There was no other time that was excruciatingly slow like the last week of school. At least that's how Dipper felt. Everyone else around him ran in circles like headless chickens panicking about their grades, and their finals. Even his twin sister, Mabel, which confused him because she would be passing sophomore year with a 'B' average. He thought that was pretty good for someone with little to no attention span. He found it odd how his sister basically made a 180 turn near the end of March, and spent most of her time in her room doing homework.
She only spoke to him or their parents when she passed them in the halls, or in the dining room. She wouldn't even talk in the car as they drove to school. Her eyes glued to notecards she flipped through the entire morning. He figured it was for a test, and come lunch time his hunch was right. She sat down next to him at their usual spot outside underneath a large oak tree. It's branches hung down, heavy with the leaves it bore. She didn't say anything for a couple of minutes; only staring down at the ground with a lost expression on her face. It wasn't until he called her name that she turned toward him and he felt his heart sink. Tears welled up in her eyes as she started sobbing aloud.
"Oh, Dipper," she wailed. "I can't do anything right! I'm a total failure when it comes to school!"
"Whoa, hey, hey!" Dipper set his food down and brought Mabel in close, hugging her. "What are you talking about? You haven't failed."
"Yes I have!" Mabel dug into her bag, and pulled out a packet and shoved it in Dipper's face. "See? This is proof! I studied, and studied really hard for my geometry test! I even placed all my electronics in mom and dad's room and made them promise not to give them back to me every night until I had finished studying! I holed myself up in my room, doing nothing but looking at shapes and formulas for nearly two months! I memorized every formula we'd be using on the final! All five of them! And I still only got a 'C-'."
Dipper thoroughly looked over Mabel's math final as she cried on his shoulder. He felt terrible for her. She really had tried her best to not be distracted with her social life, even Waddles. Only going out to the backyard to feed him and pet him for a short time. Dipper helped out by giving the hog attention in his sister's absence. He would even help out by pop quizzing Mabel every morning at breakfast, and she did exceptionally well. They both thought that she had it this year. Unfortunately, it didn't work out to her favor when it came to the actual test. Dipper heard of students going blank when faced with the real thing, and he could only imagine how horrible the dreadful feeling was knowing that your career as a high school student was dependant on how well you did in all of your classes. Even the extracurricular ones.
He rubbed her back comfortingly. "Well, this can't be all bad, right? You did get a passing grade, after all. And this will only bring your final grade to a 'B' average. You still pass!"
Mabel pushed away from him. "You don't understand…" she muttered as she dug more into her bag and pulled out a pamphlet.
It read, 'West Coast Arts' and in the background was a student working on a pretty impressive statue of a dragon. The inside of the pamphlet listed an array of classes and online features the college could provide it's students. On the back were the logos of hugely named companies the college had it's students work for. Clothing companies like, 'Suburban InFitters', and 'Vins Shoes inc.' even that really big movie production company founded by legendary cartoonist, Dalton Wisney.
Dipper looked between his sister and the pamphlet before admitting, "You're right, I don't understand. Like, is this the school you want to go to?" Mabel nodded. "Then, what's wrong?"
"Dipper, if I don't get good grades, then I can't get into the advanced design program that they're offering! Their top students get to enter their projects in The Graduation Fashion Show that's held in San Francisco every spring!" She took away the pamphlet and replaced it with a magazine entitled, 'Passionate Fashion'. "See that magazine? It's one of the top running zines in the country! They keep up with all the latest styles that celebrities wear, and will even feature the winning styles from the show!"
Dipper had to admit that some of the entries were pretty strange. Why was there a model wearing a smock where the collar stood above their head with two eye holes punched out? Who would wear that in public?
"Okay, but, why are you so concerned? Even if you don't get grant money, there's still financial aid. Your gpa has been above a 3.0 this year."
"But in order to get into the advanced classes I've got to have a 3.8 or higher or they won't accept me! This is my dream, Dipper!" She took back the magazine. "Besides, you know how the last two years of highschool are the most important. Not that you have to worry about that or anything."
Dipper scoffed, "Sorry for being so attentive to my school work that I've been enrolled in AP classes and given the opportunity to graduate a year early?"
"I'm sorry," Mabel looked at him sadly. "I guess I'm just upset that all my hard work only resulted in me getting barely a passing grade. This university is pretty strict with their prerequisites. If I don't show them that I can be the best of the best especially now, the only chance I have for those courses is to pay for them myself, and they're like five hundred bucks per quarter." She paused for a second, "I think I'm going to get a summer job."
"What?" Dipper gawked at her, "But we're supposed to be going back to Gravity Falls for a couple of months to spend time with Grunkle Stan and Ford!"
"I know, but I've thought about this for a while, and if I want to get into the college and program that I want after high school, I've got to prepare for the worse." Mabel threw her arms around her brother. "Dipper, I'm sorry! Please don't be mad at me!"
"I'm not mad at you. A lil' upset, but it's alright." He assured her as he hugged back.
A sharp ring echoed across the school grounds and like clockwork, the students who were lazing about outside started to march into the building. Dipper scarfed down what was left of his sandwich, and grabbed his backpack and followed suit; Mabel in tow.
"So, since I'm not going to Oregon for sure this summer, will you still be going?"
"Eh, I'm not sure," Dipper opened the door to the school, and allowed Mabel and a couple of others to enter first before him. "It wouldn't be as fun without you, though I do wanna see them."
"I think you should go anyway," Mabel offered. They stopped at the base of the stairs. "Don't stay on my account."
"I'll think about it. See you after school, Mabes." Dipper turned to walk further down the hall as Mabel made her way up the stairs.
She really felt terrible, and the feeling was only making her stomach flip. Both she and Dipper had been planning what they'd be doing this upcoming summer since February, and she had to ruin it all by getting a job. For a minute she wondered if she was being selfish. Maybe she could just get a part time job at the start of the school year? Work a few days a week for the money that she needed and still have a great summer with her bro. It sounded like it would work, but Mabel decided against it. She knew that when she said she was getting a summer job, she meant that it was going to be a permanent part-time job until she got the money she needed for college. She'd have the rest of the school day to figure out how to tell him that. Eyeing the clock she noted: two hours and thirty minutes left.