When summer starts, the thing most kids think about are the holidays. And my sister Mabel and I are no different. At the start of this special summer I want to tell about, our minds were already filled with the plans for a summer of pure awesomeness.
Of course, we each had our own take on the whole "awesomeness" thing. My sister was planning to meet practically every boy in town to gain some practical romantic experience while I was looking forward to do what I do every summer. Nothing.
Oh come on, it's not like you don't understand. No school, no homework, no boys ten times more popular than you (and really make you question your own manliness) that treat you like garbage and you seriously expect me to waste this precious time by walking on the same lame streets I walk every day anyways? Or would you prefer it if I spend some time in the nature Mabel and I have completely explored already? It's not like I had any friends to meet either. I'm not exactly what you'd probably call "cool"...or at least the other kids won't.
Anyway, I was looking forward to a month of video games, television and whatever the Internet had to offer. But then, right after the last day of school, our parents told us about their own plans. Apparently, our great-uncles (or grunkles, as Mabel calls them) had sent them a letter, in which they had told them about a sort of summer school, which they had opened up in a small town called Gravity Falls, Oregon. They had asked our parents if Mabel and I would like to help them get it started by being one of their first students.
Since we hadn't heard of neither of our grunkles nor Gravity Falls and THEY WERE LITERALLY ASKING US TO SPEND THE WHOLE SUMMER IN SCHOOL we weren't exactly fond of it. But our parents had already agreed to it because we could use some "fresh air". They didn't listen to any of our complaints and just made us pack our bags to get ready for a trip into the fresh air, which smelled suspiciously like a crowded classroom to me.
The next day, our parents forced us into the SPEEDY BEAVER bus. They wished as a good time and told us to tell our grunkles their regards. As the bus drove off, we sat down in the backseats. There were no other passengers, what didn't really surprise me at all. What sane person would choose a town like Gravity Falls for their vacation trip, a town that had probably nothing to offer except mosquito bites, a bunch of bumchucks and a rare concentration of boredom?
So, as the last signs of our hometown were fading in the distance, so was my excitement for the summer. And probably Mabel's. Or at least that was what I thought until I talked to her: "So Mabel, what do you think? Who of us will die first from a rare case of school in summer?"
To my surprise, Mabel looked up from the sweater she was knitting with a gleeful smile, which showed no sign of the anger and frustration I had felt ever since our parents ruined my holidays. "What are you talking about bro-bro? We won't give this town even a chance to bore us!"
Mabel has always been one heck of a cheerful person who would bring light into your darkest hours. If you count light as a bunch of unicorns, rainbows kittens and overall happy randomness mixed together with glitter, put in a sweater and with braces on top of it as light and darkness as your boring daily routine. Or you trying to get a sleep in the dark. Depends. The light would also be pretty loud, though.
Or let's just say that she's the optimistic twin. Yeah. Let's stick with that.
But it was one of those times when I just couldn't understand her positive view of the situation. "Are you sure Mabel? I don't think that our great-uncles will send us back so quick. They do need our help after all to get their school started."
Mabel just waved her hand in denial. "And so what? They can't keep us if we don't get to them. And it's 'grunkles', by the way."
I suddenly got aware of the look of determination in her eyes. Whoever Stanley and Ford were they just had made a dangerous enemy.
"If you insist. And don't think that I want to go to Gravity Falls, but whatever you are up to, please don't do anything stupid."
Mabel just giggled. "Don't worry Dipper. Stupidity and I are like friends. We would never hurt each other. And now, excuse me; I have a bus to turn around." She posed in a very dramatic way, arms on her hips and eyes glancing towards the enemy, our driver. I could have sworn that I heard an eagle scream in the distance. After a few seconds of posing, Mabel pulled on her new sweater and stormed towards the driver's seat.
She stopped right behind it and breathed deeply in and out. After that she made the cutest face she could do, stepped up to the driver and started bubbling as fast as she could: "Oooh Mister Drivaaa? Are we there yet? No? But when will be there? Soon? Even sooner? Are you sure we haven't driven by it? Do you even know where it is?! I sure don't, it wasn't even on Google Maps! And I mean they even have the professor's box in London there! Oh do you know Professor Thisguy? I have watched him like forever! And... Oh what's that? Kinda looks like-"
Suddenly, the driver's head turned to her as he fixated her with his cold stare. Or at least I suppose he did. I couldn't really see his eyes behind his black sunglasses.
"Madame, what are you doing here? You are not supposed to leave your seat while we are driving. Please go back tom your seat."
His voice didn't show a hint of annoyance or...any sort of emotion whatsoever. For a second Mabel was rendered speechless. "Really? But what if I need to use the toilet? Or ask the driver some important questions? Which brings me back to-"
Once again Mabel was cut off by the driver. "Please Madame; go back to your seat. You will find the frequently asked questions our company usually receives by our clients on a sheet of paper under your seat. It is labeled FAQ which stands for the already mentioned Frequently Asked Questions."
His voice was still completely cold. It actually started to freak me out a little. But not nearly as much as the fact that he hadn't looked on the highway once since he started talking with Mabel. He continued to drive perfectly safe and even dodged some of the slower drivers. Something was definitely wrong here!
"Mabel!", I whispered. "Stop it! I really don't think that-"
But she either hadn't heard me or just didn't want to. "But Mr. Driver, we don't even have a ticket. You really should drive back."
But of course the driver continued his creepy talk whilst ignoring what Mabel said. "Madam, if you are in need of assistance to get back to your seat, I can assure you that I have been perfectly prepared for this very situation."
"What?! Are you even listening to me?! I said NO TICKETS. With a NO as in NO RIGHT TO BE ON THIS BUS and TICKET as the thing that we should have but don't, buckethead! So please drive us back now before-"
But she was cut off when the driver suddenly stood up from his seat, leaving the wheel which just continued to move as if somebody was driving. The driver reached for Mabel and held her in front of him. "Very well, madam. Allow me to bring you back to your chosen seat, where you are to remain until we arrive".
Mabel struggled and squirmed in his grip. "What?! No!! Put me down! Dipper! Help me!"
I was still perplexed by the moving wheel, but Mabel's scream brought me back to reality.
"Let her go!", I shouted while I charged towards the driver who was steadily moving through the empty bus. However, he just grabbed me in full speed by my jacket and held me next to Mabel. "As I can see, you are in need of assistance too, sir." Mabel and I continued to struggle while he carried us through the bus. I tried to land kick or a punch but he was out of my range. Mabel went to her last resort. "ATTACK GLITTER!!!!", she screamed while she threw a handful of the colorful terror in the driver's face. But he didn't even flinch. Probably because his eyes were protected by his sunglasses. Or maybe he didn't have to clean his uniform, who knows?
When he put us surprisingly gentle down on our seats, he pulled back his right sleeve to reveal a watch-like device. "Since it seems like you are having trouble remaining in your designated seats, allow me to assist you by restricting your movement." He pressed a button on the device and a big one-way mirror slid up, sealing us off from the rest of the bus. He turned around and walked back to the driver's seat, still glittering.
Mabel started to bang on the glass, trying to somehow stop it that way. "But what if we have to pee? What if we have to peeeeeee?" Apparently the mirror didn't share Mabel's concern about our bladder.
I just sighed and slid down in my seat, even more depressed than before. But Mabel hadn't lost her hope yet.
"Hey! Pokerface!" She shouted, standing on her seat.
The driver didn't seem to mover, but a small speaker over our seats cracked and came to live. "Yes, Madam?", he said, his voice still unchanged.
"We still don't have any tickets."-"Madam, I can assure you that your parents have paid for your transport. There is no need for me to doubt that you are the ones I am supposed to transport, since I have seen your passports. As you may have noticed, we have a rather selected clientele, so there is a rather small chance of confusion on my part"
"But have you checked them? Maybe we are...evil clones! From space! That want to invade Gravity Falls and turn it into a large clone factory! The papers our parents waved you? Poorly made copies, let my kitten draw them. The real Mabel and Dipper Pines are still in Piedmont, waiting for you to pick them up! You have failed your company! You really have, you naïve, sparkling son of a cushion!"
I groaned. Really? Evil clones from space?! That was the best she could come up with? There was no way this guy was falling for it.
"Madame, I fear you are correct. I can in fact not confirm that you are not organic replicas of my clients with an order to conquer. Please show me your tickets."
My jaw dropped. Mabel just grinned and picked the two pieces of paper out of our jackets. "You mean those two delicious looking chocolate bars?"-"Madame I am one hundred per cent certain that our tickets are not made out of any form of chocolate. It would be very helpful if you would hold these tickets up so I can confirm your right to be on this bus."
"Looks like chocolate to me!" Mabel shouted and stuffed the tickets into her mouth. I was shocked. "Mabel what are you-? "
"Nomnomnom!" Mabel said while she continued to chew on the ball of paper in her mouth. "Nope, you were right. Definitely paper. So, are you driving us back or what?", she asked mockingly while crossing the arms over her chest. I was startled. She really did it! Now, we were going back home and would never speak of summer schools again!
But instead of an answer a weird noise came from the speaker. Shortly after that a green beam emitted from the speaker and rested on Mabel's belly. We both stared at it in awe. A few seconds later, two pings were heard. The beam was cut off and the driver spoke again. "The scanning process is completed. It has confirmed that you, Madam and Sir, are indeed my clients and have every right to be on this bus. Enjoy your ride, hopefully without any further disturbance." The speaker went out.
"Argh, poophead!" Mabel said and slid down in the seat next to mine. She suddenly seemed all out of her usual energy. This was never a good sign. "Soo, any more crazy ideas?", I asked.
She sighed. "No. Except maybe that we wreak havoc in Gravity Falls until they beg us to go back."-"You do realize that they might have to endure teenagers. We shouldn't underestimate them." We both laughed at that.
Suddenly, the speaker came back to live. "Attention passengers. Your return tickets haven't been bought yet. You can either acquire them online or buy them at the next bus, which will arrive in one month. Thank you for your attention."
We both said there for a minute, completely silent. "He didn't really say that, did he?" Mabel asked, surprisingly calm. "I think he did" I answered, just as calm as her. We both knew what that meant. Unless somebody was willing to drive us back by car, we were stuck in Gravity Falls.
We remained silent for the rest of the ride. Or what we considered calm I stared out of the window, watching the landscape. Mabel used her stickers to draw a happy face on the window. The sticker she chose for the nose was one of her "special" ones that made a noise when you pressed them. It was a purple bag that said: "Swaggity Swag what's in the bag?!" For some reason this was the most entertaining thing Mabel could come up with, so she pressed it pretty much for the rest of the ride.
Normal people would have probably gotten pretty annoyed after a while and after all those years with Mabel, I see myself as rather normal. So I took Mabel's second sweater, which she had taken off because of the rising temperature in the bus. It was a pretty unusual sweater for Mabel; it was black and didn't have an animal or star as a motive. Instead a pretty angry looking face that looked a bit like Franz Governadore with a speechbubble above it was knitted on the front. It said:" I'll be back...HOME!".
'Yes we will be. It will just take a summer I thought', I thought.
I folded the sweater into a cushion and put it under my head. 'One summer that we'd really like to dismiss', I thought as the noise of the sticker got quieter and I started to drift into the comfy darkness.
Author's notes: Thank you so much for reading! This is my first story ever published so I hope that you enjoyed it. As you might have noticed, English is not my Native language, I apologize for grammar mistakes. I would really appreciate it, if you could spare the time and write a short review.
Thanks again and have a nice day.