Enormous, white clouds moved lazily across the sky, almost in reflection of how this hot, July day affected the people in the town beneath them.
Three teenagers - one older than the other two - watched the clouds, lying on their backs on a grassy meadow, contemplating what they want and, more importantly, don't want to do on this scorching day.
- We could... Go and bother Blubs and Durland. - suggested Wendy Corduroy, eager to cause some minor shenanigans.
- Yeah, but we've already done that last week. - Mabel replied - Besides, they just got married, we should give them some time off.
The clouds moved another half a mile or so when the same voice spoke again.
- We could go and catch butterflies!
- Wait, they escaped? - Dipper suddenly sat and stared at his remarkably unconcerned sister.
- Not those butterflies, Dipper. - she rolled her eyes - Not the man-eating ones, just you know, regular.
She made a fluttering movement with her hands, crossing her eyes in a mocking manner.
- Nah, that sounds dull. - Wendy brushed off her proposition.
- What about the movies? - Dipper asked, turning his head to Wendy.
- Closed for renovation. - Wendy murmured from underneath her hat she slid onto her face. - For the next three weeks...
- What? - Dipper rose again - Right now? There's a bajilion blockbusters right now! The new part of "Revengers", "Duo", "The Unremarkables 2" - he kept listing - There are so many movies I wanted go watch with y- I mean go and watch. With you, maybe, if you would be around, that is. - he stuttered silently after he caught himself.
Dipper turned his head sharply and shot a cold, stern look at his sister, holding a giggle under her breath.
- So, is there anything else to do? - he asked, lying his head on his backpack again - Come on, it's Gravity Falls! Something must be going on! - Dipper threw his arms in the air in defeat.
- Well, I hate to tell you, but I think the only thing worth checking out is my high school. - Wendy grumbled.
The twins looked at each other, before Mabel scooted towards Wendy, moved hat aside and Dipper automatically put his somewhat trembling hand to her forehead.
- She doesn't have a sunstroke... I think.
- No, guys, I don't. - Wendy sat up as well - My school has one of those "visiting days", when middle schoolers can check if they want to choose it, and, you know, older students make lots of activities for them.
The other two teenagers exchanged concerned looks.
- What if we let out the killer butterflies... and THEN catch them again? - Mabel suggested, her face brightening at that idea.
- Welp, looks like school it is. - Dipper groaned and rose to his feet, brushing off bits of ground and dust from his shorts.
- Thought you would be the one person to be eager to do it.
Wendy gave his shoulder a quick nudge, and Dipper almost instantaneously shifted his cap to hide a reddening blush on his face.
- What? Are you trying to be a bit rebellious, like me? - Wendy smirked.
- Maybe? Yes?
- You do? - Wendy raised her brow - We don't want to lose our code-cracking nerd. - she spoke, crossing her arms.
- No! I meant, I might sometimes do that... But if you do...
But Dipper's rushed explanations were cut shortly by Wendy's jovial laugh and her hand ruffling his hair, his hat already in Mabel's hand.
- Chill out, I'm just messing with you. - she sent him a beaming smile. - And hey, it might not be that bad.
Just as Wendy described, Gravity Falls High seemed to be brimming with slightly younger students, rushing from one floor to another to see more "attractions". Some were carrying balloons, hats or other merchandise with beavers, the school's football team, while other middle schoolers looked up to their older soon-to-be-pals, listening on how to practice the nihilistic teenage brooding poses.
Some kids flocked to the used books stand, predictably choosing anything but actual books, some were already trying to beat the record in sliding down the railings, only to be scolded by older students by their lack of imagination in pranks they could be doing instead.
And in the middle of all that chaos stood Wendy, completely unabashed by it, and Mabel and Dipper, both half-mesmerised, half-terrified by the rush that seemed to be contained in this one building.
- Yeah, don't get your hopes high, guys. - Wendy spoke, giving quick nods to a few of her friends she spotted - It is supposed to lure you in, after all.
- Uh, aren't you supposed to be helping to organise these...? - Dipper asked, opening a used textbook, quickly realising in disgust why was it priced at "best offer".
- Me? Nah, I found a way to weasel out of this. - Wendy laughed - My mom always told me to stay in school and get good grades, but she never said anything about boring extracurricular stuff.
- So what did you tell the teachers?
- The usual - she shrugged - That I have to...
- ...help father at the lumbermill.
A fourth, older voice finished Wendy's sentence, breaking the teenager's cool demeanour. She turned around, only to be greeted by the grim-looking teacher in his forties, judging her with his arms crossed.
- Oh, hello there, Mr. Barnes!
- You know, Wendy, I've never been a lumberjack, but somehow I can't imagine my day shift ending before noon. - he spoke coldly, ignoring Wendy's attempts at slightly more casual talk.
- Well, Mr. Barnes, you see...
- Wendy's with us! - Mabel added at once, stepping from behind the taller teenager.
Wendy, Mr. Barnes and ultimately Dipper as well all looked at the cheerful girl, bouncing up and down, clinging to Wendy's shirt.
- And we wanted to see your school, Mr. Barnes! - Mabel added, giving Dipper quick knowing gestures behind Wendy's back.
- Oh-oh yeah! - Dipper added. - We were walking by the mill, and we saw Wendy...
- ...working soooo hard, uh, milling things!...
- ...and she said that you have a visiting day...
- ...and that she would gladly take us here, since we're thinking of attending here! - Mabel ended their speech with a beaming smile.
This somewhat confused the teacher, looking back and forth at Wendy and the two younger kids, now all wearing the somewhat terrifying smirks and giving him reassuring thumbs up.
- W-Well, okay. We do need more guides anyway. - he shrugged - Corduroy, you know where the pamphlets are, right?
- Sure do, Mr. Barnes. - Wendy lied, keeping her peppy expression until he turned his back and walked to inspect other stands. - Woah, guys, thanks for that. Bullet dodged. Guess we're stuck here, though.
- Yeah, imagine that. All day with Wendy. - Mabel joked, giving Dipper once again, her mocking stare, as the three walked into the first classroom.
Meanwhile, vice-principal Barnes walked back and forth along the same corridor, and couldn't stop thinking of the phrase the girl said a moment before.
"My school..."
- Ugh. This looks like the nerdy room. - Mabel sighed once she stuck her head into the classroom at the ground floor. She swiftly moved aside to make room for her brother, who eagerly sprinted inside.
Twenty or so kids surrounded the teacher's desk, behind which a rather corpulent man in white lab coat and protective goggles performed an experiment. He took a single rose, dipped it in a humongous jar of foamy liquid, and when he pulled it out, in one single move he shattered the crystallised flower into pieces, much to the audience's enjoyment.
- Did you like it, kids?
A collective cheer echoed through the room, with some teenagers eager to try the experiment themselves.
- Good! Now it's time for the exciting part.
The man took off his protective clothing, turned around, slid down the whiteboard and begun writing long lines of chemical equations, seemingly unaware that the lower ones were being erased by his protruding belly.
- At least he's not lying. - Wendy snickered - Yeah, I think I could count on the fingers of my two hands number of experiments we did in his classes.
- Why don't you ask Ford? He would be a perfect teacher! - Dipper replied.
Wendy shrugged.
- Yeah, but I also want to pass these classes, you know. Ford's cool and all, but if I had to take tests made by him...
- You could invite him, just for a day or so. Hey, maybe even we could help him. What do you think, Mabel?
Dipper instinctively turned around to meet his sister's eyes, but she was no longer standing by his side. A soft murmur amongst the other teenagers instantly brought both Dipper and Wendy's attention, pinpointing where the two should have been looking. And sure enough, like a soothsayer trying to see the future in fumes, Mabel crept around the liquid nitrogen tank, she already has opened.
With a roaring "No!", Dipper Pines launched himself at his sister, who tipped a can of Pitt Soda, letting the brownish liquid drip into the canister. But Wendy was faster than him, already half-way to Mabel, holding one hand around the hem of his shirt and grabbing her with the other, though not before the can fell into the container.
A moment later, door to the science class burst open with Wendy, Mabel and Dipper floating on a desk turned upside down, riding a wave of foaming soda that flooded not just the science class, but the corridor as well. Screams from unsuspecting onlookers mixed with the ones from inside that witnessed the geyser of the liquid pouring onto the floor in a cornucopian fashion.
The three floating teenagers swiftly turned around, ready to rush for help, but to their surprise, the shouts turned into loud cheering, when the river of sweet drink seemed to have frozen in place, creating copious amount of...
- ICE CREAM!
The same people, who ran away from the disaster now flocked to the door, eager to scoop bits of the dessert that now covered the floor.
- What is in those sodas? - Dipper scratched his head. - I'm fairly sure you need more to make ice-cream.
- I didn't know it's gonna blow that much... - Mabel spoke silently, watching as her work turned from potential life-threatening to almost miraculous
- Well, I guess you can't say we didn't help make the heatwave more bearable. And the science lesson got more interesting! - Wendy commented.
Once the three cleaned themselves from the soda that hasn't frozen, they ran upstairs to check out activities presented in classes on the other floors. Mabel almost instantly glued her face to the wall of tanks in biology class, holding various specimens of amphibians and reptiles she made faces to, in vain hope they would grant her their attention.
In the computer science lab, a small, balding teacher with enormous moustache was trying to woo two dozens of kids staring into their smartphones about miracles of modern technology, by showing them a rotating 3D model of a cube he apparently modelled "manually vertex by vertex". It didn't help he was doing it on an enormous CRT monitor.
Almost as if my magnetism, Mabel gravitated towards the visual arts classroom and couldn't contain her amusement, waltzing through tables with teenagers sculpting, sewing or painting their masterpieces. The cheerful, tall teacher with long nose and vividly red hair caught onto Mabel almost at once, and a few minutes later three older students marvelled at her technique in knitting what turned out to be a pig-sized sweater.
- Glad Mabel found her people. - Wendy smirked and turned to the long wall decorated with paintings - Have you ever figured out what these mean?
- Huh? - Dipper replied and followed her stare to the series of weirdly-looking drawings, comprising mostly of shapes and smudges of paint.
- Like, it's supposed to be modern art - she air-quoted the last words - But come on, it looks like someone just threw a bucket of paint at the wall.
- Uh, kinda...
For a moment the two tried looking at the canvas in front of them at an angle, and only when they realised they moved their heads in almost perfect harmony, they burst into laughter.
- Yeah, maybe I'm just not smart enough to understand these. No wonder, I can just make figures out of wood...
- What are you talking about, Wendy? - Dipper immediately interrupted, turning his head sharply towards her - Of course you are...
- ...or maybe these guys are just whackos who keep painting the same thing all over again. - she ended - "Oh, look, I'm a square in my square period". - she crossed her eyes again and moved her fingers around her head in a mocking gesture.
- Well, I think I found a candidate at least.
A sudden, high and cold voice interrupted Wendy's performance. The same teacher that beamed at Mabel a couple of minutes ago now stretched her arm towards Wendy and unceremoniously dragged her to the middle of the classroom.
- Mrs. Dello, I can explain...
Wendy opened her mouth, but the strict teacher forced her to sit on a high chair and clapped her hands, gaining attention of the students, young and older alike.
- Well, my dears - she spoke as if she addressed pre-schoolers - We happened to find a nay-sayer in our class. Miss Corduroy here wasn't that keen on the brilliant series of post-modernistic paintings by one of our top students... - Wendy rolled her eyes when the teacher wasn't looking - ...so I think it only fits if she becomes the topic of our study.
Wendy opened her mouth and was about to protest, but at the very same moment, she spotted vice-principal Barnes walking by the door, and had to force herself to control her temper.
- So, you've got your favourite mediums, now you can express your creativity! - Mrs. Dello exclaimed, once again, as if she was addressing people who only recently discovered crayons.
- Oh, Mrs. Dello, Mrs. Dello! - Mabel reached her hand from her table, now properly crowded with other people, admiring her work - My brother here can sketch really well, I'm sure he will draw Wendy best!
A stunningly cold wave of sweat and shivers travelled through Dipper's skin once a dozen or so much older students turned to him, though nothing petrified him as much as Wendy's wide, surprised stare, rooting him to the ground.
- Woah, really? - Wendy gave him a half-sceptical, half-impressed smile, before her face was cupped by Mrs. Dello strong grip and moved to the side.
- Models. Do. Not. MOVE. - she hissed.
The short pause gave Dipper enough time to move closer to the door, but the exit was swiftly blocked by a well-timed shot of yarn that spun around the handle, locking the door in his face. The very next moment, Mabel soared through half of the classroom, landing next to Dipper, showing everyone her invention.
- I think I'm gonna call myself... The Yarn-Woman! - Mabel exclaimed, showing off her modified grappling hook hidden, somewhat clumsily in her sleeve, shooting a few uncoordinated strands for practice.
She put her arm around Dipper's shoulder and pushed him towards the first unoccupied seat.
- Mabel! Why did you have to say that to everyone? - he whispered, taking nervous look at Wendy, whose pose was once again corrected by angered Mrs. Dello.
- Because, brother... - she leaned onto his shoulder - I know what you've been drawing in the journal... - she whispered back, a sly grin of satisfaction drawing on her face as Dipper understood her intentions.
- You wouldn't... - Dipper gritted through his teeth.
- I won't tell her if you at least draw something.
- You have no proof. The journals have been destroyed!
- How do you know I didn't make photos? - she blew raspberry at him, put her hands at her sides, and strolled through the class, transforming herself into a smaller copy of Mrs. Dello.
Somewhat reluctantly, Dipper took the pencil in front of him, tempered it, like he always did, grabbed the sketchbook, took a deep breath and slowly looked up from it, hoping he won't meet Wendy's eyes.
However, all the confidence gained in that short moment of self-determination vanished when her green eyes seemed to pierce his body when she turned her head once more, against Mrs. Dello's warning. Just when Dipper was about to contemplate running away again, Wendy took a quick glance at her teacher, and when she wasn't looking, moved her finger against her mouth, throwing away the invisible key, locking her mouth with a subtle smile.
They maintained their connection for a short while, and only when Wendy was forced to look aside again, Dipper let out a deep sigh, and with slightly less trembling hands, he drew the first, humble line.
Half an hour later, and after dozens of correction of Wendy's pose, Mrs. Dello walked through the class, commenting on the potential students' progress. From his perspective, Dipper could see not one, but three Wendys, looking at him from older students paintings. And to make it worse, her green shirt and red hair beamed from them as well, throwing a coloured shade at his monochrome sketch. But every time he looked back at the original, real Wendy, their eyes would meet in a short, almost intimate moment he could not properly describe, and each time it happened, Dipper found strength to continue his picture, no matter how would it turn out.
- Well, it looks like your sister did not lie, young man. - Mrs. Dello suddenly said, when Dipper felt her presence, almost out of nowhere, behind his back.
However, her compliment was nothing compared to Wendy's when ten minutes later she was finally allowed to walk freely once Mrs. Dello announced that the time for their activity is over.
- Dude, show it!
Wendy eagerly jumped towards Dipper, and the sheer sight of Wendy about to judge his work made him pull the sketchbook towards his body in a protective manner. One look at Mabel, waving her phone in her hand, however, made him loosen the grip and turn the block of paper around.
- Wow...
For a solid moment, Wendy stared at a copy of herself on the paper in front of her. She wasn't sitting on a chair, but on a rock, with thick forest sketched behind her. Her long hair flowed all the way to the end of her back, and she automatically reached her hand to fix it, since she couldn't believe it could look that well. To her surprise, Dipper managed to add even her freckles, a part of her visage she wasn't particularly proud of, but the three dots on her cheeks not only didn't make her face unpleasant. It made her look...
- Wendy?
Dipper's voice brought Wendy's senses back, and despite her best efforts she couldn't hide the astonishment from her face once their eyes met again.
- So... doyoulikeit? - Dipper spoke the whole question in one go, sounding almost as if he had hiccups.
- Like it? Dude, it's great. - she spoke, taking another look at herself, and the delicate, almost mysterious smile she wore in the picture.
- And just look at that!
High-pitched voice of Mrs. Dello broke both Wendy and Dipper's concentration when she waltzed to Dipper's table, gesturing wildly.
- That, my friends, shows clear dedication and talent, I do hope this young gentleman will join our high school soon!
Wendy was about to agree with one her least favourite teacher for the first time in her life, when the older lady in one swoop moved to the desk of the teenager next to Dipper and took the piece of paper from his sketchbook, proudly showing it to the class of would-be-students.
The drawing contained two rectangles. One red, the other one green.
- You know what, catching killer butterflies sounds like fun. - Dipper grumbled, closed the sketchbook, and reached for the exit, being the first to walk out of the classroom.
As the three walked down the corridor, still partially covered in frozen soda, Wendy stretched her arms every few minutes, complaining about her stiff back.
- Man, never thought being a model is such a pain in the pain! Remind me never to do that again.
- Oh, that's too bad. - Mabel scoffed - Dipper won't be able to draw you.
- Mabel! - Dipper barked back, until she spotted Wendy turning her eyes towards him.
- No, but seriously, dude, never though you could draw. - she sent him another smile and ruffled his hair. - Between you two, I always thought Mabel would be better at it...
- Oh, but Dipper can do much, much better!
Dipper recognised the knowing tone in Mabel's voice a moment too late, when she already handed Wendy her phone.
- Mabel! - Dipper shouted and leaped for it, but the same hand that played with his hair suddenly was in his face, pushing him back and preventing his arms from even reaching her hand.
And then, he heard laughter, and all of his will to continue his pursuit evaporated in a split of a second.
- Dude, Dipper, that is hilarious! - Wendy laughed, showing him Mabel's phone.
To his surprise, it wasn't one of dozens of sketches of his crush he's drawn over the last Summer, but a caricature of Lil' Gideon, sitting in a baby chair, demanding more food. Wendy laughed equally hard at his version of old Man McGucket, various pictures of gnomes he spotted waddling around Shack, complimented the faces of Mabel, Soos, Grunkle Stan and others he dotted around the pages of the now-burned journal, and even gave another "wow" at the drawing of the skyline of Gravity Falls forest and its water tower he did on his first day in Gravity Falls.
- Yeah, that's a discovery and a half: Dipper can draw! - Wendy said, giving Mabel her phone back - I think this day was a success. Unless they find out you guys were under my supervision when the soda incident happened...
- Don't worry, Wendy, we'll back you up! - Mabel replied at once. - And besides, most of the evidence has been eaten... - she shrugged.
When the silhouette of the Mystery Shack appeared from behind the trees, Wendy waved the twins goodbye and rushed into the forest path towards her house. Only when she was far enough away, Dipper turned to Mabel.
- You had those all the time and you said nothing? And you blackmailed me, knowing perfectly well I thought you had...
- Relax, bro, I wouldn't show her the real deal. Well... unless you cross me any time this Summer.
And with a lightning-speed trick of her sleeve, she flashed him the screen of her phone again, this time showing picture of Wendy in bikini, not sketched, but coloured with a red ballpoint pen.
- You give it back! - Dipper roared, but Mabel was already ten steps in front of him.
- Just one button, Dipper! And Wendy will see all of them! - she laughed, while her brother chased her to the Shack.
Like many times before, Wendy climbed through the window of her room, listening carefully if either her brothers or her dad were at home. With little to no noise coming from the upper floor, she considered her free afternoon still going, and reached into her pocket.
Gently, she retrieved the folded piece of paper, hoping the pencil marks haven't smudged when she snatched it. She delicately evened the paper at the folds, and pinned it to the board above her desk. Between several pictures of Robbie, Tambry, Lee, Nate and the Pines twins, now Wendy Corduroy could spot herself staring at some vanishing point in the middle of the room from Dipper's sketch.
Beside it, on an old Polaroid photo, a broad-shouldered man with an impressing beard laughed jovially to his wife, sitting on the stump of freshly chopped down tree. And only now Wendy realised that this picture of her mom might be the reason she likes to sit with her legs crossed like that.