And I'm back, I don't know how long it's been but hi :)
Morning came, and dread had once again taken over Mabel. In Gravity Falls Mabel wouldn't care about what she wore or what anyone had to say because, there weird, goofy , unusual flourished, but here , in the real world that was not the case. "Freak" was often a word used to describe her. She was now conditioned to care , to be normal. It was the only way to lessen her punishment form a swirly to..other things that weren't as ...gross.
Slowly , she emerged from her bed , rubbing her eyes and staring at the weird blobs of colour that blinded her temporarily. Her feet touched her grey rug as she let out a sigh, before forcing herself up. At very lest she'd see her gruncles after school , that was enough motivation for her to get up . Her room was relatively mundane, she had a bed opposite her white door, a wardrobe and a table with a large mirror attached. Grey, was the only theme of the room , it wasn't even close to what Mabel wanted, but it's what society dealt her , and that was that.
Walking towards her wardrobe she couldn't stop the memories from flooding back .Recently , a coping mechanism she'd been using was to forget about her life at Gravity Falls, after all she couldn't go back and the thought of that just , hurt. Still , in that brief moment she thought of the party of she had had, and even though she lost , it led to greater things. She wondered how it was possible for two places to be so different. It was as if her heart physically hurt, not like a heart attack , it was an emotional tang she couldn't shake. It sucked.
She picked out a yellow jumper and a pair of black leggings and put them on. Mundane.
"Today's gonna be better" she said to herself, before sitting at her table and pulling her hair back to a ponytail at the back of her head. "It's going to be better" she repeated. She wanted to believe it , she had to. If not the despair would eat her alive, even though she was forbidden of being who she once was , she refused to let the world torment her to the point of not facing it. Her face was still as she starred at herself in the mirror. It had to be better.
"Say it again and I'll actually believe you" a voice said from the doorway.
"Gruncle Stan!" she exclaimed turning to face the doorway where he stood , leaning on the door frame. His arms were crossed, she quickly examined that her gruncle hadn't slept much the night before as his eye-bags were so deep it was as if they had pockets.
"Sorry to just barge in but i heard you from the hall , you need to talk Kiddo?" he smiled reassuringly.
"No I'm good" she said. She hesitated slightly before turning her head back to the mirror.
"Hey , if it's alright I was thinking I'd drive you to school today whilst ol'Fordsy talks with your parents. He's much more cool headed than i am " he chuckled.
"That'd be great " Mabel smiled. "See you in five "
"Alright kiddo , I'll be in the car. And do me a favour , make sure Dipper doesn't take long getting ready , I remember what he was like "
Mabel laughed "no promises".
Stan smiled before closing the door. He couldn't quite believe what this society had done to her , she was so spunky , so wonderfully weird. Those kids were going with him regardless, how could he leave them? With everything that they've been through.
Dipper and Mabel eventually met their gruncle in the car and the ride was long. Everyone had something to say and since the night before it was evident that they were all in agreement on where the twins should live , yet there was a silence plaguing the car, plaguing them.
Moments later Stan parked in front of the school.
"Now this goes without saying , but if you need me , for anything at all, give me a call " Stan said in an unusually sentimental tone. It was odd , on the days where they'd nearly be brutally killed by some sort of demon , monster or gnome , he'd just laugh it off , say it "Toughens you up" , yet now in a mundane environment he was genuinely concerned. And it sucked.
"Thanks Stan" Dipper smiled as he got out of the car.
Mabel hesitated before reaching for the door handle.
"Hey kid, if your feeling ill , call me " he said, making air quotations as he spoke. She smiled softly before getting out of the car and following Dipper.
The pair walked through the daunting double doors and into this huge hall. Both sides contained an endless string off red lockers only separated by the odd door containing classrooms and one or two bathrooms. The halls were bursting with life, all sorts of stereo types were there to be made. There were clicks everywhere , and it was safe to say if you weren't in a click , you were free game.
Neither of the Pine twins had successfully made any friends , however Dipper had had the fortune of making a few allies through his obligation to help mentor his peers. It was obvious that Dipper would do whatever it took to help his sister, however the tyrant of a headmaster refused to let the pair in any classes together. He claimed it was an unfair advantage and that everyone was treated equally here. Equal wasn't even close to the truth.
Consequently , this leads to the pair splitting almost immediately after entering the gates of hell.
Mabel turned to go to her locker , which was 'coincidentally' the opposite side of the school to Dippers ,but this time he decided to walk with her.
"Dipper, your lockers not eve close to this way" Mabel stopped as she noticed her brother. The last thing she wanted was for her brother to be labelled the "Freaks "brother. Imagine what that genetic disadvantage would be.
"I don't need to go today" he smiled. He then tugged her sleeve forward as if gesturing for her to continue walking." Besides , you look as if you need the company "
"Dipper I'm okay really . They can dictate what i wear for now , who i am for now , but nothing is permanent. It's just what I have to survive ,for now. And that's okay. Worse things happen" she spoke softy , however her voice juxtaposed the anxiety she felt . Even though she felt safer with her brother, she couldn't allow him to endure the torture she did on a daily bases. "Go to your locker, I'll see you later when one or both of our gruncles pick us up"
He nodded slowly, turning away to walk. Before walking away he turned back to his twin and said "you don't have to do this alone" before then walking away .
She continued to her locker with a new ambition. With any luck she'd be out of this dump if she and her gruncles could convince her parents that's what was needed, so she intended on helping their cause. Yes, this was a horrible idea but the only way she could make a day in this hell hole was through good results, and Gravity Falls was the only good result she could get , and she'd get it no matter the cost.
Instead of running to the bathroom to find refuge before first period , today she lingered, doing what normal people do , not throwing books as if her life depended but sorting them out , after all today she had more time.
It wasn't long between the dreaded time came when she heard the word "Freak" echo through the halls. Her heart pounded. What would she do? Usually she'd try and ignore it in the hope her tormentors had better things to do , which was unlikely. Today she needed a different outcome , but how would she achieve it? Fight? Shout? Speak?
Instead of ignoring or fleeing , she turned and faced a tall blonde surrounded by her posy. She wore a tight purple leather jacket with a white top, accessorised by her boyfriend, the jocks , arm that hung with her hair over her shoulder. There must have been eight of them including the jocks. This wasn't uncommon , over her long long time at the school the list of people that found pleasure in her torment only grew.
Their eyes all crawled over Mabel , who stood taller than usual. Her courage had returned to her , for one last Howrah , and she needed it for what was to come. She slowly clenched her fists together and held her breath.
"Would you look at that everyone the freak has shown her face before first period...someone's very brave today aren't they" the blonde spoke, in a patronising yet cold tone. The group laughed, Mabel couldn't comprehend how funny they found that. Really?
Her heart raced , her fist clenched , her pupils dilated , she could feel the adrenaline pump through her veins, every second speeding up. She thought about Bill Cipher and his Posy and how Ford , regardless of the odds took him on time and time again and eventually came out victorious . If he could face a sociopath of a triangle , she could face her peers.
She began listing possible come backs , what would it result in. How the blonde's hair was so dead that it looked like straw , how boring their lives must be if they take so much pleasure in torturing her , how society has moulded them into spiteful , boring clones . Suddenly her mind became silent before one thought flew through her mind. Then she saw ,she couldn't respond because she had let society mould her.
Her fists relaxed , before she said " I love your jacket , it really suits your skin tone" before tuning back to her locker. The posy was stunned. Mabel was also low-key stunned too , but also relieved, Relieved that regardless of what was thrown at her she didn't stoop to their level , and that was result enough for her. They didn't succeed in completely moulding her and suddenly she felt a weight get lifted from her chest.
"Ugh what a freak " the girl retaliated.
Mabel faced them and smiled before walking off , but before she could she felt a hand grab her arm and forcefully turn her to face the group. "Not so fast" the girl who grabbed her wrist spat , tightening her grip, she could feel the nails dig in to her skin, pinching , bruising , bleeding .The bully yanked Mabel to the centre of the circle the teens had formed. Mabel was surrounded.
"What do you want!" Mabel finally snapped. Why her? Why were they always , so , unbelievably harsh.
"Awwwww is the Pines girl upset! " the blonde laughed , maintaining eye contact with Mabel. "What lovely hair you have" she began as she grabbed a strand and ran her hand through it in a threatening manner. Mabel freed her wrist and hit the girls hand from her hair. "Someone's feisty today". The group burst into laughter. They were almost right to laugh. Even if she wanted , there was no way she could overpower or escape them , there were too many ruthless teenagers."Let's make a bet... I bet the Pines girl will look just as ugly without her mop of hair" the blonde said , maintaining eye contact.
"I bet she'll look twice as ugly" one girl chirped from the other side of the circle.
"I'd agree, but that's impossible" the blonde laughed as she put her hand out , demanding a pair of scissors. The girl next to her placed a pair in her palm. Within an instant she gestured to the group to grab her , and they did.
"What are you doing?" Mabel shouted as she wriggled to get free. She fought and fought but it was useless. There were too many of them.
"Aww nothing" the blonde squealed . Then within a second , she chopped off half of her Ponytail. "Should of ran whilst you had the chance freak" she whispered in Mabel's ear, harshly empathising the word freak. "How much more should we chop off" The blonde announced , as if talking to the entire hall. "Shave her head " "Chop of the Pony" " Zig Zag it" , all the voices moulded together, each request more cruel than the last. Mabel continued to struggle but it was no use.
Then , as if by miracle , the bell rang. The blonde rolled her eyes , before grabbing the back of the remaining of Mabel's hair and yanking her head back until she was face to face and said " You got lucky...FREAK" before pushing her head forward. Then , she gestured for her posy to follow, leaving Mabel in a pile of her own hair.
Once they had left she didn't hesitate but to run to the bathroom. What did they do? How could anyone be so cruel? Especially as a sixteen year old! How was this possible. The dark grey bathroom contained a row of slightly darker cubicles , and opposite a row of sinks with mirrors placed neatly above. She raced to the mirror in order to investigate the state her hair was in. She yanked out her ponytail and she gasped. Once her hair ,long and luxurious reached her stomach now stood barely underneath her shoulders, and wow , it was uneven . Her instinct was to scream , cry and crawl to the corner of the bathroom and never leave. However , today was different. There was a new hope hanging over the day and she had to , had to hang onto it.
Her eyes, bloodshot and tearful met in the reflection of the mirror. She counted to 3 and sighed before searching in her bag for the pair of scissors she used in art and design. Holding her breath she began cutting her hair, attempting to even out the length and make it somewhat presentable
10 minutes later her hair was shoulder length , paired with a long wispy bangs to frame her face. She stared in the mirror for a moment , trying to decide whether she hated it or actually really liked the change...maybe the bangs were too much. There was only one thing to do now , and that was to call her gruncle.
"Stan..." her voice cracked as she spoke to her uncle through the phone. "I need you to come and get me , I feel Ill"
And with that the phone hung up , she knew her gruncle was on his way so she made her way to the school gates to be picked up.