The rest of the night passed by uneventfully. After calling the police, the girls had went to sleep. They had told the police all that they knew, which wasn’t much. If anything else was to happen, they were to report it.

The next morning, the two girls woke up at regular time, giving themselves plenty of time to get ready for school. Regardless of the four hours of sleep they had gotten, they were ready in record time. The excitement of the previous night was enough to keep them awake in the morning. Nonetheless, they weren’t looking forward to school, especially when they had no idea who the man could be.

Vicki drove them to school in her red convertible, the rushing wind helping to clear her thoughts. If anything got her mind off her troubles, it was driving around town in her car. C. J. was unusually silent on the drive up, probably thinking about the situation they were currently in. Vicki parked as close to the high school as she could.

They climbed out of the car and headed towards the familiar brown brick buildings of their high school campus. As usual, several people were walking around and talking with their friends. Vicki and C. J. stopped as a familiar figure rushed up to greet them.

“It’s been forever since I’ve seen you,” Stephanie Blake told them, “What’s going on? Anything new?” Stephanie, also called Steph for short, was tall at an even six feet. She had reddish-blonde hair and blue eyes. She was in their senior class.

“You could say that Steph,” Vicki said, “We have another case already.” Stephanie looked startled by the news.

“Already,” she asked, “What is it this time?” Stephanie didn’t get involved in many cases, so she was always interested whenever a new one turned up. Vicki quickly told her the details.

“He could be anyone,” C. J. said after Vicki finished, “We need to keep an eye out for whoever he could be…anyone suspicious.”

“I’ll keep a lookout,” Stephanie promised, “but I don’t know what kind of help I’d be. I only see you guys during lunch.”

“Someone might approach you, asking about me,” Vicki told her, “If anyone does, just take note of their name.”

“I will,” Stephanie said, “I just wish this didn’t have to happen the week of Prom. Aren’t you going too?” Vicki nodded, “Well, I hope you find him before then. I better go. I have to turn a project in. Bye.” The two girls waved as their friend headed off in another direction.

The bell ringing minutes later set the time for the two friends to separate. Vicki continued on to her first period class, looking around quickly. Before she knew it, she had run straight into someone. The impact sent her stumbling back, but a hand steadied her.

“Thanks,” she said, “Sorry about that.” Vicki looked up to see a guy about her age standing there. He had short black hair and dark brown eyes that were staring directly at her. He stood around her height.

“It’s okay,” he said after a moment, “I wasn’t watching where I was going either. I’m Chris Gate.”

“Vicki Silver,” she introduced herself without question, “Are you new here?”

“Yeah,” Chris replied, “I moved here with my older brother a few days ago.” Vicki immediately wondered why he moved with only his brother, but didn’t ask.

“What do you have first period,” she asked him.

“Photography,” he replied.

“Me too,” Vicki told him. She had taken up the class after figuring that the skill could help her on some cases. After checking that they had the same teacher, Vicki led him to the photography room, “So, why did you move here?”

“My brother got a job here,” Chris answered, “He’s the only family I have left. He’s determined that I graduate from at least high school.” Vicki didn’t bother to ask what had happened to his parents, knowing that it could be a touchy subject. Instead, she pointed him off to where the teacher was seated at her desk. He went up and introduced himself, explaining that he was new and then returned to find a seat. Vicki had saved one for him since seating wasn’t assigned.

The biggest announcement made during class was the new project that they were given. Chris seemed to immediately hit it off with some of the teenagers at their table, getting them laughing in seconds. Once class ended however, Chris and Vicki went their separate ways.

 

By the time lunch finally came, nothing new had been discovered. Most people seemed to act perfectly normal around the two girls. Stephanie joined them for lunch as she always did, joined soon by Catlin and Sarah Art. Sarah was five foot six with dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was sixteen like Catlin. Once again, they explained the situation.

“Who’s that,” Catlin asked, pointed off to a guy standing in the middle of the cafeteria, looking lost, “He’s cute!”

Vicki rolled her eyes, “That’s Chris. Hey Chris! You can sit over here!” She turned back to her friends, “He’s in my photography class.” He immediately headed over when he heard her voice.

“I’m glad that you’re here,” he told Vicki, “I was afraid that I’d have to eat alone.” Vicki moved over to make room for another chair. Chris didn’t seem to mind that he was at a table full of girls. Catlin was on his other side. She didn’t seem to mind that he was there either. Vicki quickly introduced him to her friends.

“So, are you a senior,” Catlin asked immediately. He nodded in reply, “Does that mean you’re going to Prom?”

“I don’t know yet,” he answered, “Isn’t it a little late to get tickets?”
“They’ll usually give them to new students as long as you pay,” C. J. said, “No senior should have to miss his Prom.”

“Are you girls going to be there too,” he asked.

“Yeah,” Vicki answered, “I’m going with my boyfriend. C. J’s going with her boyfriend too. Stephanie managed to get a date…how I don’t know.” In response to this, Stephanie threw a roll at her friend, “The only ones not going are Sarah and Catlin. Thanks Steph.” Vicki picked up the roll and took a bite, ignoring Stephanie’s glare.

“Hey, I wanted to eat that,” Stephanie complained.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have thrown it,” Vicki shot back.

“Here, you can have mine,” C. J. said, passing Stephanie her roll in an attempt to end the argument, even if it wasn’t serious.

“It’s only because they’re seniors and we’re juniors,” Catlin said, bringing the conversation back, “And that I’m currently single.”

“Me too,” Sarah commented, annoyed with how quickly Catlin could forget about her when a guy was around. Besides, the flirting was so obvious that it was almost too painful to watch.

“Chris, there you are,” a new guy approached their table, “I forgot to give you money for a Prom ticket.” The guy looked like an older version of Chris, except for his spiky hair and the fact that he was a good three inches taller.

“Thanks,” Chris said slowly, “Oh, girls, this is my older brother, Dan.” Chris took the money handed out to him and placed it into his pocket.

“Nice to meet you,” Dan said, “Listen, I better get going. I only have twenty minutes left of lunch break.”

“All right, see you later,” Chris called as his brother left the building. The group returned to their conversations, so they didn’t notice the figure pause by the front door before continuing on their way.

 

 

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency 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.