Waterlogged II
Dipper didn't finish hanging up the signs until the sun was just dipping below the horizon, and then it took until the sun disappeared to finally get back to the Mystery Shack. He cringed at the new cuts and splinters on his hands.
No sooner had he walked through the doorway when he was tackled by a bedazzled girl and her equally bedazzled pig.
"Dipper! Guess what Waddles and I did!"
"Mabel, didn't you learn last time that pasting gems to your face is a bad-"
"No."
"But-"
"Shh!" Mabel put a finger to Dipper's lips, ceasing the Dipper logic that interfered with the Mabel way.
Rolling his eyes, Dipper left the girl and her pig to their shenanigans and climbed up the stairs. When he arrived to his room, he sat on his bed and took out Journal #3. He needed to find out about a creature he had seen earlier that day.
Just as he started to look through the pages, the sounds of two people arguing could be heard below. Grunkle Stan's voice could be recognized clearly, while the other one was harder to identify, though it sounded familiar. Curious, Dipper headed downstairs and approached the main store area. He had reached the back of the "Staff Only" door and started to open it when he started to hear the voices more clearly.
"... but I'd only stay for a few-"
"No can do, kid. This is a tourist shop, not a motel!"
Peeking through the door's opening, Dipper saw Stan arguing with a girl at the doorway, whom he recognized as the girl that had been stuck in the mud. His eyes widened a bit. What was she doing at the Mystery Shack after hours?
Listening to the conflict, Dipper pieced together what was happening. Apparently, the girl needed a place to stay. Some locals had pointed her to the Mystery Shack, since Stan had taken in two other kids about her age not too long ago, but the conman was in no way willing to invite in another mouth to feed.
Eventually, Stan grabbed the edge of the door, ready to slam it in her face, when the girl grabbed her bag and pulled out a small, shiny object. Holding it up, she said, "Will this do?"
Stan gawked at what was in her hand. Whatever it was, it held some importance to the conman. He picked it up slowly and looked closely at it. "I-is this-?"
"Mm-hmm, and there's more where that came from, so long as you let me stay here for a bit."
There was a silence. The girl had a smug grin on her face as Grunkle Stan turned around and shouted, "DIPPER! Get down here and help this kid bring her stuff upstairs! She's gonna stay here for a few days!"
Dipper sighed and waited a few moments before opening the door (didn't want them to know he had been spying). When he and the girl made eye contact, her eyebrows went up a little in surprise.
"So," she started, "you're name's Dipper, huh?" She walked up and threw her bag to him. He wasn't prepared for the weight and he stumbled back a bit. The girl laughed. "I'm Plover. The guy said upstairs, right?"
As Plover started in the direction of the stairs, Dipper glanced back at his great uncle, who was on his way to sell the decent-sized nugget of pure gold in his hand.
