The airplane was quiet except for the snores of passengers. Most people were asleep, though a few were still awake reading with book lights. The flight attendant noticed two passengers that were awake but didn't seem to be doing anything. She approached them.
"Can I get you boys a snack or something?" She asked the two kids. The flight attendant was slightly surprised to find they were identical twins. The only thing distinguishing the two was their outfits. The one by the window wore glasses and a brown aviators jacket over a plain white t-shirt. The one in the aisle seat (they had the row to themselves, with two backpacks in the middle seat) was lightly kicking the seat in front of him to the growing annoyance of the girl sitting in it. He wore a red and white striped t-shirt.
"No thanks," said the boy in the aisle seat. "We're good."
"Okay, just let me know if you change your mind." The flight attendant walked away.
"Can you believe we are actually on our way to Oregon, Ford?" the boy in the striped shirt whispered to the other.
"I can still hardly believe we have an uncle that our parents never told us about," Ford whispered back. "I'm glad you were able to convince them to let us go for the summer, Lee."
"I just didn't want to go to that awful camp again. Their food was terrible. Plus I think the lake was turning people into mutants."
"Ha ha. Yeah. I swear that counselor had a third eye under that hat." The boys laughed for a minute. Ford went back to staring out the window at the night sky.
"Plus I couldn't stand those jerks bullying my brother!" Lee jokingly punched Ford in the arm.
"I still can't believe you punched Tommy Banks in the face." Ford pushed Lee. "Thanks for that."
"Hey if you mess with one Pines twin, you mess with both of us." Lee put Ford in a headlock.
"Stop!" Ford struggled free. A few of the other passengers had woken up because of the noise. "I just hope that no one in this Gravity Falls makes fun of me." Ford stared down at his hands. Each had six fingers.
"Oh I almost forgot. I got you something." Lee dug around in one of the backpacks that had fallen on the floor while they were rough housing. He pulled out a pair of gloves. "Here. Consider them an early birthday present." He handed the gloves to Ford. "That way you can hide your fingers if you want. Or I could just beat up anyone that says anything!" Ford took the gloves.
"Thanks but I'll stick with the gloves." Ford put them on. They were a bit big for his hands, but that allowed him to fit two fingers into one. "I got you a present too. I was going to wait till our actual birthday at the end of the summer, but I guess now is good." Ford dug around in the other bag. "Here."
"Cool! A camera! Thanks." Lee put the camera in his pack. "High six?" Lee put his hand up.
"High six," Ford answered, slapping Lee's hand. "We should probably get some sleep."
"I can't. I'm too excited. What do you think Uncle Mason is like?" Lee asked, back to kicking the seat in front of him.
"I don't know. Dad said they hadn't spoken in years, plus they're more than like twelve years apart in age. All he knows is that he runs a tourist trap called the Mystery Shack."
They speculated on what their uncle might be like for the rest of the plane ride. When the plane landed, their uncle was at the airport to meet them. They knew it was him because he carried a big sparkly sign the said Pines Twins. He wore a light blue suit jacket with shoulder pads and pink pants. On top of his graying hair he wore a fez with a shooting star.
"There's my two nephews!" He said as Ford and Lee approached. "Come here and give your uncle a hug!" The two boys were crushed in an embrace.
"Uncle Mason-" Lee started.
"Can't breath," Ford finished.
"Oh sorry boys. Just excited to finally meet you. And you can call me Uncle Mae. Now let's see, Stanford," he said pointing to Lee, "and Stanley." He pointed to Ford.
"Other way around Uncle Mae," Lee corrected. "But you can call me Lee."
"And I go by Ford."
"Well it's nice to finally meet you Lee and Ford. Now I'm sure you two are a little jet lagged from your long plane ride so let's get you to the Mystery Shack so you can unpack and relax."
Ford and Lee slept the entire ride from the airport.
"Wake up boys. We're here."
The boys groggily opened their eyes. They were parked by a totem pole. They got out of the car and got their first real look at the Mystery Shack. It looked just like the postcard that Lee and Ford had found that had clued them into Uncle Mae's existence. There were various attractions outside the old house. On the roof was a giant sign that read Mystery Shack. The s in shack was tipped and a few of the letters were sparkling in the early morning sun.
"Come on boys. I'll introduce you to my employees," Uncle Mae said as he was getting the boys' suitcases out of the trunk of his car. They walked up to the shack. "The front rooms are for the exhibits." He led them to a door with a sign that read Gift Shop. Inside there was various souvenirs from t-shirts to snow globes to bobble heads that looked like Uncle Mae.
Behind the counter was a red headed teenager reading a magazine with his feet up on the counter. He wore a red flannel shirt, a green beanie and muddy boots. His beard was as red as his hair. He looked up from his magazine as they approached.
"Hey Mr. Pines. These your nephews?" He pointed at the boys.
"Yep. Boys this is Danny Corduroy. He works here part time in the gift shop. Danny this is Stanley and Stanford." He gestured to the boys.
"Nice to meet you. Mr. Pines has been talking about you two coming all week." Danny held out hand. "I'm sorry for asking, but which one of you is Stanley and which is Stanford?"
"Stanford, but you can call me Ford," Ford said as he shook Danny's hand.
"Guess you know which one I am now. Call me Lee." Lee shook his hand.
"Okay boys, you can chat later. I'll show you your room." Uncle Mae led them through a door marked Employees Only. "My room is in the attic. You'll be staying in the bedroom down here. I hope you don't mind sharing a room."
"It's fine. We share a room back home," Lee said. They went through the living room where a young Mexican woman was vacuuming. She stopped when they entered the room. She was wearing khaki shorts and a red shirt that had a pink question mark on it that was dotted with a heart. Ford had noticed similar ones in the gift shop. Her black curly hair was tied up in a ponytail that went through the the back of her tan baseball cap.
"Hello Senor Pines. Back from the airport already?" She asked.
"Yep. Did you prepare the room like I asked Ria?" Mae asked.
"Yes sir Senor Pines. It was quite dusty."
"Thanks. Boys," Mae turned away from the woman and toward the boys, "this is Maria Ramirez. She does all the cleaning around here as well as some handy work when I need it. I only hired her to keep the exhibits clean, but she insists on cleaning the whole house." Ford and Lee shared an excited glance. Mae looked them stern in the eyes, "Do not take advantage of that. I've already told her she's only allowed to dust and vacuum in your room. Any other mess you two make you either have to clean up yourselves, or live with, understand?"
"Understood," they said in unison, their faces falling slightly. The boys turned to the woman.
"Nice to meet you Maria, Ford." Ford shook her hand.
"And I'm Lee!"
"Nice to meet you ninos. But please call me Ria. Everyone does." She went back to vacuuming. Mae led them down the hall. They stopped at a door in the middle of the hall.
"Here it is!" Mae said as he opened the door.
"Bunk beds!" the boys shouted in unison as they ran into the room.
"I call top bunk!" Ford shouted.
"That bunk bed is new. I hope you like it." Mae put the boys suitcases next to the window seat. "You can put anything on the walls and use the shelves as you please. There's no closet in here, but you can use the dresser. You even have your own bathroom." Mae pointed to the other door in the room that neither of the boys had noticed. Ford scramble up the ladder to the top bunk. Lee stood at the foot of the lower bed staring at the pig on it that was chewing the blanket.
"Uh, Uncle Mae? Why is there a pig on the bed?" Lee inquired.
"Oh sorry. That's just Waddles. I'll get him out of here." He grabbed the pig. He had to wrestle the blanket away from it. "Umm," Mae stared down at the ruined blanket, "I'll get you another blanket too." Mae walked to the door, pig in arms. Just before he left he turned around. " I'll let you boys explore around here for today, but tomorrow you're going to be helping at the Mystery Shack. Got it?" The boys nodded. "Good. But don't worry, I'll make sure you have fun this summer!" He left.
Lee flopped down on the bed. Ford poked his head over the edge. Both boys broke into a huge smile.
"This is way better than camp!" Lee exclaimed. "Uncle Mae seems really cool."
"Yeah it is! I wonder if any of his exhibits are real?" Ford pondered. "This is going to be the best summer ever!"
Authors Note: I made some slight changes from what I originally posted due to information that came out in the Journal 3 book. Nothing that really affects the story. Hope you guys still like it. Sorry I have posted anything new in a long while. Now that it's winter break I should be able to get the first chapter done.