"Grunkle Ford, it's here!" Ford rushed into the room and turned the volume up on the TV. Shandra Jimenez, the news reporter, had just finished her interview with Pizza Guy after he fought a goat for his pizza slice. Now, she was about to announce something extremely important: the location of the G-lympics!

"Wait, I want to see what's going on!" Mabel rushed into the room, her new pom-poms in her hands. Since becoming a part of Pacifica's cheerleading squad, Mabel hasn't dropped her pom-poms. She probably even showered with them. "Guys, what's happening?"

"SHH! Mabel, it's the G-lympics!"

"The what now?"

"The G-lympics, Mabel," Grunkle Ford explained. "It's a competition amongst incredibly smart people that takes place once every four years. The location moves all around America! I was lucky enough to participate back when I was 15."

"And the prize," Dipper finished, "is a note on your permanent record!"

"What? Boring!" Mabel raised her pom-poms above her head. "These are a much better prize!" She cartwheeled out.

Dipper and Grunkle Ford shrugged and turned back to the TV. "And now," Shandra announced, "for the first and probably last time, Gravity Falls will be hosting the G-lympics. While nobody in this town actually cares about this tournament, we advise townsfolk to stay away from the crowds of outsiders who will be visiting us during this week to partake in the event."

"Gravity Falls?" Dipper's jaw dropped.

"Dipper, you could be a part of this!"

Dipper shook his head. "I couldn't! You've been in that competition, you know how hard it gets. I'm not sure if I'm ready for it."

"Dipper," Ford placed his hand on Dipper's shoulder. "If there's one person in this town who even stands a chance in a competition like that, it's you. And even if you do lose, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Nothing, I guess."

"And if you win?"

"A note on my permanent record?"

"Which then lets you get into the greatest university of all time, lands you your dream job and gets you your dream life."

"Yeah!" Grunkle Stan stood in the doorway, holding a Pitt Cola. "Look, kid. When my nerdy brother entered this competition, he had already won thousands of gold trophies. But this one was different. Your Grunkle Ford took a lot of pride in winning, and I'm sure you will too."

"To do that I'd have to win."

"Well, you won't know until you try." Stan nodded at his brother and Dipper, then chugged the Pitt Cola in his hand. "Soos! We need to get a vending machine for this place!" He went outside to find the handyman.

"Well, I guess I'm doing the G-lympics."

Dipper wasn't at all surprised at the queue - there was nobody there. He was the only person in the town who had signed up for the G-lympics. That would mean that he would only be going against people outside of Gravity Falls.

He wrote his name on the sign-up sheet. Apart from his name, the page was blank. Dipper sighed and headed for his next lesson. Unfortunately, someone had other plans. "There you are, Dipper Pines! I thought you'd be hanging around here." Blendin Blandin stood with his arms crossed. While he wasn't the most threatening of people, Lolph and Dundgren, his two henchmen, were a lot bigger and stronger.

Dipper forced a laugh. "Blendin, didn't expect to see you here! Um... I was just leaving actually."

"Oh, I don't think so. Where's my measuring tape?"

"Look, I still don't have it. I gave it back to you! You probably lost it somewhere." Dipper stepped back as Lolph stepped forward.

Blendin coughed lightly. "Are you calling me... clumsy?"

Dipper didn't bother answering. He knew this wouldn't end well if he stayed. He turned and ran.

"After him!"

Lolph and Dundgren sprinted after Dipper, who had run in the opposite direction of his class. Great, now I'm gonna be late. He glanced back to see Blendin struggling to keep up. While he had some incredibly fit servants, Blendin himself struggled to run across one corridor. Now Dipper just had to get away from Lolph and Dundgren. "Pines! We promise not to dunk your head too hard if you just stop!"

Lolph laughed at his friend's comment. "Yeah, your brain won't be too soggy!"

Dipper couldn't help himself. "At least I've got a brain!" He immediately regretted that.

"I'm gonna get you, you nerd!"

Dipper had experience running from Lolph and Dundgren, and knew that the best way to distract them was to go through the football field when the cheerleaders were practising. However, the cheerleaders weren't practising today, which Dipper only knew because of Mabel. So how else could Dipper get to class on time and stop Lolph and Dundgren?

He would have to leave the school and re-enter through the secret passageway Wendy had told him about. It was a small hole in the fence that Dipper could get through, but someone as large as Lolph or Dundgren would struggle to pass. Dipper ran to the main entrance, burst through the door and circled back around. He quickly ducked through the fence and ran to class.

Dipper pushed the classroom door open and stumbled inside. Nobody seemed to notice. Dipper sat down next to Candy, who looked up from her notes. "Hello, Dipper. Why are you late?"

"Uh, Lolph and Dundgren were chasing me."

"That is not possible, they are sitting right there."

Dipper turned to see where Candy was pointing. Lolph and Dundgren were sitting smugly, laughing at some video on a phone. Dipper smacked his head. They must have stopped chasing him at some point before he got to the fence. "Never mind, I guess. Actually, I wanted to ask you..."

"Yes."

"What? I didn't even say anything."

"Oh, right. Continue." Candy looked down at her notes.

"I was gonna ask why you didn't sign up for the G-lympics. You're the smartest girl I know."

"Please, Dipper, we both know that the G-lympics are very rigorous and not for the light-hearted. I can only go so far in the competition. But you did sign up, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. I did."

"Then good luck!"

"Hey! Pines and Chiu! Silence please." Dipper looked at his book. He leaned sideways towards Candy. "Thanks," he whispered. Candy nodded and smiled. The two of them worked in silence.

"And so, after tireless efforts from myself, Wendy and Soos, the house is complete!" Grunkle Stan wrapped his arms around his grand-niece and grand-nephew and pulled them into a hug. "Now we are gonna make a ton of cash!"

"With a house?"

"Of course not! This is gonna become Gravity Falls' best tourist trap. The only thing now is to find something that brings tourists to the house."

Mabel jumped up excitedly. "I could make some cool art stuff! I'm pretty awesome at art. I made all our Halloween costumes since we were 5!"

Dipper narrowed his eyes. "That might be a slight exaggeration. But she is pretty good at art."

Grunkle Stan pondered over the option of letting his grand-niece build some strange creation that may or may not be able to bring in tourists. "Eh, whatever. Sure. But you best be paying for the stuff yourself."

"Don't worry, business-owner Grunkle Stan! Mabel's got a plan." Mabel grabbed Dipper and dragged him up to the attic where their now fully-furnished room was. "Dipper, I don't have a plan!"

"So? Just think of something."

"But you're the smart, thinking one. You signed up for that nerd-lympics thing!"

"First of all, G-lympics. Second, you're better at imagination and all that. Look at all the sweaters you make!"

"But we need something for Grunkle Stan."

"Well, what would Grunkle Stan like to see?" Dipper and Mabel looked at each other. "Himself!"

"Okay," Mabel nodded. "How would we make two Grunkle Stans?"

"We could make a mirror maze or something?" Dipper shrugged.

"We could dress up Grunkle Ford!"

"But Grunkle Ford works during the day, we need something that can work all day. Something that won't need much taking care of."

"We could trap some cool objects in some wax or something..."

"Wait! Mabel, that's it! Wax!"

"Oh my god, a wax Stan! Dipper, you're a genius!"

"Thanks, but let's focus on getting a wax Stan! To the arts-and-crafts store!"

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We're starting to build some story now, which is great. I've always found starting a story to be super hard. Don't worry, we still have more characters waiting to be introduced, and a lot more interactions with Dipper and Pacifica.

In other news, I've been meaning to look for a new TV show to watch. I've heard Star vs The Forces of Evil is a pretty good show to watch after Gravity Falls. Do you guys agree? Or do you think there are any better shows? I've seen Stranger Things, which is also a favourite of mine.

Anyhoo, thanks to all you guys for reading this story. You can message me for no reason, cause I like talking to you guys. If you have any suggestions for improving my writing, I'm all ears. If you like the story so far, you can message me with a thumbs-up or something. But basically, you are awesome! Thanks for reading!

Until next time!