168Hi everyone bet you didn't think you'd hear from me this soon. I want to thank everyone for reading, reviewing or following my last story Iola's Treasure you are all wonderful.
I've been thinking about doing a sequel to my first story Pressure. But before I do that I want to go back edit and fix my mistakes on the first story with the help of my beta reader elven buddy who is doing a wonderful job. She helped me with my last story.
So what do you think? Would you like a squeal to Pressure?
The Hardy Boys story
Here is Pressure (rewritten) I only have 2 chapters so far
Abuse is mention in this story.
Chapter 1
"Stupid!"
"Good for nothing!"
"What's wrong with me?"
"I'm a good person!"
"I make good grades!"
"Why do my parents want me to be more like him?"
"He's so perfect! He has no weaknesses! He's the angel of the family!"
"Why can't I just be me?"
"I wish the pain would stop."
"Tomorrow's Monday...that means He will be there".
"God… I feel sick again."
"Maybe Mom will let me stay home?"
"Right, like that'll happen."
"Why am I so afraid?"
"I fight bad guys all the time."
"I know I need to tell someone."
"Who… who could I tell?"
"I can't tell Dad."
"He'll just think I'm weak. Perhaps I am."
"Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow things will be different."
"Tomorrow I will not let him win."
"Tomorrow… the pain will stop."
With that, the blond boy splashed cold water onto his face to wash the tears away. He grabbed a towel off the rack and dried his face with it before stepping away from the bathroom mirror.
He unlocked the door that connected the bathroom to his brother's room. "Tomorrow, the pain will stop." He vowed and then turned off the light before going to bed.
8 o'clock the next morning found seventeen year old Joe Hardy walking anxiously through the halls of Bayport High School. The bell began to ring for the morning classes.
"What made me think I could handle this?" He grumbled, stomach in knots. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans. "I have to tell someone. It's the right thing to do."
"I'll tell Frank." He concluded after letting out a deep sigh as he reached his locker. He took out his History book along with a notebook for the class.
"Yes, that's what I'll do. Tell Frank."
"Tell me what?"
Joe spun around to find his year older brother standing right behind him. Suddenly his mind went blank.
"Joe, are you alright?" Frank asked, concerned for his brother.
He could see the nervousness in his little brother's blue eyes. He'd known that something was wrong; Joe hadn't been acting like himself all weekend. Frank had heard him pacing in his room at six o'clock this morning. Normally Frank had to pry him out of bed which made them 15 minutes late for school on a regular basis.
Frank had tried to get his brother to talk to him but all Joe would say was that he was just nervous about an oral presentation he had to give in front of the class this morning.
He knew that was a lie.
Joe always had to be the center of attention. He was always the one cracking jokes and making everyone laugh. The kid couldn't sit still for a long period of time; even in his sleep he had to keep moving.
"Frank, for the last time, I'm fine!" Joe snapped. "I told you, I'm just nervous about my report." He slammed his locker door making everyone around them jump. Then he stormed off, not giving Frank a chance to say anything.
Frank let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his dark hair. He vowed to find out what was going on with his little brother.
As he headed to his class he started thinking. What if someone was messing with him? He knew Joe was perfectly capable of defending himself; however that didn't stop Frank's big brother instincts from kicking in. If someone was messing with his little brother, they'd soon find out they were messing with the wrong person.
"I hate going off on Frank like that." Joe said after taking a breath to calm down. He then began to slow down his pace while clutching his books in his hands.
"Frank won't stop until he finds out the truth. But, I have to figure out how to take care of this problem on my own."
"What kind of detective would I be if I didn't? I'm the son of the famous Fenton Hardy for crying out loud!" In Joe's opinion, his father was the best detective around.
Then there was Frank, who took after their father in looks, height and everything else. Frank excelled at everything he did; school was only one example of that. Frank had brought home straight A's ever since the first grade.
"I bring home A's sometimes. I do like school, sometimes. I just get so bored, having to sit and learn things in a classroom all day. I rather learn things by doing them". That was one of the many things he loved about being a detective; getting to travel the world. It was fun learning about different cultures and meeting new people.
Joe was better at sports like football and baseball, basically anything that had to do with being outdoors. Frank however, was better at the academic stuff like debate, computers and chess.
The older Hardy boy was also the better detective in Joe's opinion. Frank was always coming to Joe's rescue. Joe sometimes felt like he was holding his brother back.
Frank could solve cases all on his own, only he'd never admit it. It was hard to live up to the two greatest men in Joe's life. He loved both his father and brother.
"I have to prove I can solve this problem all on my own…" Suddenly a tap on his shoulder startled Joe out of his thoughts. He turned around to find that it was his friend Henry Jacobs, a redheaded seventeen year old boy of average height with blue eyes and a body that could be described as "scrawny".
Henry was also in his history class. Joe knew the boy was a slow learner and some of the other students were always picking on him.
So Joe made it his mission to lookout for him; that is what he promised. Now he was beginning to regret that promise. Thinking, he could handle this problem on his own.
It had all started last Friday, after school. Joe had just left football practice and had gone to his locker to get a book he needed to get his homework done during the weekend. That's where he'd found Henry, sitting on the floor, back to the lockers crying.
Joe'd figured some of the students had been picking on him again. He'd asked Henry what was wrong. He was just stunned when Henry told him it was their history teacher Mr. Hayden.
Henry had met with their teacher for a tutoring session and been verbally abused.
Joe had immediately wanted to go to the school principle Mr. Ryan, but Henry was too afraid to come forward. He felt no one would believe him as it would be his word against Mr. Hayden's. Who would believe a student over a teacher?
So Joe had decided to get some proof of the alleged abuse, then he would talk to Frank. Together, the brothers would find a way to stop Mr. Hayden.
"Henry, are you okay?" Joe asked turning his attention back to his friend.
Henry shook his head no. He looked shamefully at the floor.
"What happened?"
Henry looked back up at Joe with tears rolling down his face. He replied in a small voice. "I don't understand my history assignment. So, I asked Mr. Hayden for some help."
"He said it was simple enough. I was just too… stupid… to figure it out." Henry rubbed his left arm. "H-he started yelling at me…then grabbed me and shoved me against the w-wall".
Joe was furious. This man had crossed a line. "Don't worry Henry; I'm going to put a stop to this, right now". With that, he went to find Mr. Hayden before classes started.
He found Mr. Hayden, a big burly man, sitting at his desk. "Mr. Hayden, we need to talk." Joe said as he approached the desk.
Mr. Hayden looked up from his lesson plan. "If this had to do with your assignment, I can't..."
"It has nothing to do with the assignment," Joe interrupted. "It's about what's going on between you and Henry Jacobs."
Joe could see a flash of anger in the man's dark eyes. Mr. Hayden narrowed his eyes, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Henry asked you for help on the assignment. He told me you yelled at him, called him stupid, and then shoved him against a wall." Joe folded his arms to his chest. "I also know about the tutoring session you and Henry had last Friday. I'm telling you now, if you don't stop..."
"Are you threatening me?" Mr. Hayden fired back, his face red with anger, as he stood up to face the younger Hardy boy.
"Call it whatever you want. Cause, I'm going to put a stop to this abuse." Joe glared at the teacher. "Mr. Ryan might be very interested in hearing about these tutoring sessions".
Joe headed for the door. Mr. Hayden stepped in front of him, preventing him from leaving.
"If you tell anyone about this..." He snarled, before shoving Joe to the floor. "Your brother just might have an accident."
"Nobody threatens my brother!" Joe shouted, immediately springing to his feet and without thinking, shoving Mr. Hayden with such force that it sent him flying through the door and landing hard on the hallway floor.