Hey guys, sorry it's taken so long for me to upload!
We just finished the 3rd quarter in school, and I really have a lot to worry about for next year. (High school, finally!)
I'll try to update this whole week, and I will probably take a long break again and come back during the summer. (Hopefully you guys will see the ending to this story by then!)
Chapter 7
"I know you're up to something!" Mabel accused Gideon. He put a hand up to stop the men with the quarintined outfits for just a second.
"Why Mabel, I'm just doing this for the good of the contestants!" Gideon defended. "I did a test and found out that there are mighty dangerous levels of pure oxygen in this room! Although we do breathe oxygen, in pure form, it can damage the human body."
"Since when would you do something for the good of other people? And how come you just randomly decided to take a test on the air levels backstage?" Mabel shot back. Gideon didn't pause.
"Science project."
"Science project season is over, Gideon."
This time, he paused. "Uh, for next year?" He waved it off as if it didn't matter. "Listen, all I know is that if I don't get these men in action, we could all die. You and your brother can't be the only ones to save the day, sometimes."
He nodded and the men proceeded. They had tall ladders with them, and climbed up to the rafters and plugged their tanks into the sprinkler system. The sprinklers up above spilled a bubbly purple mist.
Mabel knew this was a weird situation. She could have sworn that one of the tanks had a skull and crossbones on it. And since when was air violet and bubbly?
She was distracted from her thoughts when Pacifica strutted over.
"What's the problem, Mabel?" she asked, even though she and Mabel knew perfectly well that Pacifica didn't care.
"You don't care about anyone but yourself!" Mabel pointed out. "You're just here to tell me that you're jealous of my standings in the competition. I have one win, you have zero. You have no chance of winning, so you might as well make all of our lives easier and drop out!"
Pacifica laughed. "On the contrare, Mabel, if I win the next competition, there will be a mini round when just you, me, and your little misfits square off. And if you do win the next round, you will win the grand prize, having two out of three wins." Mabel sighed, having no idea where this was going. "Just don't let your win ruin your frendship with Cooky and Grandmom." Pacifica added with mock sympathy.
"Candy and Grenda won't care if I win. They know it doesn't define our friendship!" Mabel corrected. She thought that was the ending argument, but Pacifica still had one final bullet left.
"Oh, I know. But what about when they win and you lose?" Pacifica taunted. She slowly stalked over to Mabel and whispered in her ear: "You said it yourself, Mabel. This competition is your life dream. Don't let your friends ruin that chance for you."
That really hit home. Mabel really didn't know if she'd get upset if Candy and Grenda won. There was always next year, but Pacifica would have another trick up her sleeve, then. Mabel would have to work twice as hard to get in the posititon she was in now. Mabel: 1. Pacifica: 0.
"C'mon, boyfriend. Let's go get ready for my win!" Pacifica squealed, and took Gideon outside with her.
Suddenly, someone choked Mabel from behind.
"Relax, it's just us!" Grenda reassured her, putting Mabel down, who was taking deap breaths.
"Are you okay?" Candy asked. "Looks like you've seen a ghost."
"Welcome to my world." Mabel sighed.
"I can't believe we actually won an event! We're in the running with you!"Candy said, and jumped around with Grenda.
Mabel couldn't find the strength to move her legs. Would this be the last moment that she and Candy and Grenda could agree civilly if the competition really did tear them apart?
"Why aren't you jumping?" Grenda asked, concerned.
"I….havetogetready." Mabel rushed. She tried to dash into the bathrooms until she ran into yet another person.
"What now?" She complained, then froze when she realized it was Dipper.
"I know." He said when it looked like Mabel was about to ask him a billion questions on how he got down and what he found out. He was out of breath.
"I used…ladder…Gideon…truth spell…in sprinklers…" he gasped, then immediately stopped when he noticed Mabel's face.
"What did I do?" he asked. Mabel leaned against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor. She was about to break down.
"It wasn't you…It was…" she couldn't think of how to express it. It was mainly Pacifica and Mabel's friends, but she could find not a word that could describe the sweetest people on the earth, and the nastiest antagonist together.
"Pacifica?" Dipper guessed. Mabel nodded.
"Not just her…I was thinking, Dipper…What if this competition ruins everything?" she wondered.
"But what if it doesn't?" Dipper countered. "Mabel, you're one of the most positive, bubbly, sparkly," he wiped some of Mabel's sparkles (from her sweater) off of his shirt. "people I've ever met. If you win, lose, anything, you seem to always get through it. How could some little competition ruin you life?"
Mabel opened her mouth to speak.
"It was rhetorical." Dipper said. "Anyway, Pacifica is too much of a popularity/drama/competition hog. Don't let her rub off on you."
Mabel couldn't agree more.
"Yeah. I'd be embarrased to have hair that poofy."
