"So how'd this happen?" Tambry asked as they walked down the road that led to town. "Prank an evil wizard and get cursed? Drink a science experiment by mistake?"

"Bit of both." Wendy stuck her hands in her pockets and kicked at the ground. "Think it was that magical psycho who brewed the potions that enslaved the guys. Found some chocolates from some 'secret admirer' on my doorstep. Turns out they were coated in truth serum. Shared them with Soos and both pairs of Pines twins so now we're all in the same boat."

"Oh, my God!" Tambry gasped, dropping her indifferent demeanour at the unbelievable news. "You actually shared snacks with someone?"

"Hey, shut up!" Wendy snapped. "What else was I going to do? If I left it at home my brothers would have sniffed them out and made fun of me for the rest of the week!"

"They are little monsters," Tambry agreed, without much sympathy.

"Yep. Anyway, after I said Melody could lose some weight-"

"Woah!"

"I know!" Wendy cried, tugging at her hair in guilt. "I feel awful! But even after I said that, she was super nice and did me a favour by calling Dad and asking if I could stay the night so I could help with 'womanly things'-"

"His fear of girl stuff would be sad if it weren't so hilarious."

"You're right but hang on, I'm not finished yet. After Melody did that, we got to talking and I said a whole bunch of things that I didn't want to say. Might have freaked her out a bit. Then Melody saw you and I decided to chase you down and vent to you instead. I'm hoping that if I say what I've been bottling up here then I won't do it later to the people I've been hiding stuff from. With any luck, Ford will make a cure before tomorrow but I really don't want to risk it."

"Reasonable idea," Tambry agreed, her phone in her pocket for once as she gave her friend her full attention. "But how do I know this isn't another prank?"

"What? Why would I do something like that the day before the wedding? And don't you think I'd come up with something better than this?"

Tambry shrugged. "Eh, your last few pranks have been kind of lacklustre. Think you're out of practice. Besides, I've known you too long to put anything past you."

"Hey, it's harder to come up with stuff now that Mendez is around! Besides, I don't want to push people too far and get tasered for breaking the Never Mind All That Act. Again."

"Hmm. Well, you have been behaving yourself lately. Bit boring but good for you, I guess? Anyway, you're still going to have to convince me."

"What, my word isn't good enough?"

"Not with your history."

"I'm annoyed by that answer but can't actually argue with it," Wendy grumbled. "See?"

"Doesn't prove anything. You're smart enough to have that reply prepared. Tell me something that you wouldn't normally."

"I don't want to."

"Thought you were compelled to tell the truth?"

"I am, but I can just keep my mouth shut instead of blurting out the whole truth unless I'm caught off-guard. Which I'm super grateful for since I said plenty of embarrassing things already."

"Like what?"

"I pick my nose and eat it - GODDAMN IT!"

"Gross," Tambry stated, watching with amusement as her friend raged. "Wish I could say that was more surprising, though. Thought I'd seen you do it a few times but too scared to say anything."

"I can't help it!" Wendy snapped. "It's mostly out of convenience! There isn't always a tissue and I'm not going to walk around with snot on my sleeves!"

"Just in your stomach," Tambry replied. "You do know that's unhealthy as well as unsanitary, right? Or do you also like the way it tastes too, you disgusting snot-licker?"

Wendy glared at her, her mouth set tight.

Tambry raised an eyebrow. "I'll take your silence as proof that you can't lie to deny it."

"So you believe me now?" Wendy said, still not answering her previous question.

Tambry shrugged. "Guess I do. Fine, spill the beans. What are you scared of revealing?"

"Lots of things!" Wendy blurted out as she threw her arms wide, Tambry taking a step back to avoid them. "I don't even know where to begin! I'm so freaked out that this is going to be our last year of high school! I hate school but at least it was something to do and a place where I could meet my friends every day! What the hell am I going to do once that's over and I can't hang out with you guys as often? Work full time at the Shack until I can afford to move? And what will I even do when I do leave? Go to college? And study what? I have, like, zero interest in studying anything! I knew I was lazy, but now I'm starting to think I'm just boring!"

"Yeah, you do suck at planning things out," Tambry nonchalantly agreed. "I mean, geez, Wendy, you've been talking about moving to Portland since we were, like, thirteen and you still have no idea how to do it? And how have you not saved up at least half a car by now? Lee and Nate have saved up more than you even though they do less hours and you're smarter than both of them combined. Get your act together, girl, time's running out."

"Not helping!"

"Sure I am," Tambry replied, looking at her fingernails. "How are you feeling right now?"

"Angry!" Wendy growled.

"There we go!" Tambry said, clapping her on the arm. "You're welcome."

Wendy's eyebrows furrowed. "And now I'm confused."

Tambry rolled her eyes. "God, why do I have to spell this out for you? Remember when Mister Burke asked us to choose the topics for our essays? And you asked to do one about how the town came together in the months after Never Mind All That?

"You could just call it Weirdmageddon when we're alone, you know. It's not like the cops are going to jump out of the bushes and-"

"He told you that he didn't think you were up for something that sensitive or complicated," Tambry continued, speaking over her. "But then you got mad and decided you'd stick by it just to show him. And your essay ended up being so good that you got an A and they even put some of it in the school paper to help morale."

"Hardly anybody even reads that thing," Wendy muttered. Then she paused, thinking back. "You know, that was actually a pretty good week at school. Not only did it feel great when I saw the look on Burke's face, but I'd never done anything that got praised like that before. It felt good to be recognised after all the work I put into it."

"And all because you got mad," Tambry explained. "When you get like that then you really go all-out. Mabel said the same thing happened when you fought that shapeshifter last summer. Happened again when Jenna Myles had us all on the ropes. When you get mad you're a force to be reckoned with."

"I suppose," Wendy said slowly. "But that's different! That was action! This is real life! I have no idea about any of this. The only reason that essay was half as good was because Dipper was tutoring me. And like you said, I suck at planning things. How am I going to prepare for all the big stuff heading my way?"

"Same way you handled that essay: you get mad at everybody telling you that you're going to fail - even if it's you - and then you ask for help to figure it out. I know you won't want to talk to your dad about it but you've got other options. Like Melody. She must be nice if she agreed to help you out even after you called her fat-"

"Technically, I only said she could lose some weight, Mabel was the one who-"

"I don't care," Tambry said, waving her hand. "The point is that she's already done what you're planning to do. She moved out of her family's house and then moved here. And she'll be moving in with Soos after they get married so that's at least three times she's changed places. Plus, her and Soos have left school too so you can ask them if and how they stay in touch with their friends.

"And as for worrying about the gang…" Tambry paused, glancing at the dirt road for a moment before looking up again. "Yeah, things will change. Things are changing. We won't be able to hang out as much when we graduate. Lee and Nate are probably like you: no idea what they're going to do, but they've almost got enough for cars and that'll really help them out and they'll never separate, whatever happens. Thompson's got that manager job at the movie theatre that he can focus on and probably has the best chance of getting a decent star in life than the rest of us. And you've got your work. I know you say you hate it but the people there really care about you and will help you whatever you want to do so that's something.

"Me and Robbie will want to move in together, eventually, but that's easier said than done. I know he wants to focus on his music but I'm smarter than him, Wendy, and I know how hard it is to be a musician in today's economy. Especially since I don't think the rest of the band are committed. I'll have to find a job and I know that's going to be hard. I have no experience and I can't stand interacting with people face-to-face."

"You do spend an unhealthy amount of time glued to your phone, even for a teenager. You're probably going to need physio the way your neck bends all day."

"Quiet. I'm trying to be nice here and I freaking hate it so let me get it over with."

"Sorry."

Tambry let out a frustrated sigh from her nostrils. "The point is that life will probably get harder for all of us. Part of growing up. Yeah, we'll eventually go our separate ways. But I think that means we should just enjoy it more while we can. This is going to be our last year as high schoolers. It might even be the last year that we can all be together like this, depending on where we go afterwards. So let's make it count."

"Wow, that is seriously deep for you, Tambry," Wendy said quietly, looking at her friend as if she'd never seen her before. "You're not on drugs, are you?"

"Oh, for God's sake!" Tambry cried, throwing her arms up. "You know what, forget it, I'll never try to be nice to you again, you ungrateful, over-sized-"

"No, sorry, I'm sorry!" Wendy quickly said, trying to calm her down. "I didn't - it just caught me off-guard. It's - I've never seen you like that before and I didn't know what was up! At first I was worried that you could be pregnant but if you've been running-"

"I AM NOT PREGNANT!" Tambry screamed at her. "I'm sorry that not everyone can be as thin as Wendy Corduroy, you lanky freak! Melody out to have slapped your face off, you selfish -"

"I'm so sorry, it's the truth serum!" Wendy cried in despair at having insulted yet another friend. "It just makes me blurt stuff out and I got nervous and - ow! Hey, quit it! Ow!"

"Do you have any idea how much I have to work to stay thin?" Tambry yelled, aiming another kick to the shins, which Wendy easily dodged. "No, because you eat like a pig and still don't put on anything! I can't even stress-eat because it goes straight to my hips but you don't have to deal with any of that, do you?"

"Well, no," Wendy admitted. "But on the other hand, my butt's huge!"

"Stop rubbing it in my face!" Tambry yelled, throwing a punch that Wendy side-stepped.

"Okay, that's enough," Wendy decided, grabbing her wrists and not letting go. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean anything by it, I was just confused by the way you were acting. If it makes you feel better, I'm jealous of your body sometimes too."

Tambry stopped struggling, peering at her sceptically. "You are? How?"

"Ugh, there's a few ways," Wendy mumbled unhappily. "Sometimes I wish I was closer to your height so men wouldn't hit on me as often. I know I like older boys but it's just getting creepy. I'm also unwilling to go out with anyone shorter than me and that's becoming more of a problem every year."

"Uh-huh, that's one. What else?"

Wendy rolled her eyes and released Tambry's arms. "Really going for this, huh? Fine. You're more feminine than me and I know I say I don't care but there are some days where that's a lie. Whenever I told people that I'll be wearing a suit to the wedding instead of a dress, everybody - including you guys - immediately agreed that would suit me better and after a while I got self-conscious about it. Especially since if I put my hair up, I can pass for a guy (couple of girls have already hit on me, thinking that) while you wouldn't have that problem. I got teased for my freckles growing up and sometimes I wish I didn't have them. I wish my legs were more like yours-"

"You're jealous of my legs?" Tambry repeated incredulously. She looked her friend up and down considering the long, shapely legs that were hiding under her jeans. "What are you, crazy?"

"Oh, not of their shape, I totally blow you out of the water in that department," Wendy explained, much to her annoyance. "I'm just jealous of every girl who doesn't need to shave them like I do. If I don't do it every day, I look like a woolly mammoth by the end of the week."

"Wait, really?"

Wendy scoffed. "You think my height and strength were the only things I inherited from Dad? I wish I was that lucky. Got the Corduroy hairiness down too. Suppose it could be worse," she admitted. "Least I didn't get any of his chest or back hair."

"I thought those socks looked funny when we had that sleepover," Tambry said to herself, making it Wendy's turn to be annoyed. "And I can see you've got some on your lip too. Want to borrow some of my moustache remover for tomorrow?"

Wendy glared at her. "I'm annoyed but that would be appreciated, thank you."

"You're welcome," Tambry replied, feeling a little better about herself as they continued their walk and deciding to risk trying to get an answer to a question she's been asking herself for months now. "Hey, Wendy? Do you remember that day at school, when you got in trouble because of that stink bomb?"

"You'll have to be more specific."

"You know, in about April? The one you said went off by accident as you walked by the cheerleaders? The one that was so bad you got two weeks detention?"

Wendy blinked. "I remember that day," she said, tactfully.

"Well, maybe there's something that you can explain to me now that you're being honest," Tambry said, trying to hide her smile. "I always found it odd that you did that after going so long without pranks at school and never did another after. But, sure enough, you walked right past them and suddenly they're throwing up on their uniforms and all the tables around them are gagging too." Tambry let out a slow whistle. "Must have been one impressive concoction. But, the funny thing was, they never did find the remains of the stink bomb. So I was wondering," she said, tapping a finger to her chin thoughtfully, "What else could it have been?"

Wendy was a few steps ahead of her, her fists clenched and her eyes screwed shut in frustration as she tried to force dishonesty from her lips, a task she knew she couldn't manage but attempted nonetheless. Eventually, she felt the pressure build just like it had that day and spun round, unable to hold it back any longer.

"It was the chilli dogs. I saw the jocks behind the cheerleaders and thought that if I let it out while I walked past them, then they'd blame each other and I could get away scot-free and - shut up! It wasn't funny!"

Tambry clutched her side as she bent over, not even the sharp pain from her bruised limbs stopping the laughter as she spasmed.

"I couldn't help it!" Wendy snapped. "I bet Thompson that I could eat more than him and next thing I know, there's all this pressure in my gut and-"

"You tried to blame it on the football team!" Tambry cried, pointing at her.

"I do it all the time at home!" Wendy snapped, glowing red. "I just walk by, let it out, and let my brothers fight each other over who did it! But I didn't think it'd make those girls sick! I had to blame it on a stink bomb! There's no way I could let people know that was a fart!"

"Oh, my God, this is fantastic! Did you have to change your underwear too?"

"Yes. Ah, sonuva-!" Wendy ground her teeth as she watched Tambry almost double-over. "If that little witch ever crosses my path, I'm going to smash her face in all over again," Wendy promised as she waited for the laughter to die.

"Wow, that potion really is strong," Tambry said, sounding impressed when she could stand again, wiping tears from her eyes. "Not as strong as those chilli dogs, but a different kind of chemistry, I guess." Then she frowned suddenly, looking thoughtful. "You positive it was Jenna? That gave you the truth serum, I mean?"

"Well, yeah," Wendy said, glad to see that her amusement had finally ended but puzzled by the question. "Magic potions were her specialty. And I'm the one who knocked her teeth out so it makes sense she'd want to come after me."

"That's what I'm talking about," Tambry said, nodding. "That girl was freaking evil. She abused the Manotaurs, experimented on the boys, enslaved half the guys in town to fight for her, and then traded Dipper's life for her freedom. Why wouldn't she give you poison, or the plague, or something that made you explode? You wanted to rip my hair out, just because I dated Robbie after you broke up with him-"

"That's because you kept dating my exes!"

"I only did it three times, Wendy! How the hell am I supposed to keep track of all the boys you've dated when you can't even do it?"

Wendy said something under her breath and Tambry rolled her eyes, deciding not to push that subject. "All I'm saying is that truth serum is pretty lame for someone like that. If I had that kind of power, I'd do something way worse than that to my enemies and, unlike her, I'm not a psycho. Even if she knew about the wedding, it's more of an inconvenience or a prank than proper revenge."

Wendy frowned. Tambry's words did ring true now that she thought about it. Ford had double-tested the chocolates and hadn't found anything dangerous about them. So why would Jenna Myles settle for such a petty retaliation? Even if it were some part of a larger scheme, what would be the benefit of forcing her to tell the truth?

"Who else could it have been?" she said, partly asking herself.

Tambry shrugged. "You tell me? The professor? She's smart?"

"She doesn't know anything about potions. Not that I know of, at least. Besides, I think she'd rather use the flamethrower again."

"Did you ever find out how she found out about those clones?"

"Asked Mendez one day and she gave me this funny look and told me I was better off not knowing. Decided not to press it."

"Disturbing. Probably best you didn't then, yeah. Doesn't seem like the style of the Cipher Cult either, so I guess it must've been her."

"If it is someone else, we'll probably find out sooner or later," Wendy sighed. "One good thing about bad guys is that they're always megalomaniacs and can't stop boasting eventually."

"You'd think if they're smart enough to come up with an evil plan, they'd be smart enough to keep their mouths shut about it too," Tambry muttered. "It's been a while since we spoke like this," she noted as they left the road and reached the edge of town. "About something that wasn't high school or adults. I can't even remember what our last serious conversation was about."

"I can," Wendy grunted. "I spoke to you about the Principal, remember? About what I did."

"Oh," Tambry winced, looking at her friend apologetically. "I - I'm sorry. I forgot all about that."

"Wish I could," Wendy muttered bitterly. "I've done some dumb, selfish crap in my life but ruining a man's life?" She shook her head. "God, I don't even know where to begin apologising for that one. Not that I can since he left town."

"Hey, you're not the one who ruined it, okay?" Tambry said, her voice quiet but forceful. "Cipher did that. Him and his damn weirdness bubbles. What happened to him was awful but you didn't know."

Wendy didn't respond, deciding that she didn't want to hear her own honest opinion about it, let alone tell someone so close to her.

Tambry let out a sigh. "Listen, Wendy, I see that's bugging you. I get it. But if someone you cared about felt responsible for accidentally hurting someone, what would you say to them?"

Wendy stopped in her tracks. She thought of Mabel, the closest thing she had to a little sister. She remembered their discussion on the day they met Pink, a couple of months ago and years in the past, sitting on a bench not that far away.

"I'd tell them it wasn't their fault. That they shouldn't blame themselves for what Bill Cipher did. That he was a monster and they were just another victim. And that just - just because they made a few mistakes...they're still a good person."

"There," Tambry said, putting a hand on her arm. "That's how I feel about you. Does that help?"

"A little," Wendy said slowly and with great reluctance. They found a bench and Wendy slumped down on it, her hands deep in her pockets. "But I wouldn't call myself a good person, Tambry. Maybe I'm not exactly a bad guy but...I'm no angel, either."

"Yeah, you're definitely more of a devil," Tambry agreed, sitting beside her. "But you know who's worse? That Stan guy you used to work for. He was an outright criminal and he still saved the town. And besides, your behaviour's gotten way better. Even before the thing at school, you were working on your grades and stuff. Those kids have been a good influence on you."

"Yeah, they have. Just hope I can repay the favour."

"I think you're already doing that. Mabel really listened to whatever your clone said during that sleepover. And look at everything you've done for Dipper. He's really changed from that nervous little kid who came with us to the convenience store. Plus, he seems to finally be getting over that dumb crush so that will mean no more awkwardness whenever you two sit next to each other or whatever."

"Not from him at least."

"What?"

"Damn! Stupid truth serum," Wendy cursed, clenching a fist as she unwillingly explained. "I mean, I've been the weird one for a change. Wendy Two's little prank has been causing me major problems-"

"Good, you deserve everything coming to you after throwing me and Robbie around because of one stupid photo," Tambry told her, painfully rubbing at her shoulder.

Wendy glared at her. "I want to insult you but actually agree I overreacted and feel a little bad for taking out my anger on you and Robbie but don't want to admit that - agh! Piece of-!"

"Glad to hear it. Apology mostly accepted."

"Mostly?"

"My back really hurts and Robbie still can't bend his knee without wincing so I figure I owe you one last mean thing and then we'll be even, I promise. Now, what were you saying about the kid? Because if his crush has come back then that was all your clone's fault and you're the one who made her, so you've-"

"Only got myself to blame, I know," Wendy finished, grumpily. "No, we talked and he accepted that it wasn't like that. He's taking it way better than I thought he would, to be honest. He does this odd little smile sometimes, and I'm pretty sure he's thinking about Wendy Two, but that's it. I'm the weird one for a change."

"You are?" Tambry asked, confused. "Why?"

"I can't tell you," Wendy stated. "It's got to do with this thing that happened at the start of summer, with this brother and sister, and I hoped I'd get over it but it's taking too long and now it's making me tense around Dipper. I know that sounds vague and confusing, but it's not my place to say anything else. So I'm asking you as a friend, please just skip it."

Tambry sighed. "Alright, Wendy, I'll-"

"Or else I'll hurt you."

"Right. Well. Like I was saying before you added your unnecessary threat, sure, I'll move on. But I will say that I wouldn't worry about it too much. You two will be fine. Come next summer, you'll be adventuring with him and his sister every week, just like you are now."

Wendy frowned and looked at her friend, hearing something unusual in her voice, a tinge of sadness she didn't quite understand. "Tambry? You okay?"

Tambry let out a slow breath, trying to find the right words. "I...miss this, you know? I miss us. These talks and spending time together, just me and you. But you're right. This is our last year. And we're probably going in different directions after it. I was hoping we'd make the most of the time we have left but you've been spending all summer at the Shack. And I'm not criticizing you!" she quickly added, seeing Wendy open her mouth. "I've been doing the same thing with Robbie. But now I wish I'd spent more time with my best friend. Especially while I'm still yours."

"What do you mean? Of course you're my best friend."

"But I'm not your only one," Tambry sighed. "You've said the same to Dipper. I know some people can have more than one, but I can't. And I also know that you two have been getting closer while we've been drifting a little further apart outside of school. Again, I'm not blaming anyone! I've got Robbie and I wouldn't trade that for anything. Not even you. So I get it. But it still makes me a little sad inside that things are changing. Even if those changes are also making me happier than I've been in years."

Wendy scratched her head under her hat. It was true that they weren't spending as much time together. There was no one to blame for that. She wanted to make the most of her time with Dipper and Mabel while she could. Meanwhile, Tambry and Robbie obviously wanted to spend as much of what could be their last free summer with each other. And, like Tambry, as sad as that thought was, she didn't think she'd do it differently if she could. But it still gnawed at her a little, feeling the growing gap between her oldest friend, the person who had been there through some of the worst times of her life.

"You, uh, you were the person who helped me most when Mom left," she said. She rubbed the back of her neck and looked away, never comfortable discussing that topic with anyone. "When Dad started drinking and I had to look after the house and the boys...I didn't know what I was doing. Felt like I had the world on my shoulders and no idea how to cope. But you helped me. And not just with the cooking and the cleaning. You listened to me during the hardest time of my life. Then you did it again with Weirdmageddon and the Principal. Whatever happens, I can't thank you enough for being there when I needed you and nothing can change that, Tambry. I, uh, I just wanted you to know that," she finished, lamely, still avoiding eye contact.

Tambry watched her friend awkwardly shifting beside her, feeling touched. She looked around for something that might give her inspiration for a reply. Her eyes settled on a pair of kids, young girls, running around and playing with each other nearby.

"Look at that," she said, nudging Wendy and pointing to them. "Remember when we used to ride through town on our trikes? Carefree and oblivious to how complicated the world is." She leaned her neck against the back of the bench and watched the clouds. "When the hell did we get so old?"

"I don't know!" Wendy groaned, slumping down further. "What the hell's going on? I thought we wouldn't have our midlife crisis until we were fifty! That's a totally misleading name! Geez, I'd better warn Dipper and Mabel. God knows how they're going to handle it. Dipper's stressed enough as it is!"

"At least he's got his sister. You're the one who keeps telling me those two can handle anything as long as they're together."

"Good point. Won't be easy but they'll probably come out of it better than we will. Besides, they're way smarter than us and if they can handle the apocalypse and everything else, they can handle high school."

"In theory. About equal levels of stress I think."

"Personally, I think high school is way more stressful."

"I'm going to pretend the truth serum briefly stopped working and that was a joke."

"Good call. You know, Mabel's friends are starting at our school this year too. Think I'll keep an eye on them, maybe give them the advice I wish someone had given me when I started."

"Did you do that for your brother, too?"

"No, but I don't like any of them and Marcus is the worst. Maybe I'll give some tips to Gus and Kevin, when it's their turn. Depends on if they quit bugging me."

"Probably not, then. Hey, isn't that Northwest girl starting too? What are you going to do about her?"

"Like I said, keep an eye on her and help her, Candy, and Grenda out."

"Wait, really?" Tambry asked, looking at her in surprise. "But I thought you guys were rivals or whatever? Why would you help her out with anything?"

"Eh, that was mostly because she was jealous over Dipper. Maybe I could, I don't know, help steer her down the right path or some goody-two-shoes crap like that. Plus, I think she hates her dad even more than I do so she can't be all that bad."

"You really are different," Tambry said, still struggling to believe it, despite the truth serum. "The Wendy I grew up with would've loved watching her suffer after treating everybody like crap and walking around town with her nose in the air for so long."

"Probably," Wendy admitted, putting her hands behind her head to lean back and gaze at the clouds above them. "But she's been a good friend to Dipper and Mabel and I owe her something for that."

"Wow. Thought she would've gone berserk after she saw that picture of Dipper making out with your copy."

"They did not make out," Wendy growled. "I know you're saying that just to get a rise out of me and I'm a bit annoyed with myself that it's working, but I don't need you reminding me of it, let alone exaggerating the details. Besides, Dipper had a little chat with her too and they agreed to be friends."

"Guess you're not the only one to have changed," Tambry said, returning her gaze to the sky to join her friend in watching the clouds float past.

Wendy gave a chuckle. "Yeah, you're right. Old Pacifica would've gone mental at being turned down by any guy. She'd probably try some stupid, petty revenge scheme or something to get back at him."

"Hell hath no fury. Sexist but true."

Wendy smiled for the first time since that morning, feeling a little at ease as she tried to decide if one particular cloud looked more like a rocket taking off or an upside-down mushroom cloud.

Then she frowned as her own words started to settle in. The frown deepened as she thought back to the events of that morning. After a few more seconds of deep thinking and internal swearing, her scowl was enough to scare children.

"Hey, Tambry, can you do me a favour and go get that hair-removing stuff to bring to the Shack?" she asked, keeping her voice calm and returning her face to a neutral expression. "Normally I just go over everything with my axe but I'd like to try it once as an alternative."

"Sure. Wait, you mean right now?"

"Sooner is better than later," Wendy said, jumping to her feet. "I won't come with you - neither of us want me being too honest around your parents. And here, take my axe too."

"Um, why?" Tambry asked, looking alarmed and confused as Wendy removed the holster from her belt and dropped the sheathed weapon in her lap.

Wendy shrugged. "Melody doesn't want me bringing it to the wedding and it'll be safe at your place. And this way I won't be tempted to use it," she added as quietly as she could while she walked away. "See you at the Shack!" she yelled over her shoulder, going back the way they came for appearance's sake, mentally planning a path through the woods that would take her to Greasy's Diner.

Tambry shook her head as she watched her go, clumsily moving the axe in her hands to a more comfortable position before starting her journey home. "Thanks, Wendy, always wanted to carry a deadly weapon down the street," she said under her breath. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and was shocked to see that it had been over an hour since she'd last checked it and almost two since her last status update. She desperately wanted to fix that grievous error but had to delay it a little longer. There was a more pressing matter.

Tambry scrolled through her abundant list of contacts until she found the right one and hit call, putting it to her ear. "Hello, Marcus? It's Tambry. I've got some juicy information that - what? Tambry. Yes, that one, how many other Tambrys do you know? Never mind how I got your number, do you want to hear some embarrassing things about your sister or not? Thought that'd shut you up," she said, smiling wickedly as she rolled her aching, bruised shoulders, deciding this would do nicely as the final compensation for the clone fiasco.