Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing and all rights belong to Disney and Alex Hirsch.
William Browning had been teaching for 11 years. He'd learned how to manage even the rowdiest kids and perfected the art of keeping his students diligent.
It was because of this that he was found on a bright sunny Tuesday morning putting the last stack of papers in place at his new job at Piedmont Middle School.
The ringing of the bell brought a mess of chaos and confusion. Standing outside the classroom he helped the other teachers guide students to where they needed to be. By the time the third bell had rung the halls were empty and he entered his classroom, ready for anything his students could throw at him.
The beginning of the day passed quickly and William was able to welcome his first two periods to the new school year without a hitch. It was third period when things started to decline.
The floor lacked the crumpled papers that would soon build up as the year progressed and the desks were clear of any junk kids would eventually stuff in them. William relaxed into the soft swivel chair he had brought from home, sinking into the worn blue cushions as he waited for the students to arrive. There was something exhilarating about the first day of school. The students were still excited and ready to learn, they hadn't grown tired yet.
The heavy wooden door creaked open and William looked up from his desk. "Welcome!" His smile stretched across his face as he jumped from his chair to greet the two children that had just entered his classroom. "I'm Mr. Browning, 8th grade English. I hope you're in the right room." He gave both kids a playful wink. Neither returned his smile though and his eyebrows drew together. They were both wearing matching frowns despite the girl's cheerful vibrant pink sweater adorned with a shooting star. Frankly, he was shocked at their drained expressions.
The slightly taller of the two gave a lingering glance around the room before she finally spoke, a strained smile plastered on her face. "I'm Mabel and this is my brother Dipper, I'm pretty sure we're in the right place." Her brother slouched further, ducking back into her shadow to escape from William's gaze. Glancing away from the boy now hidden behind his sister, William surveyed the schedule Mabel held out.
"Yep, that's me alright," he said eyes scanning the paper, his voice a little less chipper. "Take a seat anywhere."
Mabel gave him what might have been a grateful smile and headed to the back of the classroom, her brother not far behind her. William watched them set their bags down with a gentle thud and quietly start to converse. Twins, he thought shaking his head. Even so, he glanced back at them, there was something off about them.
The chatter increased by his door and a short red head bounded into the room followed by a larger blond. Turning away from the twins he clapped his hands, "Welcome to 8th grade English!"
"Now that we've got the rules over with, it's time for introductions," William said, grinning at the class as they broke into groans, how he loved this part. "I'm going to read off names and then they're going to be thrown," he gestured to the colorful ball on his desk, "This beach ball and then they're going to tell us how their name is actually pronounced and what they did over the summer."
"Curtis Andrews." And so it began. Slowly the kids warmed up to the game and William leaned back on his desk, smiling broadly, as his kids shared their summer vacations excitedly with the class.
"- it was really fun," a boy named Jonathan finished, tossing the beach ball back to William and taking a seat.
He thanked Jonathan for sharing and read the next name off his list, "Mabel Pines."
The brunette sitting in the back of the classroom stilled and looked away from her brother. "Catch!" He flung the ball across the room. He didn't see her raise her arms and for a second it looked as if she wasn't going to catch it at all. However, in a flash she was out of her seat, the ball in her arms.
A curly haired boy in the front whistled and clapped. "Good catch Mabel, I hope you're still gonna be part of the ping pong club this year," the boy said, grinning at the sweater clad girl.
William watched cautiously ready to interfere as Mabel shifted, avoided the boy's eyes. "Sorry… I-," William followed her gaze to her brother whose head lay buried in his arms atop the desk, "I'm actually a little busy this year," she finished glancing sheepishly back up. "Sorry."
William cleared his throat and was glad to see his students' attention snap back to him. "If you wouldn't mind saving this conversation for another time, I believe Mabel was about to tell us about her summer."
Mabel swallowed and William watched as her eyes darted around the room. "Well, uh, we visited our Grunkle- Grunkles," she corrected herself quickly, "up north." William didn't miss the fleeting look she sent her limp brother, heavy with implications he couldn't decipher.
When she didn't continue William thanked her for sharing and caught the beach ball as she tossed it back. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as she nudged her brother awake. "Mason Pines," he read, hadn't Mabel said her brother's name was Dipper?
His confusion must have been obvious as Mabel quietly spoke up from the back. "He goes by Dipper, Mr. Browning."
"Thank you, Mabel, though I do believe your brother can speak for himself."
Pink crept up Mabel's neck and she lowered her eyes as her cheeks were dyed a vibrant red.
Looking back to the boy beside her William raised his voice, "Dipper? Care to tell us about your summer?"
Dipper lifted his head from the desk and stared straight into William's eyes.
He almost had to take a step back. The gaze locked with his own contained a swirling darkness, the haunted brown eyes didn't belong on someone so young and William was stuck, staring into their depths. William was regrettably the first to look away and as he studied the specks of color decorating the tile floor he could hear Dipper's chair scraped against the floor. When the dread pressing down on William's chest began to slowly dissipate he forced a smile and look back up at the class. Dipper was now standing, his eyes shadowed by his drooping bangs.
Not sure what to think of the despondent boy William tossed the ball to him, eyes focused on the spinning colors rather than Dipper himself.
When he spoke his voice was hollow, barely above a mumble. "I visited my great uncles with Mabel." His voice did not shake, though as he retreated back into the dark green seat William saw his hands clasped tight into fists, pale and trembling.
The rest of the class passed fairly quickly, though William kept an eye on the Pines twins the whole time. There was something seriously wrong with their behavior and he was determined to discover the source. Abuse? Was something going on at home? He resolved to ask their teachers from previous years. Surely they would've noticed something off about the pair.
As the bell rang announcing the end of the period William lost sight of the twins as they joined the flood of students pouring out the door. Soon he was distracted by another student asking directions and the Pines were tucked away into a corner of his mind.