"KIDS! KIDS!"
On various sides of the Mystery Shack tourist trap, the Pines twins Dipper and Mabel stopped in the middle of their individual chores and sped towards the source of the shout. In union, they burst through the exit door of the Gift Shop, both run down and out-of-breath. Their Great-Uncle Stan (called "Grunkle" for short) waited for their arrival in the middle of the room. He leaned forward on his custom-made 8-ball tipped cane.
"About time you two showed up…" The old man welcomed his niece and nephew in his own sarcastic way. He looked around the room to view his other employees. The handyman, Soos was to his right, hanging on every word that came out his mentor's mouth. On his left, the lethargic teenage clerk, Wendy Corduroy leaned back on her stool, her filthy, muddy boots resting on the wooden counter. Her attention waned back and forth between her boss and the cell phone in her hand as she texted her friends with lightning speed.
"Now that you're all here," Stan started, "We can begin…" He held a fist up to his mouth and coughed into it. "The reason I called this get-together is to make an announcement. For the next week, we are going to have a contest for Mystery Shack employees!"
The eyes of Dipper, Mabel, and Soos instantly lit up while Wendy's remained glued to her phone. Stan reached into his tux and pulled out a packet of yellow tickets. He passed them around the room as the three employees each took a share. Dipper left the last bunch on the counter next to Wendy's feet. He began to read the sheet aloud:
"MR. MYSTERY'S ONCE IN A LIFETIME RAFFLE!
$1 = 1 CHANCE TO WIN FABULOUS PRIZES
INCLUDING A BIG-SCREEN TV!
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY? ADDITIONAL TAXES MAY BE APPLIED…"
"…big screen TV?" Dipper questioned, "You're giving away a TV?" You?"
"What?!" The elder argued back, "Are you saying I can't run a decent promo every now and then?"
The reluctant boy crossed his arms, "So, where did you swipe it from?"
"The audacity! To think that I would even…"
The nagging stares of four pairs of eyes made the old timer reconsider his answer, "If you must know, it actually…fell off a truck…"
"So you did steal it!"
"No," Grunkle Stan corrected, "It literally fell off the back of a truck. I pulled over and loaded into my backseat with no one the wiser!"
The two twins glanced at each other. Mabel simply shrugged her shoulders at her great-uncle's story.
"Anyways," he continued. "I have a special prize for whoever sells the most tickets!" Once again, Stan searched his coat pockets until he found his proposed award. With a devious grin, he extended his fist outwards for the group to see.
Soos gasped at the sight, "Is that…?"
"It is!"
The man-child put his flabby hands to his face in excitement, "Oh, man! You got tickets for the State Fair!"
Dipper and Mabel looked up in confusion at their friend's excitement. "What's so special about this thing?" Mabel asked.
"Are you kidding?!" He exclaimed. "You guys never heard of this?!"
Without taking her sights off her phone, Wendy helped to explain, "Picture a decent version of the fair that Stan threw here a few weeks ago…"
Her annoyed boss pointed his cane straight at her, "You watch it there, missy!"
"…it's almost three times as big. There's a ton more food, prizes to win, and rides." Dipper noticed that she briefly peeked from her texting, her emerald eyes glowing, "My fav is the giant ferris wheel at the center. It's so tall that you can see the entire tri-county area from the very top…" Her secret admirer made sure to take note of her dreamlike fondness for the attraction.
"So, that's the deal, kids," Stan confirmed. "Whoever sells the most raffle tickets gets the two passes to do with whatever he or she wants…"
"Oh, boy!" Soos rejoiced. "I can't wait!"
Rolling his eyes, Grunkle Stan leaned in closer to his employee, "Soos, every time the fair comes to town, you always get picked up as one of the maintenance guys. Either way, you're already going to this thing…"
The heart-broken mechanic seemed downtrodden by the news, "Yeah, but I wanted to get in on the fun, too…" He hung his head in disappointment.
"Actually," Stan returned his focus to the three eligible workers, "I think this is something more for the kids to do." He lowered his weight onto the 8-ball cane, "So, whatdya say?"
"Ooh…" Wendy interjected from her post. "Don't get me wrong, I like the carnival, but then again, this involves real work, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to concede."
The boss shook his head in dismay, "The contest hasn't even begun yet, and you already dropped out. Well done, Corduroy. Well done…"
"I aim to please…"
After shooting the lazy girl an ice cold glance, Stan turned back towards the twins, "Well, I guess it's up to you two, my own flesh and blood, to make me proud."
Dipper started, "It sounds great, Grun –"
"Oh. My. Gosh! I can't wait!" Mabel exploded, cutting off her twin brother. She ran around the room, pointing and bragging, "You guys just watch! I'll show you all!" Soos winced in reflex while Wendy giggled at her young friend, "I'm going to go out there and blow your minds with how many raffle-thingies I'll sell! Just you wait!"
The pint-sized brunette headed for the family room entrance, "Waddles and I are going to get started on a game plan! Be back later!"
"Wow!" Her great-uncle admired, "What moxy!" He excitedly rubbed his hands together, "I can't wait to taste all that money that kid's gonna bring in!"
"Um," Dipper corrected, "Don't you mean "count" all that money?"
"Taste/count; same difference…"
Dipper's attention returned to the Gift Shop counter where his crush sat as she shirked her duties. After a moment, Wendy's eyes shot up from the neon screen to see her "boy" staring at her. She gave him a small smirk and a tiny wave before going back to her texting,
He thought back on how her excited expression when describing the Ferris Wheel reminded him of how Wendy was when they spent the entire day together at the Mystery Fair…or at least how it was suppose to be…
Earlier in the month, Dipper had finally worked up enough courage to ask his secret love out to a day at the fair…and she accepted! At first, things were going great! They ate together and laughed at Stan's shoddy attempts at physical, working rides. The little detective thought that this was a day he'd never forget.
Little did he know how right he was, especially once he crossed paths with a certain stuffed creature of indeterminate species. The second Wendy laid eyes on it, her face beamed like he had never seen before. It might have been a bit egoistical on his part; a case of machismo taken a step too far, but Dipper knew he just had to win one of these panda-duck hybrids for the spellbound girl at his side.
He stepped up to the booth where Wendy's future prized possession sat behind the worn-out counter. The barker relinquished the white ball as he offered a warning, "You only get one chance…"
Encouraged by the smiling freckled-faced ginger at his side as she gave him a double-thumbs-up, Dipper threw the projectile, only to watch in horror as it bounced off the booth's wooden frame and into the right eye of his main squeeze!
Dipper flew into an immediate panic as his compassion cried out and winced at her injury. He tried his best to calm her and went to get her ice to help with the swelling. By the time he returned, his worst nightmare had happened. Robbie V., the local bully and his rival for Wendy's affections, had swooped in to aid her, as well as take the opportunity to ask her to go steady with him.
As Wendy ran off with Robbie, Dipper stood there stunned and heartbroken. He couldn't believe the sight before his eyes. He begged and pleaded with the fates for a second chance, a way to make things right.
Little did he know that his prayers would be answered only a few moments later. The Pines twins would shortly bump into the time-traveler Blendin Blandin, and after distracting him, swiped his time machine and went back to fix Dipper's mistakes.
After countless attempts (and well as giving poor Wendy black-eye after black-eye) Dipper had successfully changed things for the better, where not only had he won the purple doll, he also captured Wendy's affections as well. To make things better, Robbie was also exposed as the petty, jealous jerk that he truly was.
Wendy had excitedly dragged "her right guy" around every aspect of the fair for what seemed like hours. Dipper took in and basked in all of the glory given to him. The experience was so much like his dreams that it was kind of scary. However, his twin sister Mabel ran up to him and explained that by altering the timeline, she had lost the chance to win her pet pig, Waddles.
At first, Dipper fought against his sister's wishes. After all, he had worked long and hard to make things right with Wendy. Was it worth throwing it all away over a pig? Mabel claimed that it was her soul mate; she had said the same thing about a ball of yarn once! Despite this, Dipper just couldn't break his sister's heart, even if it meant ruining his own chances with the girl he secretly loved…
Dipper cleared his thoughts. He focused on the prospect at hand. "I can't believe it," the hyped boy thought to himself, "I can get another chance…" Dipper stole a look out of the corner of his brown eye at the unsuspecting teenager sitting at the register. "I can give her the day she truly deserved…"
Stan and Soos broke away from the group to go on their own ventures. Wendy hung about at the Gift Shop Counter, her nose buried in the brand-new issue of Indie Fuzz. Dipper went through the living room door in search of his sister. Since they (technically) were the only two contestants, he figured that he could coax her into throwing the contest for his sake.
"Well, why wouldn't she?" Dipper asked. "After everything that has happened with Waddles, I'll bet that Mabel would be more than happy to help me out. What am I saying? She's my sister! Of course she would! All I have to do is explain, and heck, she'll probably start planning on what colored dress she wants to wear to the wedding!"
Upon walking into the front room, Dipper's mouth literally dropped open at the sight before him.
The round table in the parlor had been transformed in a battle station of sorts. A map of the town was spread across the top, draping over the edges. Various places on the chart were marked off with several household items like salt and pepper shakers and Chipackerz chip-flavored crackers. Mabel was standing on her tip-toes, shifting back and forth as she asked her pet sitting beside her for advice.
"So, what did you think, Waddles?" Mabel asked as she moved markers back and forth. "Should we start on Bachman Street or hit the morning rush at Greasy's Diner?"
"She's…" Dipper stood spellbound by his sister's actions, "She's…actually strategizing!"
Nevertheless, he stepped back to ask his sister for her assistance, "Listen, Mabel, I need to talk to you – "
The pre-teen went on high alert at the sound of her brother's voice, "Oh, really?"
"Yeah…" Dipper rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I need your help with –"
To his surprise, Mabel seemed to go on the offensive, "I'll bet you do!"
"Really?"
She reached over and used her small frame to cover her map, "You're here to spy on our game plan, aren't you?"
"What?!"
The metal-mouthed tactician looked up, "Admit it! You know you want those carnival tickets just as bad as I do!"
"Well, yeah, but…"
"I knew it!" Mabel swooped up all of her supplies into a messy ball and clutched it close to her chest, "Well, guess again, mister! If you want to win, you're gonna have to try a lot harder than that!"
Dipper held out his hands in defense, "Wait a sec, Mabel! You don't understand!"
The girl merely rolled her brown eyes at her twin, "Like phooey I don't! I know exactly how you get in these cases. Like Grunkle Stan said, it's down to me versus you! Twin versus twin! In the end, this is another game to see who the alpha twin really is!"
"Please listen, Mabel! It isn't like – "
She carried her tools towards the staircase, "If you want to win, Dipper, you're going to have to do it the old-fashion way!" Mabel ran up the stairs, only to turn back towards her sibling, "May the best twin win!" She disappeared upstairs, her beloved pig following closely at her heels.
Dumbfounded by what had just occurred, Dipper kicked at the floor, making a small dust cloud rise up.
"Great…that's just great!"
