means!â
âNo. What?â
âDuh!â said Joe. âIt means weâll finally get our own bedrooms!â
Frank cast a dubious look at the garage. âI doubt it,â he said. âThe spare room is practically a whole separate apartment from the rest of the house. Mom and Dad arenât going to let either of us live out there.â
âIf youâre so sure, I guess that means you donât mind if Iâm the one who moves out there,â Joe said. âCool. You can keep our tiny old room. You can even have both bunk beds all to yourself. Iâll just fill up all the space in my brand-new room with my brand-new VidPoint 3000.â
âDream on,â Frank said. âIâve been practicing all week for that contest. Youâll be sorry you didnât want to share when
I
win that game system.â
They were almost at the back door by now. Joe stopped and grinned at his brother. âIf youâre so sure you can beat me, why donât we make a bet?â he said. âWhichever one of us wins that contestgets to move into the spare roomâwith the 3000 all to himself.â
Frank could tell that Joe was sure he was going to win. That made him kind of mad.
âYouâre on,â he said. âItâs a bet!â
2
Fun World
Iâll probably get the highest score ever today,â Joe bragged. He leaned forward as far as his seat belt would let him, trying to see out the front window of his fatherâs car. He was eager to catch his first glimpse of Fun World. It was the day of the video game tournament, and he couldnât wait!
Frank was sitting beside him. âDonât count on it,â he said. âI practiced all week. Iâll probably break the world record.â
âOnly until I take my turn and beat your sorry score!â Joe shot back.
âAll right, boys, thatâs enough.â Fenton Hardy looked at them in the rearview mirror. âItâs fine to want to do your best and win. But you donât have to insult each other.â
âSorry, Dad,â said Frank.
Joe shrugged. âHe started it.â
Their father sighed. Heâd just stopped at a red light, so he turned around to look at them this time. âWhatâs gotten into you two?â
Joe shot Frank a warning look. Their parents didnât know about the boysâ bet for the spare room. And Joe wanted to keep it that way. He was afraid Frank might spill his guts, though. He always wanted to tell adults everything.
But this time he kept quiet, and so did Joe. The light turned green, and Mr. Hardy drove on.
âAnyway, donât forget that youâre brothers,â hesaid. âYouâre supposed to be a team. Youâll always have a better chance if you work together instead of against each other.â
âI guess,â Frank said. He didnât sound too sure.
âItâs just like my work with the police department,â Mr. Hardy went on. âI have my strengths and skills, and so do they. Thatâs why we all work as a team to stop criminals.â
Mr. Hardy was a private investigator. Heâd solved all kinds of crimes in Bayport and beyond, and he worked with the police a lot. Still, Joe didnât see what that had to do with him and Frank.
By now they were pulling into the Fun World parking lot. Mr. Hardy drove past the mini-golf course and batting cages and stopped in front of the entrance to the arcade.
âHere we are,â he said. âCall when you need a ride home. Have fun, guysâand remember, youâre a team!â
âSure, Dad,â Frank said. âThanks for the ride.â
The arcade entrance was a big glass door with a blinking sign over it. A skinny teenage boy was sitting by the table just inside. There was a rickety-looking wooden box beside him with cash in it, and also a huge roll of tickets. A door off to one side opened into a hallway that led to the main part