The Mystery of the Missing Pint (A Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys FanFiction)

Chapter Nine: New Friends

The eight children went downstairs to the basement to play a short game while Hannah and Mrs. Drew finished cooking dinner. Mrs. Hardy stayed in the kitchen to help as much as she could. Mr. Drew and Mr. Hardy retired to the study to do some work.

"Okay, I think we should all introduce ourselves and tell about ourselves a little," Nancy proposed, "I'll go first. My name is Nancy Drew. My dad is a lawyer, I'm seven years old and I'm going to be in Mrs. Miller's third grade class."

"I'm Bess Marvin. I'm going to be in third grade, too. I'm seven and George is my cousin," Bess said.

"I'm Brenda Carlton, I'm eight, and I want to be a reporter when I get big."

"I'm Ned Nickerson. I'm eight and I'm going into third grade. My dad has a press shop."

"I'm Deirdre Shannon. My dad has lots of money. I'm seven, going to be in third grade, and I like things that sparkle."

"I'm George Fayne. I'm seven, in third grade when summer is over, and...we'll I'll punch you in the nose if you ever call me Georgia!"

Frank looked at Nancy questioningly.

"She doesn't like to be called by her real name 'cause it's too girly. She likes stuff like baseball and hiking. She's a real tom boy," Nancy explained.

"Oh," he said, "My name is Frank Hardy. I'm seven and I'll be in Mr. French's third grade class. Our dad's a private investigator. He says that we get into a lot of trouble, but we like to call it fun."

"What about you, Joe?" asked Nancy gently.

"My name is Joe Hardy. Frank is my big brother. I'm six and I'm going to be in second grade. I like going to my karate classes," the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy warmed up to the group quickly as they all became more acquainted. Soon, he was one of the more energetic and impulsive of the group. It turned out that Frank was the quieter of the two. He seemed calmer and more thoughtful. They both loved to run around and play. Brenda grew a special liking for them. She didn't feel as inclined to pester Ned anymore. Besides, he never responded to her dropped hints anyway. These two were just as cute as Ned and new in town. Deirdre liked them too, but she wanted them to like her as well. So, she decided just to be herself and drop the 'mean, rich girl' pretence. It hadn't worked before with Ned, and she'd discovered that she'd had more fun when she played nicely. The other's had been nicer to her too when she had been nice, and she'd like that.

"It's time for dinner, children," Hannah said from the top of the stairs.

"Who's that?" asked Joe as they all piled into the hallway, heading for the delicious aroma of soup.

"That's Hannah Gruen. She's our housekeeper," Nancy answered, "She's a really good cook." The children ate their chowder sitting in an oval around the coffee table. They took special care not to make a mess, as instructed. Soon, they had all finished.

"Let's watch a show now," Bess said, "Can we?"

"If everyone's okay with that," Nancy nodded her head, "We can eat our ice cream out here while we watch it. I don't think we should take it downstairs."

Hannah came in with eight pints of ice cream and eight spoons. Frank picked the Cherry Garcia and Joe the Double Chocolate. "What do you children want to watch?" Hannah asked.

"A superhero movie!" Ned said.

"Yeah," Joe agreed, "Something with a lot of action in it."

"What about a fairy tale movie?" Bess asked, "With a romantic prince and a trapped princess?"

"We can't have both," George said, "So let's take a vote. All in favor of action, raise your hands."

George, Ned, and Joe raised their hands. "All in favor of a fairy tale raise your hands," Brenda instructed. Brenda, Bess, and Deirdre raised their hands.

"What about you guys?" asked Ned.

Nancy turned to Frank, "You can break the tie. I really don't care what we watch. That's why I didn't vote."

Frank asked, "Are you sure? I think you should decide. It's your house."

"Do you all want to watch a cartoon?" asked Hannah with a movie in mind, "or can it be a regular movie?"

"But there aren't any interesting movies that aren't cartoon movies," Ned said, sticking his tongue out at the idea.

"Oh, I think you will all like this one. It has adventure, danger, romance, and comedy in it."

"Are you sure we'll like it?" asked Joe, squinting his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure," Hannah chuckled, "You all get settled and I'll bring it in."

Everyone who needed to went to the bathroom and everyone got a blanket to wrap up in. They all carried their pints of ice cream around with them. Some of them got pillows to share with those who didn't want to bring theirs upstairs. Joe cuddled up with his white stuffed bunny named Snowball. When everything was ready and everyone was in place, they started the movie. Hannah had brought in The Princess Bride.

Nancy and her friends loved it. They laughed and held their breath in the suspenseful spots. They had to stop it a few times, so that someone could go to the bathroom. A few of the children put their ice cream back in the freezer to save for later. Hannah brought in popcorn for everyone to share.

Once the movie was over and the popcorn was gone, the friends migrated to the kitchen. Nancy placed the empty popcorn bowl in the sink. They decided to eat some more of their ice cream, so Deirdre stood on the stool and pulled out the three pints that were in the freezer. "Here you go," she put two Cherry Garcia pints and one Double Chocolate on the table.

"Oh I left mine in the living room," Ned said.

"Mine's on the stove," Brenda said. She walked over to get it.

When Ned returned, he held two Double Chocolates, "Someone else left theirs in the living room too. This one's mine, though. I remember because I ripped the lid."

"Oh, the other one is mine," Deirdre said, "I had the only blue spoon."

"Mine was in the freezer," Bess said, "I put it back because my mouth got too cold."

"Mine never left my hands!" Joe said, almost to the bottom of his pint.

"That takes care of the chocolate ones," George said, "and Brenda's. Here's two of the cherry one's, but where is the third? I know I put mine in the freezer because I put Bess's away when I put mine away." She lifted the lid to both of the cherry pints, and then pointed to the one with more gone, "That one's mine. I took more than just a few bites."

"I ate more than that, too," Nancy said, "So it must be yours, Frank."

"Yeah, I only ate a little because I was too full after that clam chowder that Hannah made," Frank said, "but where is yours?"

"I thought I put it in the freezer," Nancy said. She climbed onto the stool and checked the freezer again, "I don't see it in here. I must have left it somewhere, but I don't know where." With a puzzled expression, she shut the freezer door and climbed down again.

"Another puzzle for us to solve!" Deirdre exclaimed, "I like solving puzzles."

"We do too," Frank said, looking at Joe, "In fact, that's how we get into so much trouble at home. We're always solving mysteries, especially at school."

"Nancy solves mysteries at our school," George said, "She's a pro at it."

"Yeah, there was this one mystery where a glue bottle was a clue," Bess said.

"I didn't know you liked to solve mysteries," Joe paused from his ice cream eating to look at Nancy. He smiled broadly, a new liking for the girl developing in him.

"Yeah," Nancy said shyly, "It's nothin' really...just a hobby."

Frank smiled at her modesty. She was probably a good detective and didn't want to admit it. "Well, now we can work together to solve a mystery," he said, trying to take the pressure off her, "The Mystery of the Missing Pint!"