Chapter 5: Stanford Reads the News
Ford Pines was doing his grocery shopping when he was interrupted by someone commenting "You looked better on the photograph."
"Which photograph are you talking about?" Ford asked out of curiosity. He hasn't posed for a photograph that became public knowledge ever since he received that grant from Backupsmore University.
"This one where you appear alongside Fiddleford McGucket." The person explained, shocking Ford. Not only he didn't expect any photographs featuring both him and his college buddy to go public, he also didn't expect to meet anyone in Gravity Falls who ever heard of Fiddleford.
Looking at the newspaper, Ford realized that it was really his old friend making the news but the one posing next to Fiddleford was Ford's estranged twin brother Stanley "Stan" Pines. 'Fiddleford must have mistaken Stanley for me.' Ford thought. "Actually, the one posing next to Fiddleford is my twin brother Stanley." Ford explained.
"Wow, it must be so amazing to grow up with such a clever brother." Someone else commented.
"No comments." Ford replied and then finished his shopping. He also bought his own newspaper to read the details on how to people from his life he never suspected knew each other became rich and famous working together.
'What? Personal computers really sell? I hope my Dad never finds out it could have been me posing next to Fiddleford. He'd never let me hear the end of it. But how did Stanley and Fiddleford get to know each other and why would my friend choose such an untrustworthy person like my brother as a business partner?'
Ford kept reading and was surprised by the answer. 'Everyone else Fiddleford tried to sell his idea to was as skeptic about it as I was. Probably Stanley didn't believe either and was just trying to use my friend in another scam. He's just lucky people actually became interested on computers. Hopefully Fiddleford will ditch him now that my friend became too famous to keep needing Stanley's advertising services.'
Ford tried to spend the next days not thinking about Stan's triumph but it was ruined by a letter he received from his father. 'I'll show him the made-up creature. Tourist traps are something Stanley would do. I'll show them all.'
End chapter.