, and moved over to the table.

“Thanks,” Joe said and settled across from Frank.

“She also asked if you two would rake the leaves in the backyard,” Gertrude said. “There’s supposed to be rain this weekend and figured it would be best to get it done beforehand.”

“We’ll take care of it as soon as we change our clothes,” Frank said quickly before Joe could complain.

“Thank you,” Gertrude said and resumed her work on dinner.

After Frank and Joe placed their empty glasses in the sink, they went to their rooms and got changed. They quickly got to work on the yard, marking a large pile of red, yellow, orange and green leaves.

“I can’t believe you agreed to this,” Joe complained as he leaned on the rake and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Mom wanted us to rake the yard,” Frank said. “And I’m not going to do anything that my make her angry and not let us go to the party.”

“But she hasn’t said we could go yet,” Joe countered.

“She hasn’t said we couldn’t either,” Frank pointed out as he looked at his little brother. “And besides, it’s not like we have anything else to do.”

“True,” Joe sighed.

“Now, come one. Let’s get this done. I won’t want to be out here all night.”

“All right,” Joe said and they resumed working.

They were putting the rakes away when a voice said, “This yard looks great.”

Frank and Joe turned around to see Laura standing on the back porch.

“Great job, guys. I think you got every single leaf.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Frank said.

“Why don’t you two come inside and get ready for dinner,” Laura said. “You’re probably hungry after all this hard work.”

“It seems like forever since we had our snack,” Joe admitted, rubbing his stomach as they moved toward their mother.

“Your aunt has made a lot of food figuring you’d both be hungry.”

 

“I am,” Joe said.

“Me too.”

“Then get a move on so we can eat,” Laura said.

Just as they were sitting down at the table, they heard the front door close and then footsteps heading toward the dining room. The four of them turned to see Fenton coming into the room.

“Hello all.”

“How was your day?” Laura asked as Fenton settled at the table.

“Fine,” Fenton said. “How were things here?”

“Just fine,” Laura said. “And you should see the backyard. The boys spent the after clearing all the leaves out.”

“Thanks, boys,” Fenton said. “I was going to work on that tonight.”

“We were glad to help,” Joe said.

“So, how was school?” Fenton asked. “Did you get a lot of homework?”

“School was fine,” Frank answered. “I have to write an essay for Monday and read a chapter of history.”

“What about you, Joe?” Laura asked.

“I have some math to do and to finish a book for Monday,” Joe replied. “Miss Hart decided we were going to have a quiz when we get in on Monday.”

“On Monday?” Laura asked.

“Yeah,” Joe said. “Our entire weekend is ruined because of the quiz.”

“It’s possible there’s something that could turn the weekend around,” Fenton said.

“And what’s that?” Joe asked.

“Well, we’ve been talking and have come to a decision about the Halloween party,” Laura said.

Frank and Joe looked at their parents expectantly, a tiny glimmer of hope reflected in their eyes.

“We still have some concerns that there will not be enough adult supervision when you go out trick-or-treating on Halloween with Mr. Prito,” Fenton said. “And that weighed heavily on our decision since your safety is a major concern for us.”

“But we also know that you really want to go to the party and have fun with your friends,” Laura continued.

Frank and Joe shifted their gazes between their parents wishing they would give them an answer instead of putting them through the agony of waiting.

“We know Halloween is supposed to be fun and that they party of Mr. Pizza will be the highlight of the year, but it’s not something we think you should be at,” Fenton said.

“I knew it,” Joe grumbled so only Frank could hear.

“And after we expressed our concerns to Tony’s father, we came to the decision,” Laura said.

“We understand,” Frank said quietly. “We can just do our normal routine for Halloween.”

“May we be excused?” Joe asked, his disappointed gaze never leaving his plate.

“Please?” Frank asked.

“Sure,” Laura said slowly.

Frank and Joe took their plates to the kitchen before heading upstairs. They went into Frank’s room and closed the door.

“I knew they would say no,” Joe said, plopping down on the floor in front of Frank’s dresser.

Frank sat down on his bed with a sigh. “I had hoped their answer was good news.”

“You know what’s going to happen,” Joe said. “Everyone is going to be gloating on Monday about how much fun the party was and making fun of us because Mom and Dad wouldn’t let us go.”

“Our friends won’t do that,” Frank reasoned. “They’ll understand.”

“Yeah, right,” Joe said sarcastically.

A disappointed silence fell on the room as they both thought about all they were going to miss.

Knock, knock.

“Come in,” Frank said.

The door opened letting Fenton and Laura into the room, concern lining both their faces.

“Can we talk to you both?” Laura asked.

“Sure,” Frank said.

“About what?” Joe asked.

“We’re not sure we are all on the same page regarding the party,” Laura answered.

“We are,” Joe said. “And we understand your reasons.”

“We really do,” Frank said quietly. “You’re concerned about the lack of supervision and that there could be trouble on Halloween which you don’t want us to be a part of.”

“Those are our concerns,” Laura said, moving over to the bed and sitting down beside Frank. She placed a hand on his shoulder. “And those concerns weighed heavily on our decision. But you never gave us a chance to give you our decision.”

“We already know the answer, so we don’t have to keep talking about it,” Joe said, keeping his eyes on the floor as he fiddled with the soft, blue carpet.

“Then why are you so down?” Fenton asked, moving to the desk chair and turning it to face the others. “I figured you two would be bouncing off the walls in excitement about going to the party.”

Frank and Joe slowly focused on their parents, unsure if they had heard them correctly.

“We can go to the party?” Joe asked, wanting to be certain of their answer.

Fenton and Laura nodded their heads as Fenton continued, “But there are a few rules you’ll both need to obey.”

“What do we need to do?” Frank asked.

“When you are at the party, you need to be on your best behavior,” Laura said.

“We will,” Joe said, jumping to his knees, looking at his parents intently.

“You also need to stay with Mr. Prito when you are out trick-or-treating,” Fenton added. “You need to stay in his sight at all times, and if you don’t, you’ll be grounded.”

“We understand,” Frank said.

“And if there is any trouble, whatsoever, you will let Mr. Prito know immediately,” Laura said.

“We will,” Joe said.

“All right,” Laura said. “So, all that needs to be done now is for you two to decide on what you want your costumes to be. If you want, we can go looking for costumes tomorrow.”

“That would be great, Mom,” Frank said. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

* * * * *

Frank stood in front of the mirror and lifted his hair straight up into the air. He smoothed out his white lab coat and adjusted the small square framed glasses he wore on his nose.

“Are you ready?”

Frank turned to see a ninja, with bright blue eyes and a lock of blond hair sticking out from the hood he wore, staring back at him.

“I’m ready,” Frank answered.

“Good,” Joe said. “Mom said she would take us to Mr. Pizza for the party when you’re ready.”

“Let’s go,” Frank said and followed Joe downstairs.

“You two look great,” Laura said as they stepped into the living room.

“Thanks, Mom,” Frank said.

“If you two are ready, we should get a move on so you don’t miss the party.”

“Let’s go,” Joe said. “The fun is waiting.”

A short while later, they entered Mr. Pizza. The restaurant was decked out with spider webs having from every nook and cranny. Along the counter there were several pumpkins that have been carved out with various faces from grinning big eyes to scowling monsters. Red light bulbs had replaced several of the white lights casting and eerie glow on the seating area.

“Laura! It’s good to see you,” Anthony Prito said coming around the corner toward them.

“It’s good to see you as well,” Laura said, glancing around the restaurant. “This place looks amazing.”

“Thank you,” Anthony said. “Tony decided on all these decorations and I think it looks really spooky.”

“It looks perfect.”

Anthony looked at the two boys. “Are you two ready to start collecting all those treats?”

“Absolutely,” Joe said.

“We sure are,” Frank said simultaneously.

“Good,” Anthony said. “Why don’t you go help Tony? He’s in the storeroom finishing up a few decorations.”

“Okay,” Joe said.

“Make sure you both behave,” Laura said.

“We will,” Frank said as they made their way toward the storeroom.

“Have fun!” Laura called out and the boys disappeared in to the back.

* * * * *

Once all the partiers had arrived, Anthony Prito, his wife Maria and two of his siblings took all the youth out trick-or-treating. They went into the neighborhood that was located behind Mr. Pizza and quickly began ringing doorbells to collect their treats.

The excitement could be felt radiating from everyone as they crunched their way through the fallen leaves. There was constant conversation that ranged from guesstimates of how much candy they were going to collect to the homework the teachers had given them for the weekend.

They wound their way up and down the streets, laughing and having fun. They gathered a lot of candy and were anxious to get back to the restaurant to see all they had acquired.

The trick-or-treaters made their way along the street that would lead them back to Mr. Pizza and the refreshments and games that were waiting.

Frank’s candy bag slipped out of his hand and fell to the sidewalk, candy spilling in every direction. Frank crouched down and quickly shoved it back inside.

As he stood up, he noticed the group was no longer in sight and he felt uneasy. He quickly hurried down the sidewalk hoping to catch up to them. But before he could turn the corner, he was grabbed from behind with a hand covering his mouth.

“If you scream, I will slit your throat,” a deep male voice whispered in his ear.

Frank remained frozen as he was dragged behind some tall bushes that lined a front yard. The house was dark and Frank feared no one was home. He was pulled away from the sidewalk toward the house and forced inside.

The door was shut behind him. He tried to make out where he was in the darkness, but the room looked empty.

Frank saw some light moving toward them and a moment later, the beam was flashed right in his eyes.

“I see there weren’t any problems,” a new male voice said.

“Piece of cake,” the deep voice said. “But we need something to keep him quiet. He seems like a screamer.”

The light was lowered and Frank blinked rapidly to bring everything into focus as the second voice said, “Use this.”

Frank saw the second person was wearing a gorilla mask, but had vibrant blue eyes. He caught a glimpse of a bandana and a moment later it was shoved in his mouth.

The two individuals pushed him to the floor, securing his arms behind his back with tape. His ankles were immobilized as well. They picked him up and carried him up some stairs past a room that had several candles lining the floor. They went down a hallway and he was then dropped on the floor.

The door was closed and Frank was left in darkness.

Frank felt his body begin to tremble, unsure of what was going to happen next.

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