"You're scared. Of growing up. And who could blame you; I'm scared too." Dipper Pines, Gravity Falls, S02E19
Saturday, August 3, 2013. In a United Airlines Boeing 747-400, at flight level 360 over Scotland. 10:45 AM local time.
Dipper and Mabel are sitting by the right side window seats several rows ahead of the back-most door of the wide-body jet. Dipper is in the seat directly beside the window, admiring the cloudy scenery of the Scottish Highlands 36,000 feet below the plane. Mrs. Pines is sitting in the aisle seat in a light sleep, while Mabel is in the middle seat, looking through her scrapbook. Mr. Pines, having to work, did not accompany the three on their summer trip to Paris, much to Dipper and Mabel's disappointment.
Mabel is picturing in her head how she should arrange her travel photographs once she gets them printed. She knows in addition to the pictures, she will also glue in some souvenirs and mementos as well; in fact, the tickets and pamphlets from their visit to Paris Disneyland are already pasted into the scrapbook, on the last page of the "chapter" Mabel had dubbed "Paris: City of Love."
The pictures from the Eiffel Tower most definitely should go on the very first page, under the title, Mabel thought to herself. And maybe I could squeeze in a cut-out heart or the word "Bonjour" in the corner here…
As Mabel continued to visualize what her latest collection would look like, she managed to pick up bits of conversation from the family sitting in the row ahead of her. Mabel tried to ignore them, but she can't help it; not to mention that the three are talking rather loudly anyways.
"…I'm so proud of you, son. You're finally going off to college," the mother said. "You'd be the first one from my side of the family to have ever attended university. Your grandparents would be so proud."
"Look at you, boy; you're all grown up, ready to become a man," the father chimed in. "I do hope to see some grandchildren soon."
"Aw, come on, dad. Be patient. Besides, love isn't really on my current agenda anyways," the boy, who happened to be sitting in the middle seat directly in front of Mabel, responded. "First I would like to finish my studies. And believe me; I still have a long way to go. I have big plans, old man, so don't expect me settled just yet."
"Well, be sure to relax while you're at it," the dad continued. "You kind of killed yourself for the past four years trying to get into your dream school. So have a little fun for once. And college is a great opportunity to sit back and forget your awkward teen years."
"I will. And besides, even though my memories of high school may be full of bullies and homework and insecurities, I think I'm still going to miss that ride…"
Wait, high school? Mabel snapped herself out of eavesdropping. I'm going into high school myself. My and Dipper's courses for grade nine have already been confirmed…
High school: rom-com, whacky-romp, or teen horror movie? Mabel continued thinking to herself. Is it true that classes get super hard, your body just flat out turns against you, and everybody hates you? I haven't really thought much about high school during the entirety of eighth grade, not even when deciding courses…well, I did chose Art because I hope to one day enroll in AP Studio Art 2D…but still, middle school was middle school. I only lived in the present…
The more Mabel thought through what she has been told about high school, the more scared she felt. For some reason, grade eight did feel a little more intense than she expected; she never experienced the same pressure in grade six or seven. It could be because of the particular combination of teachers she had, or they were simply just gearing the students up for – that's right – high school.
Mabel remembered that when she first "realized" – well, Wendy isn't exactly the best source when it comes to life experiences anyways – the horrors of high school, she was terrified. She didn't want to leave Gravity Falls; one summer there and it was like she lived there her whole life. Luckily she had Dipper with her; that is, until he decided to take Grunkle Ford's apprenticeship. And that did it; Mabel ran off, setting off the whole "apocalypse" in the process, and her brother had to convince her to get back out of her "dream world" and stop that nacho's madness. And true to his word, Dipper has stayed by her side since. Everything that has happened - the broken sibling bond, the fear of the future – has all been left behind. She and Dipper really are the mystery twins for life; despite everything they continued to endure in the already-horrible stage that is middle school, the two had each other's back, and that was really all that mattered.
And now it has been one year since that first year over at Gravity Falls. Yes, she and Dipper did went back, but not for the whole summer, of course. While their parents know very much that they wish they could be in Gravity Falls as long as possible, they also feel like the two need to get out and explore other places as well, hence their departure from the small backwoods town early, and now here they are, going back to San Francisco from their first trip to France. And besides, Mabel actually does enjoy traveling to other countries and immersing herself in the local culture. But going back to Gravity Falls for at least one month per summer – that had been an arrangement she and Dipper's parents agreed to comply with.
Returning to the present, Mabel started focusing on the future. She had been told countless times by both her parents and teachers that the next four years of her life are going to matter more than ever before. Her grades, her extracurricular activities, relations with teachers, on-campus behavior; everything are going to have an impact on her application to colleges. Mabel never really thought much about college, but she knows that getting a bachelor's degree is vital to a good career; and the very thought that the next four years of her life are going to have a lasting influence on the rest – her job, her income, probably even her personal life as well - is just freaky. And speaking of her personal life; academics is just one aspect of high school, anyways. What about her social life? Things are just getting more and more complicated. And then there will be the SAT, AP courses, and the California high school exit test…yikes. There will be no room for mistakes or errors on any of those, that's for sure.
Mabel felt like curling up into sweater town. It's only one month away before she and Dipper have their fourteenth birthday…and just a few days later, it would be the first day of school. And not just the first day of school…the first day of high school. It's so close…and before she knows it, she will be off…
Mabel felt Dipper's hand on the seat divider to her right. She grabbed her brother's fingers and squeezed them tightly.
"Mabel?" Dipper noticed the sudden pressure on his left hand. He looked over at his usually-smiling sister, who is clearly showing a frightened face.
"Huh?" Mabel is somewhat surprised by Dipper's response. She looked over at her brother, and let out a sigh. "Oh, sorry. Just a little…tense."
"About what?"
"Well…," Mabel tried saying. However, she couldn't get herself to talk.
"Hey, it's okay, Mabel," Dipper reassured. "Come on; what is it?"
Mabel let out another sigh. "All right. Dipper, you know we are only a month away before we start school, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"And, well…not only would it be the first day of school, but it would be the first day of high school. Grade nine. And the next four years of our lives is going to matter very much…grades, activities, whatever…it's all so complicated! High school, Dipper! What I'm trying to say is, is…I'm scared. I know I have expressed this worry before, but now since we really are that close to starting, I…I…"
Mabel took a deep breath, and hung her head low. She's not sure how to continue.
"Hey, Mabel," Dipper said. He placed his other hand over Mabel's right hand, which is still wrapped around Dipper's left. "You don't have to be afraid. Besides, I'm actually a little scared too."
Mabel looked back up at her brother. "You…you are?"
"Yes, I am," Dipper said. "And actually, to say a 'little' afraid wouldn't be so accurate. I'm terrified."
"But…you…well, you never really seemed to…show it," Mabel commented.
"That's true. But really, Mabel, I am scared of growing up, just like you are. I'm sure you remember me saying that once or twice."
"I know. I…I just never really believed it," Mabel admitted. "You have always seemed so willing to grow up…to go out into the real world…you didn't seem scared of anything."
"That was when I was younger," Dipper continued. "And I can't blame you for not believing that I am also scared of growing up. True, I do have big visions of myself for the future, and I have talked about them many times recently; but, again, they are no more than just dreams."
"Well…," Mabel tried saying. She let out yet another sigh. "I…guess you don't have to endure this alone, yeah? I mean, we're both afraid. And we have each other, don't we?"
"Yeah," Dipper broke a small smile. "Hey, we've gone through grade eight together. Our first year of being teenagers. And we did just fine. Why? Because, yes, we had each other's backs. I don't see how that's going to change."
Mabel also smiled. She doesn't know what else she could say; really, the fact that she and Dipper had always been together and will continue to be together is all that can be said. It's that simple.
Mabel leaned onto Dipper's shoulder, and made a small purr. Dipper let out a small chuckle.
"Dipper," Mabel continued. "We may have each other, but…whatever we face in high school won't change. We have grades, SATs, AP's, teacher recommendations, co-curricular activities, not to mention our social life…"
"And we will go through it together, Mabel," Dipper reassured. "It will be tough, yes. There will certainly be times when we will feel like all hope is lost. But having support from people who love and care about you can make the process less painful. We survived middle school together. So high school, sure it may be more challenging, with more homework and peer pressure and whatnot, but I think we are prepared to face the nightmare together. And besides, we encountered many things in the past that were a whole lot worse than high school – and we did just fine."
"True. I guess after you have a face-to-face fight with a lunatic Dorito, everything else seems trivial by comparison."
"So you see? Everything we have been through – we survived. And we had each other through it all. If we can defeat an equilateral triangle, than we most certainly can defeat four years of homework and pimples. And trigonometry."
Mabel chuckled slightly. "Speaking of trigonometry…and math in general…are you planning on enrolling in AP Calculus? I mean, you're going into Algebra II already. Only top math students from middle school are able to go down that path."
"Yeah, I plan on taking AP Calculus. Hopefully I can get into the BC class in grade eleven. If not, then AB is fine. And then maybe I can take honors statistics in our senior year, and register for the AP Stats exam in May."
"Well, you sure are one big nerd," Mabel taunted, but with affection. "With your plan on enrolling in all those hard math and science courses, what do you plan on majoring in in college?"
"Well, one thing's for sure, I'm going to at least minor in film production or film studies," Dipper responded. "And I suppose my major can be something related to math or how things work, like physics, astronomy, maybe chemistry. I will also consider engineering or computer science, too. I do like building stuff and applying the technical knowledge needed."
"Do you still want to start your own ghost-hunting show after college?"
"Nah. I think I'm going to leave all those mystery stuff as a hobby," Dipper shrugged. "What about you, Mabel? Your focus seems mainly in the arts and humanities. Don't you want to join AP Art?"
"I do. Hopefully I can enroll by grade ten. I would also like to join AP Music Theory, but that course is for juniors and seniors only, so I'll have to wait," Mabel responded.
"I'm sure you'll have no problem entering AP Music. You do have a keen sense of the subject; why else would you be good at singing and able to compose near-perfect songs right on the spot?"
"Man, we sure are one talented bunch," Mabel boasted half-jokingly. "One's a math geek, the other a classical artist and composer. We really are the mystery twins."
"Yes, yes we are, Mabel." Dipper said as he put his arm around Mabel's shoulders.
"But regardless of what we face…we will always be together, right bro-bro?"
"Yes we will, Mabel. I guarantee that," Dipper insisted. "No matter what, we will stick together; through the entirety of high school, and hopefully college as well. And about college…we can study different things but still be on the same university campus."
"Sounds like a nice plan," Mabel said, and made a large yawn. She closed the scrapbook she had on her lap and slipped it into the space to her left. She took off her shoes, lifted the seat divider between her and Dipper, and proceeded to curl herself up against him.
"Mystery twins?" Mabel held up her fist.
"Mystery Twins," Dipper said, and he and his sister fist-bumped.
"I love you, Dipper," Mabel whispered.
"I love you too, Mabel."
Mabel let out another yawn, and closed her eyes. She again made her signature purr of affection as she snuggles against her twin. Within a minute she is comfortably dozing away in her brother's warmth.
Dipper, still awake, is again looking out the window, but isn't really absorbing the outside scenery. Having had a fun but tiring trip, and also embracing his curled-up sister like a cat, it's hard not to feel sleepy.
Dipper took one last glance out the window before bringing down the shade. With one more of the few open windows in the area closed, the cabin grew dimmer. The dark environment, coupled with most of the passengers asleep and the constant humming of the plane engines, gives the cabin a peaceful and sleepy mood.
Dipper, his eyes drooping, looked back at his snoring sister. He broke a small smile, and gently kissed Mabel on her forehead. He got out his seat's blanket and covered himself and Mabel with it. Very soon, he too is also asleep, leaning on his sister. The two held on to each other tightly as they slept.
The Boeing 747-400 continued to cruise above the misty peaks of Northern Scotland towards San Francisco; towards the future.
Gravity Falls was created by Alex Hirsch and produced by Disney Television Animation. All characters and related media belong to Disney.
AP Studios Art 2D, AP Music Theory, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, and AP Statistics are courses of the Advanced Placement (AP) program. The SAT Program and the AP Program are products of the College Board.
United Airlines has service between San Francisco International Airport and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport daily.