Freddie's New Van is the third episode of the first season of Bailey's World.
Summary
Sick of Freddie's Ford Econoline falling apart, Bailey and the others convince him to buy a new van, but it backfires when he becomes emotionally attached to it.
Story
One day, Jonny, Bailey, Dice, and Hudson had just gotten out of school and were waiting by the flagpole for Freddie and Henry to come pick them up.
"They should be here any time now," said Bailey.
A minute past, and there was no sign of Freddie's 1965 Ford Econoline.
"Where the heck are they," asked Hudson.
"They'll be here," said Bailey, "I just know it."
Another minute past, then another, and another. Soon, it was almost pitch black out.
"I hope they get here soon," said Hudson.
Just then, Freddie and Henry pulled up in front of the school.
"Hey guys," said Henry, "sorry, we're late."
"It's alright," said Bailey as the others got in, "what happened?"
"The van broke down," said Freddie, "and Henry and I had to push it to the mechanic."
"It took us about 30 minutes to get there," said Henry, "and my arms are killing me!"
"And it took them half an hour to fix it," said Freddie.
Pretty soon, the boys pulled up at Bailey's house, and when Bailey walked in, he found his parents, John and Ava Marie, waiting on the couch.
"Where were you," asked Ava.
"Are you alright, son," asked John, "We were worried sick about you."
"Sorry I'm late coming home," said Bailey.
"It's alright, honey," said Ava Marie, "We're not upset with you, we were just worried."
"Though," said John, "just out of curiosity, what exactly happened?"
Bailey explained to his parents about what happened with Freddie's van.
"That makes sense," said John.
"Indeed it does," said Bailey.
"Well," said Ava Marie, "your dinner's in the fridge. We had some takeout from the fish fry at the hotel today for dinner."
"Sweet," said Bailey as he went into the kitchen to fire up his meal.
After dinner, and after Bailey did his homework for the day, he called Jonny.
"Hey, Jonny," said Bailey, "can you, Hudson, Henry, and Dice meet me at my house tomorrow?"
"Sure," said Jonny, "what's going on?"
"I'll tell you later," said Bailey.
The next morning, as promised, Jonny, Dice, Hudson, and Henry arrived at Bailey's house just as Bailey's parents were stepping out. Since it was Ava Marie's birthday, she and John were going to see a play at the theater, have lunch, see a movie, have dinner, and come home.
"Hello, boys," said John, Bailey's father, "Bailey's waiting for you."
"Have a good time, Mr. and Mrs. Handler," said Hudson as John and Ava Marie left.
"And Happy Birthday," said Henry.
The boys went upstairs and sure enough, found Bailey sitting on the futon in his room.
"Hey guys," said Bailey, "glad you could make it."
"Us too," said Dice, "so, what's shakin', man?"
"Henry," asked Bailey, "you know how yesterday you said that Freddie's van broke down yesterday?"
"Yeah," said Henry.
"Well," said Bailey, "isn't that, like, the third time this week?"
"I think so," said Hudson, "but what's your point?"
"My point," said Bailey, "is we should probably try and get Freddie to get a new van."
"I'l be honest with you, Bailey," said Jonny, "I'm not 100% sure that's a good idea."
"And that's okay," said Bailey, "We'll just have Freddie come over and give his opinion."
With that being said, they called Freddie and asked him to drop by the house and pick up pizza from Papa John's for the boy's lunch, so that's what he did. But when Bailey told Freddie about his idea of buying a new van, the latter became upset.
"Are you guys nuts," said Freddie, "my dad'll ground me forever if he finds out I gave Edith away!"
The other boys were stunned.
"You named your van 'Edith'," asked Hudson.
"Yeah," said Freddie, "after Jonny's mom."
"Aw," said Jonny, "That's nice. My mom would've loved that."
Bailey then got out his laptop.
"OK," said Bailey, "time to get serious."
"Why do you have your laptop," asked Freddie.
"I'm glad you asked," said Bailey.
Bailey then showed Freddie a presentation the former had made on Google Slides about the pros of having a new van, such as better air conditioning in the back and cup holders for drinks, but Freddie still wasn't convinced.
"Nothing," said Freddie, "not even a slideshow, will get me to buy a new van."
"Perhaps this might change your mind," said Bailey.
Bailey then grabbed a scented candle labeled "New Car Scent" and held it in front of Freddie, who sniffed it.
"Wow," said Freddie, "that actually smells pretty nice."
"So," said Bailey, "ready to get a new van?"
Freddie sighed.
"Alright," said Freddie, "you win."
After having a few more slices of pizza, the boys watched a movie until it was time for Freddie, Henry, Hudson, Jonny, and Dice to go home. That afternoon, Bailey was checking his email when he received a message from Jonny.
"What could this be about," wondered Bailey.
Bailey read the message, which was about Jonny telling Bailey to come over and that he (Bailey) should see something. Bailey responded to the message and left. Soon, he arrived Jonny, Dice, Hudson, Freddie, and Henry's apartment building, where he saw the others gathered around a black 2017 Ford Transit van.
"Whoa," said Bailey, "cool van!"
"The van's not the only thing you need to see," said Henry.
Freddie then came out, with a diamond ring. He knelt down in front of the van and held it in front of the van.
"Miranda, my love," asked Freddie, "will you marry me?"
Bailey was stunned.
"You can't be serious," said Bailey.
"Oh, we're being serious alright," said Henry, "ever since he got the van, he's been emotionally attached to it."
"Come on, honey," said Freddie, "let's go get you a polish."
Freddie then left in his new van.
"Wow," said Bailey, "maybe convincing him to buy a new van wasn't a good idea after all."
"See," said Jonny, "I told you! But did you listen to me? Oh no!"
"Great," said Hudson, "Now how are we going to get to the movies? I've been wanting to see that Boss Baby movie for ages!"
"No worries, dudes," said Dice, "I made a call."
Just then, Lori Loud pulled up in her 2000 Chevrolet Suburban.
"Hey," said Jonny, "it's Lori!"
"Hey, guys," said Lori, "I understand you guys need a lift to the movies, no?"
"Like you can't believe," said Henry as the boys got in.
In no time, Lori arrived at the cinema and had dropped the boys off.
"I'll call you later when the flick's over," said Dice, "Okay, doll?"
"Okay," said Lori, "but please don't call me things like that. I'm already taken."
"Right," said Dice, "of course."
With that, Lori drove off and the boys went inside.
"Wow," said Hudson, "we got here just in time!"
The boys noticed that there was a short line at the box office.
"Great," said Henry, "let's get our tickets!"
With that, the boys went inside, got their tickets and refreshments, and watched the movie. Just as Lori promised, she was already out front of the cinema by the boys got out.
"Man," said Henry, "that was one heck of a movie!"
"I'll say," said Bailey, "I likes how they played the theme song from The Banana Splits. My dad loved that show when he was younger."
"Other than what I just heard," said Lori, "no spoilers for me, please. Joey and I have plans to go see it with Fred, Daphne, Joe, and Aviva this weekend."
"Aviva," Jonny asked, "you mean that chick from Colombia your sisters tried to get you to be friends with that one time?"
"Yup," said Lori.
In no time, they arrived back at the apartment building and found Freddie there with his arms crossed. He had on a leather jacket with a Union Jack pattern on it.
"Where have you been," asked Freddie, "you missed the vlog."
"What vlog," asked Hudson.
"I made a vlog about Miranda," said Freddie.
"While you were driving," asked Hudson in an alarmed tone.
"No, no, no," said Freddie, "after I took Miranda through the wash, I took her to the park."
"And why didn't you tell us," asked Henry.
"Because," said Freddie, "you guys were probably in the movie."
"You know," said Jonny, "that actually makes a lot of sense."
"But that's besides the point," said Bailey, "Freddie, why do you have to treat your van like a person?"
"Yeah," said Hudson, "it's just a dumb van."
Freddie felt insulted.
"How dare you," snapped Freddie.
Freddie then went inside and up to his apartment.
"Alright," said Bailey, "we really need to do something about this."
The next afternoon, Henry was reading one of his Superman comics when he heard a knock at his door.
"Come in," said Henry.
The door opened and Henry's sister, Piper, came in, looking a little alarmed.
"What's up, sis," asked Henry.
"Henry," said Piper, "you have to see the comments Freddie's vlog."
With that, Henry got his laptop and looked at the comments section on Freddie's vlog. When he saw the comments, he was shocked.
"Piper," said Henry, "get Jonny, Dice, Hudson, and Bailey."
"Will do, big bro," said Piper.
In no time, Bailey, Jonny, Dice, and Hudson were in Henry's room.
"Henry," asked Dice, "What's going down, man?"
"This," said Henry.
Henry showed his friends the comments section on Freddie's vlog, which was loaded with comments from people threatening to unsubscribe to the channel if they didn't bring the Econoline back. There was even more dislikes than likes on the vlog.
"That's the last straw," said Bailey, "we have to talk to Freddie."
"About what," said a voice.
It was Freddie. He had heard the commotion and wanted to investigate.
"Freddie," said Bailey, "we need to talk."
"What's going on," asked Freddie.
Bailey explained everything to Freddie, who then grew shocked.
"What have I done," Freddie gasped.
"That doesn't matter," said Jonny, "We just have to get the Econoline back."
With that, they drove back to the lot where they got the Transit from.
"You again," said the man, "what a surprise."
"Where's the Econoline," asked Freddie.
"I'm sorry," said the man, "I had it taken to the junkyard."
The boys gasped.
"Quick," said Dice, "to the junkyard!"
The boys raced to the junkyard just in time, for the yard manager was about to start crushing the Econoline.
"Stop," Freddie yelled.
The manager heard Freddie and stopped the crushing machine.
"What's the trouble," asked the manager.
"That's our van," said Freddie.
"Well, it was," said the manager, "but not anymore."
"What in tarnation is going on here," said a voice.
The boys looked and saw Freddie's father, Kevin, standing there with his arms crossed.
"I'm sorry, Dad," said Freddie.
Freddie explained everything that had happened.
"I see," said Kevin, "well, I think you going through this dilemma is punishment enough. However, I do recommend you take the Econoline back to the lot and trade it back."
"Deal," said Freddie.
Soon, they got the Econoline back and everything went back to normal. To celebrate the return of the Econoline, the boys went out to dinner at Honker Burger.
"I'm really sorry about this," said Freddie.
"You're not the one who should apologize," said Bailey, "I am. After all, it was my idea to get a new van in the first place."
"Tomorrow," said Freddie, "I'm taking it to the mechanic to have it thoroughly looked at and worked on to make sure it never breaks down again."
"Sounds like a plan," said Henry.
The End
Trivia
- This is the second episode to feature characters from The Hardy Boys And The Loud Girls.