After the craziness with the body-switching carpet had settled down, Dipper moved back into the attic with Mabel and Sammy the very next day. Dipper decided to give the room to Soos as a replacement for that poor excuse of a "break room." As for what went on between him and the woman who fell in love with him… it didn't last really long. It turned out that the woman only fell in love with Soos the pig, not Soos the handyman, so they decided to break up.
Deep down, Sammy was a tiny bit disappointed by how quickly it ended. A childish part of him wanted to see how far they could've taken it with such a strange relationship.
Eventually, things went back to some sense of normalcy, though Sammy didn't expect it to last long. One day in the gift shop, as he was sweeping the floor, he couldn't help but listen in as Dipper and Wendy were having fun watching the security feed and voicing the various people in the shack. "Do you have this T-shirt in my size?," Dipper asked in a deep voice, voicing one of the tourists. "I have something even better! Behold: My butt!," said Wendy, mimicking Stan while making her voice sound deep and scratchy. The two of them laughed while Sammy smiled with amusement and continued working in silence. "I could play this game forever," Dipper sighed in a lovestruck voice. "What'd you say?," asked Wendy, much to Dipper's panic.
"Coughing! I was coughing! Those weren't words!," Dipper cried out. Suddenly, Mabel popped up between them like a shark. "This is fun, what you two have," she laughed teasingly. "Mabel? How long have you been standing there?," Dipper asked in bewilderment. "Don't worry about that. Let's talk about why I'm doing this dance!," Mabel exclaimed, before suddenly going to the middle of the gift shop and doing an excited dance. "Do-do-do-do-do…"
"You seem pretty ecstatic today. What's the occasion?," asked Sammy. "Oh, no! She got into the Smile Dip again!," Dipper cried. But Mabel only laughed it off. "Wrong one-thousand! It's because today is the greatest day of my life!," she said, before throwing a calendar at Dipper's face. "Sev'ral Timez is playing at the Gravity Falls Civic Center and Buffet!" Dipper, who was far from excited upon hearing the news, rolled his eyes in disgust. "Ugh. Sev'ral Timez? Aren't they that boy band that came a decade too late?," he asked. "Uh, guys? What's a 'Several Times'?," Sammy asked curiously. Mabel gasped dramatically. "Sammy! You don't even know who Sev'ral Timez are?!," she asked. "Mabel, you can't expect everyone to know as much about boy bands as you do," sighed Dipper, before turning towards Sammy. "But yeah, they're this boy band that Mabel is obsessed with. I never saw the appeal in them. They're all fake, anyway."
"Dipper's right. They're just a manufactured product of the bloated corporate music industry," said Wendy. "Guys, stop!," cried Mabel. "You're gonna give Sammy a bad impression of them!" "It's okay, Mabel. I don't have a strong opinion on boy bands one way or another," said Sammy. "Come to think of it, I don't remember ever even attending one of their concerts before either…" "Whaaat?!," cried Mabel, her eyes wide with shock. "Sammy, you've never been to a concert before?" "Uh… Not really," said Sammy, shrugging. "Never saw the point."
"Well, that is unacceptable!," Mabel cried out passionately. "I refuse to let this injustice stand!" Suddenly, she hopped onto the counter and dramatically pointed at Sammy. "Sammy, you will come with me, Grenda, and Candy to see Sev'ral Timez!" Sammy raised his eyebrows in surprise while Wendy just laughed, amused by this sudden turn of events. Dipper was more bewildered than anything. "Seriously, Mabel? You're gonna drag Sammy to a concert with you and your friends to watch a bunch of shiny teens do nothing but dance and pose on a stage?," he questioned. "Of course!," said Mabel. "You heard Sammy. He's never even been to a concert before. How can I live with myself if I don't bring him to one and show him just how amazing and magical it could be?" "Oh sure, if by amazing and magical, you mean loud and crowded," Dipper said sarcastically. Once his surprise went away, Sammy pondered over it for a moment. "Well, it could be a great experience. And as much as I love working here at the shack, it can get a little slow at times…" He smiled at Mabel. "Sure, I'll go with you and the girls. Why not?"
"Yes!," cheered Mabel, pumping her fist in the air. "Get ready for the best night of your life, Sammy!" "Wow, you really want Sammy to come with you," said Wendy, raising an eyebrow. "I still wouldn't want to get my hopes up, dude," Dipper said to Sammy. "These boy bands are all the same, anyway. They're all style and no substance. Heck, there's probably a machine that mass-produces them." "Oh ho, or maybe the boys are grown from pods," Wendy said jokingly. The two of them burst out laughing. "Yeah, pods, totally!," said Dipper, snorting.
Despite them mocking her favorite boy band, Mabel refused to be discouraged. "You guys can't ruin this for me. Mabel's got back up!," she declared. Then, right on cue, Candy and Grenda burst into the gift shop. "Hey guys!," said Grenda. "Woot-woot!," cried Candy.
"Hey girls, guess what?," Mabel asked excitedly. "I just invited Sammy to come with us! This is gonna be his first concert!" The other girls looked at Sammy curiously. "Really? You've never been to one before?," asked Grenda. Sammy shook his head. "No, never," he said. "You don't mind if I tag along, do you? I know this is supposed to be a girl's night out, but–" "Say no more!," Candy interrupted him. "Sev'ral Timez is meant to be shared with everyone. We would love to have you as our honorary girl!" Dipper and Wendy couldn't help but snicker.
"Thanks," Sammy said with a smile. "I promise I won't get in the way of your fun." "Nah, you don't have to worry about that," Mabel reassured him. "Tonight's gonna be better than ever with you coming along!" She turned towards Grenda and Candy. "Who's ready for the greatest night of our lives? How many times am I gonna love ya?," she asked. "Sev'ral times!," the girls screamed in unison, before laughing and running away to get ready. "Ugh. Girls," sighed Dipper, rolling his eyes. "I know, right?," Wendy asked jokingly. As Mabel and Grenda ran out of the gift shop, Candy ended up running into the vending machine and breaking her glasses. "I'm okay!," she said, before running after the others. After they were gone, Dipper looked up at Sammy. "I still can't help but feel sorry for you, Sammy," he said. "Mabel has dragged me to one of those concerts before, and I never got over the trauma." Sammy blinked in confusion. "...I think you're overexaggerating a little bit, Dipper. I don't think it's going to be that bad," he said.
"Eh, I kinda have to side with Dipper on this one," said Wendy. "I guarantee that place is gonna be packed with girls screaming so loud it would make your eardrums bleed. Definitely not my cup of tea." She smiled teasingly. "So how does it feel being an 'honorary girl', Sammy? You know, I always thought you kind of look like a girl, too." "...what?," Sammy deadpanned.
"Oh, yeah!," said Dipper, staring at Sammy hard. "I can sort of see where she's coming from. Your long hair, your slim figure. Anyone could mistake you for a girl if they weren't looking hard enough." Sammy rolled his eyes. "Ha. Ha. Very funny, guys," he laughed sarcastically. "If I look like a girl, which I don't, by the way, then how come no one has mistaken me for one yet?" Suddenly, one of the customers came up behind him. "Excuse me, ma'am? Do you know where I can find the X-tra large T-shirts?," she asked. Sammy sighed heavily and turned around to face her with a forced smile. "They're at the back of the room," he said, pointing at them.
After the customer left, Dipper and Wendy burst out laughing. "You were saying?," asked Wendy. "Okay, that was only one time," said a slightly irritated Sammy. "Besides, it's not like it's going to happen again." "Heh, we'll see about that," Wendy chuckled. "Hey Dipper, you want to keep voicing over the people on the security feed?" "Oh yeah, definitely!," said Dipper, turning his attention back to the screen. He smiled mischievously when he saw a familiar teen appear on the screen. "Hey, is this the fingerless glove store? I like things that are dumb. I'm Robbie," he spoke in a voice that was clearly meant to mock him. "C'mon man…," Wendy laughed. Even Sammy couldn't help but chuckle a little. Robbie, of course, didn't find it nearly as funny. "Ha ha ha ha ha. Laugh it up, chief," he said, walking to them. "So hey, Wendy, Nate and his girlfriend are going to Lookout Point this weekend. Maybe we should go too?" Suddenly, Wendy became very angry. "Are you kidding me?! First you stand me up last night! And instead of apologizing, you want me to go to Lookout Point?!," she yelled. "Hold on. What happened?," asked Sammy. Wendy sighed heavily. "Robbie and I were supposed to go to this restaurant I've always wanted to try out, but he didn't even show up," she explained, still sounding pretty angry. "I tried calling him for hours, only to find out he was at home practicing his guitar skills or whatever."
"Hey, come on, babe. Don't be like that. You know I gotta practice every once in a while so I don't get rusty," Robbie said defensively. "Yeah, but come on, on our date?," Wendy asked angrily. At that point, Sammy decided that this was something he and Dipper shouldn't be a part of. "Come on, Dipper. Let's leave the two of them alone," he said, pulling him away.
Dipper, however, really wanted to stay and find out if Wendy was going to dump Robbie. So while Sammy went to help some of the customers in the gift shop, Dipper pretended to leave through the Employees Only door, but snuck behind it at the last moment and eavesdropped on Wendy and Robbie's heated argument. "Look, Robbie… I'm not sure this relationship's working. Maybe I should see other people," said Wendy. "Yes!," Dipper cheered quietly, pumping his fist in the air. He grabbed Waddles, who was sitting behind him, and hugged the pig.
"W-Whoa h-hey! Before you do anything crazy, I-I uh… I want you to hear this," Robbie said nervously. He reached into his pocket and took out a phone, but it was no ordinary phone. It had a white and sleek cover, and it looked so advanced and top-of-the-line that Dipper had to wonder where Robbie got it from or how he was even able to afford it to begin with.
"I hope this works…," muttered Robbie. He turned the phone on and held it up in the air with a smirk on his face. "I wrote this song just for you… Yo, Assisting Voice Lady!" The phone pinged loudly. "Yes, Robbie Valentino. How may I assist you today?," a female AI voice asked from the phone. "Whoa…," Dipper murmured, staring at the phone in awe. He had no idea how Robbie got his hands on one of those things… but where could he get one himself?
"Play Wendy's song," said Robbie, the smirk on his face growing larger. The phone let out another ping. Then, a recording of Robbie's voice could be heard emanating from it. "When I think about you, I feel feelings so deep, I'm tossing and turning, and you know I'm losing sleep." "Yeesh," said Dipper, cringing at how awfully cheesy it sounded. Surely, there was absolutely no way that Wendy was going to stay with Robbie, especially after listening to… that.
But then, as the song continued, it eventually became slower and deeper, adding a strange quality to it that Dipper couldn't put his finger on. "And I know I'm going crazy, when I look into your eyes, just listen to this song, and you'll be hypnotai-ai-ai-zed." Suddenly, Wendy's eyes went wide and her pupils enlarged, as though she was pulled into a trance.
After the song ended, Wendy rubbed her eyes. Her pupils were back to normal, but it was clear that something about that song had taken an effect on her. "Y'know, maybe I was being a little hasty. I'll give you another chance," she said, her former anger having vanished completely. "Yes, alright!," Robbie cheered. Then, much to Dipper's horror, Wendy leaned in and kissed Robbie on the cheek. "Mwah. Let me go grab my coat," she said, before leaving to get it. After making sure she was gone, Dipper ran out of his hiding place and went to confront Robbie angrily. "Alright Robbie, I saw that weird phone. What the heck are you up to?," he asked. "It's called romance, kid. Something you'd never understand," Robbie retorted, causing Dipper to growl angrily. Then, Wendy came back with her coat on. "You ready? I can't believe you wrote that for me," she said. "I know, I'm just so insanely talented," Robbie boasted as the two of them left the shack. As they went out the door, Robbie couldn't resist looking back at Dipper with a sneer behind Wendy's back. Dipper just stood there in shock, unable to comprehend what had happened. "Dipper?," he heard someone ask worriedly. He turned around and saw Sammy with Mabel and her friends staring at him in concern. "Why were you just standing there?"
"Guys, the weirdest thing just happened. I think Robbie might be hypnotizing Wendy with some weird phone," Dipper tried to explain. "Oh, Dipper," Mabel giggled while shaking her head. "Girls just like musicians. You'll understand when you're older." "We're the same age!," groaned Dipper. "Girls mature faster than guys. Right, Grenda?," asked Mabel. Meanwhile, Grenda was furiously kissing a magazine photo of Chubby Z. "This is Grenda time!," she yelled.
"Wait, what did the phone look like?," asked Sammy, being the only one who was taking Dipper seriously. "Well… it had a white cover…," said Dipper, trying to remember. "And it looked very fancy, like the type of phone only rich people could afford… and it even had an AI assistant built into it." Upon hearing that, Sammy brightened up. "Oh, that must've been the new phone I bought for Robbie!," he said. Dipper stared up at him in surprise. "Wait, you gave Robbie a new phone?! But why?!," he cried in bewilderment. Sammy raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because someone broke his old one, even if it was by accident?," he reminded him in a slightly berating tone. "O-oh, yeah. Right," said Dipper, awkwardly coughing into his fist. "But you believe me about Robbie hypnotizing Wendy, right?" Sammy rubbed his arm while averting his gaze. "Weeell…," he drawled. "Hold on. Sammy, you don't believe me?," Dipper asked in a slightly hurt voice. Sammy winced. "I definitely don't think you're deliberately lying, if you think that's the case," he said slowly. "But considering you still have that rivalry with him, are you sure you're not being… just a little bit biased? I mean, using a phone to hypnotize someone is kind of out there…" "Seriously? After all the supernatural stuff we've been through, this is where you draw the line?," asked Dipper. "Look, I just don't want to start accusing Robbie of anything until we have some solid, concrete evidence," sighed Sammy. "But if it really means that much to you, I'll help you with this, though I don't think anything will come of it."
"Wait, what? But what about Sev'ral Timez?," Mabel protested, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "The night wouldn't be nearly as fun without you!" "Yeah! Who's gonna hold me back from jumping onto the stage and attacking Chubby Z with my kisses?," asked Grenda. "Or pick me up and carry me on their shoulders because I'm too short?," asked Candy.
Sammy was torn between staying to help Dipper and going with Mabel and her friends to the concert, but Dipper decided to let his sister have this one. "You can go with them to see that concert, Sammy," he sighed. "I'll figure this out on my own." "Really? Are you sure that you don't need my help?," asked Sammy. Dipper shook his head and smiled. "Nah, I'll be fine on my own. Go have fun with the girls," he said, waving them away. "Well… alright, if you say so," Sammy said hesitantly, prompting Mabel and her friends to let out simultaneous squeals.
Later that day, Soos drove them to the Gravity Falls Civic Center and Buffet and dropped them off at the concert. There was already a huge crowd waiting outside the building. "Ok, girls have you all practiced your obsessed boy band scream?," asked Mabel. "Ahhh!," Candy and Grenda screamed in unison, causing Sammy to wince and cover his ears. Suddenly, a certain hillbilly ran up behind them and joined in the screaming. "Ahhhhh!," he screeched.
"McGucket?," asked Sammy. "What are you doing here?" "Sammy, good to see ya! I was just chasing a raccoon that stole my lunch and somehow ended up here!," McGucket answered. Then, the raccoon in question emerged from a nearby bush, holding a greasy paper bag in its mouth. "There you are! Git back here, ya varmint!," yelled McGucket, chasing the raccoon into the bushes. "...Just gonna ignore that," said Mabel, prompting the others to agree.
Sammy and the girls walked up to the ticket booth, where a rather unhappy teen was manning the booth. "Tickets please!," Mabel said with a grin. "Too late, girls! The show's sold out," the teen said unapologetically, even giving them a nasty smile before closing the shutters. Sammy frowned, not at all appreciating his rudeness. Meanwhile, the girls looked all around them and saw, for the first time, dozens of Sold out signs hanging all over the place.
"This night is ruined," Grenda bemoaned. "I welcome you death," Candy whimpered as she face planted onto the ground. "That's… a bit extreme," Sammy said with a wince. "Come on, it's not the end of the world. I'm sure you'll all have another chance to see–"
Suddenly, Mabel bolted to her feet with determination. "No!," she cried boldly. "I said we were going to meet Sev'ral Timez tonight, and I meant it! And I'm not going to let a 'Keep out' sign, keep us out!" "But how are we going to get in without tickets?," asked Candy, removing her face from the dirt. "Just leave it to Mabel!," said Mabel, before suddenly taking out an old pair of fence cutters, much to Sammy's surprise. "Where did you get that? Wait… don't tell me you're thinking of breaking in," he said with a frown. Snip, snip. Mabel just looked up at him with a huge smile on her face, opening and closing the fence cutters while not saying a word.
Meanwhile, back at the shack, Stan was placing cans of meat into a kitchen cabinet while humming to himself. "Stockin' meat for the apocalypse, doodly-doo. We're all gonna die," he hummed. He then noticed Dipper in the other room, pacing back and forth while being deep in thought. "What's with the pacing, kid? You look even more freaked out than usual," said the conman. Dipper glanced at him, slightly taken aback that his grunkle had suddenly taken an interest in him. "Um, I dunno… You wouldn't understand," he sighed. "Aw, c'mon kid," said Stan, before pulling Dipper into a chair. "Try me." Deciding he had nothing to lose, Dipper relented. "Okay. This is gonna sound weird, but I think Robbie might be brainwashing Wendy with his phone," he explained. To his surprise, instead of ridiculing him like he thought would happen, Stan seemed to understand completely. "I've seen this before," he said gravely.
"Really?," Dipper asked curiously. Stan sighed and looked up at the ceiling, as though he was reminiscing on old and painful memories. "Her name was Carla McCorkle. Carla 'Hotpants' McCorkle," he recounted. "Me and Carla baby would cut a rug together at The Juke Joint, our favorite 50's themed, 1970's diner. Then one day, this new age tree hugger starts playing this transcendental hippie music. Carla's hotpants turned into bellbottoms before I even knew what happened. My memories get a little hallucination-y at the end, but you get the gist."
"So, wait… you actually believe my theory?," asked Dipper. "You're darn right I do," said Stan. "And we're gonna get to the bottom of it." Dipper smiled, feeling encouraged by this new turn of events. "Right after I get to the bottom of this brown meat," said Stan, before taking out a can of apocalypse meat and upending it into his mouth. "Om, nom, it's apocolicious!"
Back at the concert, Mabel and her friends were finally able to convince Sammy to let them break in thanks to the combined power of their puppy dog eyes, his greatest weakness. Sammy finally relented, but under the condition that they wouldn't get carried away and would only stop by for a quick hello and maybe a few autographs. And that was how they soon found themselves inside the Civic Center after Mabel picked the backstage door with a hairclip. "Hello! Sev'ral Timez?," Grenda boomed. "We want to give you several kisses!," Candy hollered. "Calm down, girls. Remember, we're only here to say hello," Sammy reminded them. Then, he turned to face Mabel. "I don't understand how you and Dipper keep convincing me to let you do things like this. What's your secret?" "It's just part of our twin charm," Mabel said casually.
Eventually, they saw Sev'ral Timez's dressing room door. "Look!," cried Mabel, pointing at it. The group ran up to the door. "This is it, girls. And Sammy. You're finally going to meet the five cutest boys in the world! Dipper's gonna eat his words that boy bands are 'fake.'" She put her hand on the doorknob and was about to open it, when Sammy stopped her.
"Wait. Mabel, we can't just barge in there unannounced. We're not even supposed to be here," he reminded her. "Here, let me handle this." He motioned for Mabel to step aside, then gently knocked on the door. "Um, hello? Several Times?," he asked. "My name's Samuel. I have some friends with me. They're really big fans of yours–" "Huge fans!," Grenda yelled. "–and they really wanted to see you perform, but the tickets were sold out, so we had to break in with some fence cutters and a hairpin, and… I-I'm not making this sound too good, am I?," Sammy sighed. "So… do you mind answering the door? My friends would really like to meet you all."
He waited for an answer, only for there to be none. Sammy glanced down at Mabel and the others, who silently pleaded for him to press on. He sighed and knocked on the door again. "Uh, hello? We're not catching you guys at a bad time, are we? My friends would just like to see you, and maybe even get a couple of autographs if that's not too much trouble?"
Strangely enough, there was still no answer. "Hmm. Maybe they're just shy…," Sammy murmured, before turning to the others and shrugging. "Well, that's that. They don't want to see anyone, so it's best that we just leave them be. Come on, girls. Maybe next time."
Candy and Grenda were more than a little disappointed, if their somber expressions and slumped shoulders were anything to go by. But Mabel refused to give up, not when they were so close. Before Sammy could stop her, she rushed past him and opened the door. "Mabel, don't!," cried Sammy, but it was already too late. Seeing Mabel barge into the room, Candy and Grenda quickly followed after her, with Sammy close behind them. Upon entering the room, they were met with a sight that none of them were prepared for. Instead of seeing a normal dressing room, they appeared to be in the laboratory of a mad scientist, complete with giant test tubes. In each of those test tubes was a growing human, all in various different stages, starting from a fetus to a young man. At the other end of the room was a massive hamster cage, and in that cage was none other than the boy band itself, Sev'ral Timez! "Yo, we're clones, dawg!," one of them in the cage said for no apparent reason. "O," said Grenda. "M," said Candy. "G," said Mabel. "...What in the actual blue blazes is this?," Sammy whispered in horror and bewilderment.
"That is one big hamster tube," Mabel commented, before suddenly hearing footsteps echoing in the outside corridor. "Someone's coming!," she gasped. Wasting no time, Sammy quickly scooped up all three of the girls in his arms and jumped behind a clothes rack. A second later, a bald and obese man angrily barged into the room. He wore a white shirt, green trousers with shoulder straps, and had a gold tooth. "Terrible show! What is wrong with you boys? You barely even sold out the arena!," he immediately started shouting at the caged boy band. "And Deep Chris, you call that a pout?" The aforementioned Deep Chris pouted and whimpered, his bottom lip trembling. "Every one of you should be ashamed of yourselves! Except you, Leggy P. You were really on point tonight. Here ya go, gorgeous." The man tossed Leggy P. a hamster treat, which he caught and began nibbling on, hissing at anyone who tried to reach for it. "As for the rest of you. Remember, you can always be replaced by your brothers," the man threatened, gesturing to the test tubes with the other clones. One of the clones in the tubes suddenly began dancing at the man's cue. "Dance for me child! DANCE!" He laughed maniacally, then started choking. "Augh, my throat is killin' me. Can someone get me a lemon water?" The man finally left the room, slamming the door behind him. Unfortunately, that caused Sammy and the girls to lose their balance and fall out of their hiding place, now exposed to the boy band.
"Who goes there? Prepare to be danced at!," said Deep Chris, as he began aggressively dancing towards the edge of the cage at them. But then, one of the others stood in front of him. "Step off, Deep Chris. These are ladies. Don't disrespect them, bro. Don't disrespect." "My bad," said Deep Chris, backing off. Mabel couldn't help but squeal loudly. "Chubby Z., let's calm this boo-bop, posing for her poster style," said Deep Chris. The entire band posed for them. Mabel let out a small scream. "Trying not to let my brain explode," she said. "I've always wanted to meet you guys! But what was the deal with that scary chub-chub man?" "Yeah, I wanted to ask the same thing," Sammy said worriedly. "Why is he making clones of you guys? And why is he keeping you all in cages?" "Mr. Bratsman's our producer, yo," said Deep Chris. "He genetically engineered us to be the perfect boy band, G," said Creggy G. "But like you said, he keeps us in cages! That junk is straight brutal, girl!," said Chubby Z. "That is straight brutal, Chubby Z," said Mabel sympathetically. "Hold on. Let me guess this straight," said Sammy, narrowing his eyes. "This 'Mr. Bratsman' created you all, forces you to perform, keeps you locked up in here, and treats you like… like animals?" "Even worse, he treats us like we're his property. And that just ain't right, yo!," said Creggy Z. "Our one dream is to escape into the real world. For real. Yo, I heard 'bout these things called 'trees.' I dunno what they are, but I wanna kiss one!"
"But we can't disobey Mr. Bratsman. He says he loves us," said Greggy C. "If he loved you, he'd set you free!," Mabel argued. "That's right!," Sammy agreed passionately. "He may have created you all, but that gives him no right to treat you like this!" All of Sev'ral Timez began nodding in unison. "True dat, true dat." "That's a valid perspective!," said Chubby Z.
Sammy looked back at Mabel and smiled daringly. "Mabel, you still have that hair clip, right?," he asked. Mabel gasped excitedly, then ran towards the cage and proceeded to pick the lock using said hair clip. "Don't worry," Sammy reassured the boy band, gripping the bars. "We are going to get you all out of here and take you far, far away, where not even Bratsman could ever reach you." "We're masters of STEALTH!," yelled Grenda. "Yo, you'd really do that for us, girl?," asked Chubby Z. Sammy smiled and nodded. But then, his smile disappeared when he realized what he just heard. "Wait a minute. Did you just call me a girl?," he asked.
Back at the Mystery Shack, Stan was explaining to Dipper about music and its mind controlling properties. "Y'see, Dipper, music has subliminal mind control hidden in it all the time," said the conman. "If you listen closely, even the music I play in the Gift Shop has subtle hidden messages." "You mean the one about buying keychains? Yeah, that was really subtle," Dipper deadpanned. Stan chose to ignore that. "If you wanna hear the mind controlling messages, you gotta slow down the music," he said. "Gimme that LP." Dipper looked at him in confusion. "LP? What are you talking about?," he asked. Stan rolled his eyes. "The disc, you knucklehead. I'm talking about the disk that Robbie kid used to brainwash Wendy. Do kids nowadays call it by a different name or something?" "Grunkle Stan, I said he was playing the music on his phone, not some disc," said Dipper. "And why would I even have it on me? You think he just left his phone here for me to find? He's stupid, but he's not that stupid." Stan raised an eyebrow. "Okay, wise guy. How are you gonna prove anything if you don't have his phone?," he asked.
"That's what I'm stuck on right now," Dipper sighed heavily. "All I have to rely on is my memory of that song, and the only things I remember about it is that it was cheesy and badly written. Without that phone, I have no solid proof, nothing to dissect or analyze…"
As Dipper and Stan thought hard for a moment, Dipper suddenly remembered when he and Wendy were playing their game this morning. "I got it!," he said, snapping his fingers. "We don't need Robbie's phone! We can just hear his music through the security feed!"
"I like the way you think, kid!," said Stan. Right at that moment, Mabel, Sammy, Candy, and Grenda came back from the concert, shoving a giant sports bag inside. "Hey, guys," Dipper said, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "How was the concert, and what's in the bag?"
"Uh… money! Money we stole!," Mabel blurted out in a panic. "We are criminals! We will cut you!," Candy threatened. "Let's go away from here now!," said Mabel, before the girls ran up the stairs while shoving the bag forward, leaving Sammy behind. Dipper and Stan watched them leave, then looked at Sammy for an explanation. "We found out that Sev'ral Timez was actually a bunch of clones being mistreated by their producer, so we hid them in that sports bag and got them out of there," he explained bluntly. "...Oh," said Dipper, not even fazed by what he had just heard. "Well, good luck with that. Me and Grunkle Stan are staying down here to figure out how Robbie used his music to brainwash Wendy." Sammy blinked in surprise. "Oh. That's pretty nice of you, Mister Pines," he said. "Well, good luck, you two." Then, he ran up the stairs after Mabel and the others. Stan just silently watched Sammy leave, then looked at Dipper. "I'm starting to think he's spending way too much time with you and your sister," he deadpanned.
By the time Sammy entered the attic, the members of Sev'ral Timez were already out of the bag and were observing their new surroundings with childlike wonder. "So what do you guys think? Much better than a cage, right?," he asked, closing the door behind him. "Your tour bus is really strange, Sammy girl. Where the feedin' tubes at?," asked Leggy P. Sammy's eye twitched while Mabel and her friends snickered to themselves. "I've told you and your friends many times before, Leggy. I am not a girl," he said through gritted teeth. "Please remember that. Also, this is not a tour bus, nor are there any feeding tubes." "No feeding tubes? That's crazy…," murmured Leggy, his eyes wide with bewilderment. Sammy couldn't help but let out a sad sigh. He couldn't even imagine what it was like to be born in a test tube and raised in a lab while being forced to sing and dance at the whims of a greedy manager. These poor souls were obviously mentally stunted because of that. It would take a very long time for them to adjust to society…
As the boy band inspected the room, Deep Chris walked up to Waddles and patted him on the head. "Yo, what up, girl?," he greeted. "So, when do we get to go outside?," Creggy G asked. "I wanna cavort like a woodland creature!," said Chubby Z. "Hold on, let's not get ahead of ourselves here," said Sammy. "Before we let you go free, we need to make sure to acclimate you all to modern society first. Fortunately, on our way here, I've made up a plan to–"
Suddenly, they heard a loud screech right outside the shack, like tires. Mabel ran to the window and looked outside. "It's your producer!," she gasped. "What?!," cried Sammy, running to the window while the band members panicked and hid under Mabel's bed. "But how was he able to track us down so fast?" "Oh no, what do we do, what do we do, what do we do?," Mabel murmured anxiously. "You, Candy, and Grenda stay up here with the band," Sammy ordered in a serious tone. "I'll try to get him away from here." He dashed down the stairs, ran past Dipper and Stan, who were too busy looking at the security feed to give him notice, and out the door, where Bratsman was angrily talking to Soos. "Hey, Soos," said Sammy, trying to act as casual as possible. "What's all this hullabaloo going on out there?" "Hey, dude," said Soos. "This guy just drove up here and is asking me if I've seen any 'perfect boys' around here."
"Oh, is that so?," said Sammy, before smiling sweetly at Bratsman. "Sorry sir, but I'm afraid there aren't any 'perfect boys' in this neck of the woods. You'll have to look somewhere else." But Bratsman only narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "Hmph! I don't believe either of you for a second! I found this trail of frosted tips leading to this very location." He held out a small tuft of golden hair that obviously belonged to one of the boys. "They must be around here somewhere! Now listen to me, ya broad! I'm not a man to be trifled with! I'm Ergman Bratsman, the manager of the most popular and perfect boy band in the world! And I always get what I want!"
While Soos was starting to get uncomfortable by all of this, Sammy just discreetly rolled his eyes. Oh, please, he thought. If you knew who I really am, you'd be on your knees right now and begging for mercy. Heck, even Gideon would eat you up for breakfast. "Then I guess this is the first time you're not getting what you want," he said condescendingly. "So I suggest you look elsewhere. It's far better than staying here in the woods, anyway." Bratsman glared at Sammy suspiciously. "What's that supposed to mean?," he asked. Sammy pretended to be surprised. "You mean you don't know?," he asked. "Well, I guess that makes sense, since you're new here and all. But everyone knows these woods are dangerous. There are strange creatures lurking around here, after all." "C-creatures?!," cried Bratsman, taken aback. "L-like what?!"
"Oh, you know," Sammy said casually, checking his nails. "Gnomes, zombies, bears with multiple heads, and other creepy crawlies that could tear a man into shreds. In fact, they might find you especially appetizing. They do prefer a little more meat on the bones…"
By then, Bratsman was sweating profusely and looking around in fright, as though he was expecting one of those creatures to pop out right at that moment. "Y-y-you k-know what? Forget it!," he snarled, stomping back to his car. "I'll find those boys if I have to turn this town upside down!" He froze when he saw Gompers the goat chewing on his license plate. "You don't have to worry about the goat. He's harmless," said Sammy. Bratsman sent him another glare, then shooed Gompers away before getting into his car and driving towards town.
"Good boy," Soos said to Gompers, who bleated in appreciation. "You didn't like him either, did you?," asked Sammy. "Nope, not at all. And I like everybody," said Soos, before going back inside. Sammy looked up at the attic window and saw Mabel and her friends watching him through the glass. He gave them a thumbs up to show that the coast was clear, then went back inside. Soos had retired to his room while Dipper and Stan were still in the gift shop, listening to Robbie's music on the security feed and constantly rewinding it. "Hey, Dipper. Hey, Mister Pines. Any luck?," he asked them. "Not yet," said Dipper, keeping his eyes on the screen. "But we're getting close. I can feel it in my bones." "Eh, I still think we should just find that punk and take his phone away by force," said Stan. "Grunkle Stan, we're only trying to expose Robbie, not get ourselves arrested," Dipper deadpanned. Sammy decided to leave them to their own devices and went up to the attic. "Alright, everyone, the coast is clear," he said, opening the door. "But he's going to come back soon, so we'd better…" He trailed off when he saw the entire boy band sitting in a line and braiding each other's hair, with Mabel at the front. "All aboard the braid train! Braid braid!," cried Mabel. Meanwhile, Candy and Grenda were just staring at them.
"Um… what happened while I was gone?," Sammy asked the two girls. "I dunno, but I don't really like it," Grenda said mysteriously. Sammy just shrugged and walked up to the boy band. "Alright, guys," he spoke, grabbing their attention. "Before we release you into the outside world, we need to get you up to speed with your education. Are you ready to go to school for the first time in your lives?" "Alright! Shool and ejucasin!," cried Creggy G, butchering the two words horribly. "They sound delicious! We won't have to eat hamster food ever again!," said Greggy C. Oh, boy. This is going to take a lot longer than I thought it would, thought Sammy.
"But Sammy, we can't send them to school! That Bratsman guy is still out there!," Mabel protested. "Now Mabel, don't you think I hadn't thought of that already?," asked Sammy, smiling excitedly. "I'm not talking about sending them out to public school. I'm talking about having them homeschooled." Before any of the others could ask what he meant, Sammy ran downstairs and was gone for a good while. He eventually came back carrying a huge stack of books.
Mabel, Candy, Grenda, and Sev'ral Timez watched in fascination as Sammy ran around the attic in excitement, setting up their new classroom environment. He placed several pillows on the floor as seats for each member of the band. Next to each of them, he placed down a pen and a notebook. "Hmm, this is coming along pretty well, but I feel like I'm missing something…," Sammy murmured to himself. Then, he snapped his fingers in realization. "I got it! Hold on, I will be right back." He ran downstairs again, and he was gone for much longer than last time. But he eventually came back up, only now, he had changed into another set of clothes.
Instead of wearing his usual sweater and jeans, he was now wearing a suit and tie. He also had on a different pair of glasses that made him look a bit more professional, and for some reason, he also stuck a pencil into his bun. "So what do you guys think?," he asked, showing off his new wardrobe. "It's not too much, is it?" "You look great!," Mabel said enthusiastically. "But… why are you dressed like that, anyway?" "Oh, this is just how I remember my college professors were dressed," Sammy explained. "If I want to be a good teacher, I have to look the part, right?" "Dang right!," said Grenda, giving a thumbs up. "You look really classy, like a male protagonist from a high school manga," Candy complimented him. "Thank you," said Sammy.
"Wait. So… we're not getting fed?," Leggy P asked in confusion. "Nope. School and education are not foods," said Sammy. "Don't worry, I'll teach you what they are in due time. But first, there's just one more thing I need…" Then, as if on cue, they heard what sounded like loud grinding from down the hall. "Right on time!," said Sammy, running out of the attic.
He was greeted with the sight of Soos dragging a large chalkboard behind him, sweating profusely. "Whew!," the handyman sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Hey, Sammy. I got the chalkboard from the basement, like you said. Sorry it took me so long to get it up the stairs, dude." "It's no problem at all, Soos. Thanks," said Sammy, before grabbing the chalkboard and dragging it into the attic. "So what do you need it for, anyway?," Soos asked curiously.
"Oh, I'm just… teaching the girls some new things, and for that, I need a visual aid," said Sammy, only partially telling the truth. He dragged the chalkboard into the attic and fully shut the door to make sure nobody was going to intervene. He turned around and saw that the band was already sitting on the pillows that Sammy had put down for them. However, some of them had never seen or used notebooks or pens before, so they were chewing on them, thinking that they were food. Sammy sighed and went up to each of them, pulling the school supplies out of their mouths. Then, he dragged the chalkboard all the way to the front of the room.
Meanwhile, Mabel, Candy, and Grenda were all just watching from the sidelines. "This is kinda exciting!," Mabel whispered to the others, who nodded in agreement. Sammy cleared his throat, adjusted his tie, then picked up a piece of white chalk and began writing his name on the board. "Yo, beef! What are these squiggly lines that you're drawing on there?," asked Chubby Z. Sammy turned to face him with a patient smile. "Chubby Z, please remember to raise your hand when you have a question," he said in a professional tone. "That goes for the rest of you. And I am glad you asked, Chubby Z, because that smoothly leads us to our first lesson."
"This," said Sammy, underlining his name with the chalk, "is how I write my name. And these 'squiggly lines' are called letters. When you put multiple letters together, you form a word. When you put multiple words together, you form a sentence. When you put multiple sentences together… Actually, let's save that material for later. For the time being, we'll just focus on letters and words. Namely, names. Now, does anyone in this room know what 'names' are?"
The boy band just sat there in silence, looking bewildered. But then, Deep Chris quickly raised his hand in the air. "I know this one, I know this one!," he cried. Sammy couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. They're just like kids, he thought. "Thank you for remembering to raise your hand, Deep Chris," he said. "Can you tell us what names are?" "I sure can, teach!," said Deep Chris. "Names are what you call other people, dawg!" "Very good, Deep Chris!," Sammy said proudly. "You're right, that's exactly what names are. Without names, we would not know what to call anyone or anything. But guess what? Names can be written as well."
The band members exchanged confused glances upon hearing that. This was clearly news to them. "For instance, this is how my name is written," said Sammy, pointing to his name on the chalkboard. "It's spelled S-A-M-M-Y. Does anyone want to see what their name looks like when being written down?" In an instant, everyone's hands shot up in the air, each of them very eager to see their names on that chalkboard. "We'll start with your name first, Creggy G," said Sammy, turning back to the board. A wide smile grew on Creggy's face while the other members glared at him in jealousy. Sammy wrote CREGGY G on the chalkboard in big, white letters, then stepped aside so that everyone in the room could see it. "So what do you think?"
Creggy G slowly stood up, enamored by the sight of his own name on the board. Slowly, he walked towards the chalkboard and gently touched the letters with his hand. "...That's what my name looks like, dawg?," he asked in wonder. Sammy smiled and nodded.
Creggy stared at his own name for what felt like forever. Then, he slowly turned to face Sammy. "Can you teach me to write my name like that?," he asked. Suddenly, the other band members stood up and began talking over each other. "I want to write my name too, teach!" "So do I!" "Teach us!" A grin slowly grew on Sammy's face, threatening to split it in half, and a warm feeling began spreading throughout his body. "Of course…," he whispered shakily.
For the rest of the afternoon, Sammy taught the members of Sev'ral Timez everything he could possibly cram into one day. First, he taught them how to write their own names. After that, he taught them how to read and write in general. Since they had so little time to work with, they were only able to learn how to write very simple, kindergarten-level words, but Sammy could not have been more proud of them. At some point during class, while he was teaching them how to spell the word LEAVE, it suddenly occurred to Sammy that, sooner or later, he would have to let them go so they could live their own lives and experience freedom for the first time. For some reason, the thought of it made him feel melancholy. He was going to miss them…
By the time the sun began setting down, Sammy realized he was running out of chalk and went downstairs to get some. But once he got down there, Dipper suddenly ran up to him and grabbed his arm. "Sammy! You've got to come hear this! Come on!," he said urgently as he pulled him to the cashier table. "Whoa! Dipper, what's got you so anxious? What's going on?," Sammy asked worriedly. Meanwhile, Stan was sitting at the counter, his face being illuminated by the screen in front of him. "Mister Pines, what's going on?," asked Sammy.
"Trust us, kid, you're gonna want to see this," said Stan. Sammy sighed, hoping that this wouldn't take too much of his time. He still had a class to get back to. "By the way, why the heck are you dressed like that?," asked Stan, raising an eyebrow. "And… why did you put a pencil in your hair?" "Guys, shhh!," Dipper shushed. "Okay Sammy, do you remember back when I told you about Robbie brainwashing Wendy with his music?" Sammy nodded silently.
"Well, now we have proof! Look!" Dipper unpaused the security footage that was being shown on the screen. It showed Robbie holding up his phone - the very same phone Sammy had bought for him - while Wendy was listening to the music. At first, there did not seem to be anything wrong with the music that was playing on the phone. It was a bit cheesy, but nothing sinister about it… until Dipper started playing the footage in reverse. "You are now under my control," said a low, deep voice from the footage. "Your mind is mine." The voice was coming from Robbie's phone in the footage, having replaced the music that was once there. Dipper paused the footage again. "See? I was right!," he said, grinning up at Sammy.
However, his grin quickly disappeared when he saw the look on Sammy's face. He had his hands clasped against his chin, his mouth was set in a deep frown, and even though there was no expression on his face, his eyes told a completely different story, glaring at the security footage in front of him, or rather, at a certain hoodie-wearing teenager in the footage.
There was a tense and awkward silence in the room. "S-Sammy?," Dipper asked a little nervously. "Uh, kid?," asked Stan, also becoming a little concerned by how quiet Sammy had suddenly become. The conman waved his hand in front of Sammy's face. "You okay there, kid?" "...I'm fine," Sammy finally spoke in a cold, chilling voice. "But he won't be." He suddenly turned towards Dipper, who flinched. "Dipper, where are Robbie and Wendy right now?," he asked him. "Uh… I'm pretty sure they went to Lookout Point together?," Dipper said uncertainly.
Sammy nodded, then turned to face Stan. "Mister Pines, do you mind driving me to Lookout Point? Me and Robbie need to have a little… talk." It was pretty clear, judging by the tone in his voice, that it wasn't going to be a normal talk at all. And for just a moment, Dipper almost felt sorry for Robbie… Almost. "Finally, a good reason to punch a teenager in the face. Let's roll!," said Stan. Sammy nodded, the stony expression still on his face, having completely forgotten about the class that he was supposed to be holding in the attic. He and Stan went out to the conman's car. "Wait! I'm coming with you!," said Dipper, running after them.
The three of them piled into Stan's car and drove off. They were now on their way to Lookout Point. "We gotta warn Wendy about that song before she gets brainwashed!," Dipper cried, sitting in the backseat. "Road safety laws, prepare to be ignored!," yelled Stan, driving through a blocked road without hesitation. Sammy sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window in silence. Normally, he would have scolded Stan for driving so recklessly, but at the moment, he didn't really care. He was too deep in thought, with feelings of anger and betrayal swarming in his head like flies. Eventually, the car stopped in front of the cliff edge of Lookout Point. Dipper and Sammy immediately exited the car while Stan simply fell out.
"Wha-o! Oof," Stan grunted as he fell out of the car. "Wendy?! Stop! Robbie's been lying to you!," cried Dipper, running up to the so-called "couple", who were both sitting in Robbie's car. "Dipper? Sammy?," Wendy asked in bewilderment. "Kid? Other kid? Mr. Pines?," asked Robbie, who was just as confused as Wendy. "That's Mr. Pines to you!," growled Stan, pointing at him accusingly. "What? That's what I just said…," Robbie murmured. "Look, Wendy, you've got to hear this," said Dipper, taking out a tape recorder which he had used to record Robbie's music from the security footage. Meanwhile, Sammy just stood there with his arms crossed, glaring at Robbie in silence. As Dipper started playing with the recorder, the music came out, but it was all garbled. "Uh… There's a message in there. I swear!," Dipper said nervously.
"Let me just… close the window," said Robbie, and he was about to do just that when Sammy suddenly reached through the window and gripped Robbie's shoulder. "Don't. Let her hear it," he said in an incredibly stern voice. Robbie gulped loudly, realizing there was nothing he could do in this situation. "Wait, wait! Here," said Dipper, turning up the volume. He held up the recorder while it was playing Robbie's music in reverse, revealing an entire message that was hidden beneath the surface this whole time. "You are now under my control. Your mind is mine." Upon hearing it, Wendy's brow furrowed in both confusion and anger.
"Woah. Robbie, what's that doing in our song?," she asked Robbie, turning to face him angrily. "Baby, I promise. I don't know anything about those messages. In fact, I didn't even write that song. I used an app on my phone to write it for me! So, we're all good, right?," said Robbie, acting as though that was supposed to make it all better. Which it definitely didn't.
"No, we're not all good! I don't care about the messages. You said you wrote that song for me, and I actually thought it was sweet, you big liar," yelled Wendy, furious that Robbie tried to take advantage of her like that. "O-okay, Wendy, listen!," Robbie pleaded. "That wasn't what I– I mean– I didn't mean to–" He stumbled over his own words, which certainly didn't help his case in the slightest. Suddenly, Sammy reached into the car with his hand out, fixing Robbie with a glare. "Give me back my phone, Robbie. Now," he said. "Hold on a second. His phone?," asked Wendy, narrowing her eyes. "You told me you bought that phone yourself."
Sammy gave Wendy a passing, sympathetic glance, then locked eyes with Robbie again. "Would you like to tell her, or should I?," he asked. Robbie opened his mouth, but not a single sound came out. He was clearly in no hurry to spill the beans. "Tell me what?!," Wendy groaned out in exasperation. Sammy sighed heavily. "I bought that phone as an apology gift to Robbie after his old phone was broken," he explained. "I'm so sorry, Wendy. I never thought he would use it to do… this." Wendy gaped at Robbie, finally at her wit's end. "Seriously?! First the music, and now this?! What else have you been lying to me about, you jerk?!"
"Okay, okay," Robbie said nervously. "I lie about a lot of stuff. Like using your makeup and fighting a bear, although–" "No! You know what? It's over, Robbie. We're through!," yelled Wendy, tears leaking from her eyes. "What?! Wendy!," cried Robbie. "Goodbye!," yelled Wendy before getting out of Robbie's van and slamming the door behind her. While Sammy could not help but feel terrible for Wendy's predicament, Dipper and Stan could not read the mood if their lives depended on it. "Haha! We won! Kids, this is a victory for every guy whose hands are too weak or fat to play a musical instrument," Stan cheered. "I couldn't have done it without you, Grunkle Stan," said Dipper, as he and Stan high fived each other in celebration.
Sammy rolled his eyes in annoyance, then went up to Robbie, who was still in his van with his face buried in his arms with sadness. "Robbie," he said sternly, holding out his hand again. "My phone, please." Without even looking up, Robbie reached into his pocket and took out the phone, then handed it over to Sammy with no resistance. Sammy took the phone, then looked down at Robbie. "Robbie, look at me," he said. Robbie finally looked up.
Sammy held the phone in front of Robbie's face while still giving him a stern glare. "I gave you this phone as an apology gift, Robbie," he said, unable to hide the sheer amount of disappointment that he was feeling at the moment. "It was meant to replace your old one. But what did you do with it instead? You used it… to brainwash one of our friends… and force her into returning your feelings… without her consent. Do you know why I was so furious with you now?" Robbie looked down with guilt and nodded silently. Sammy sighed and put the phone in his pocket. "I had to pull a lot of strings to get you that phone, Robbie. I didn't want there to be any hard feelings between us. You… remind me of myself when I was younger… Maybe that's why I kept giving you the benefit of the doubt. But now… I'm just disappointed in you. I… I don't even know what else to say…" He sighed again, then left Robbie all by himself.
"Oh, man," sighed Robbie, burying his face into his arms again. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, the apocalypse is coming soon," Stan said to him. "So bury your gold! …You've been buying gold, right?" "Um, hey!," said Dipper, running up to Wendy, whose back was turned towards him. "Uh, now that your night is free, me and Grunkle Stan are thinking, maybe bowling, or something?" "Dipper…," Sammy said warningly, already realizing that Dipper was making a big mistake. "Are you serious?!," yelled Wendy, turning around so Dipper could see the tears streaming down her face. "Right now? Ugh! What is wrong with you guys? You only think about yourselves! All of you should just leave me alone!" She stormed away, sobbing loudly, all while Dipper watched her leave, his eyes wide with shock and guilt. "W-wait! Wendy!," he hollered, about to run after her. "Leave her alone, Dipper," said Sammy. "She needs to be on her own right now." Dipper sighed heavily. "I messed up big time, didn't I?," he murmured.
To say that the car ride back to the shack was filled with awkward silence would've been the understatement of the century. Dipper sat alone in the back, looking down at his feet, while wondering how he could've messed things up with Wendy so badly. Sammy kept staring out the car window, his mind filled with many different thoughts and emotions, but mostly sadness and disappointment. Stan just drove silently, trying to think up of anything he could say to break the silence, but failing to do so. About halfway there, Sammy suddenly remembered something and mentally cursed. "Uh, Mister Pines? Do you mind speeding up a bit?," he asked.
"Sure. Mind if I ask why?," asked Stan, applying more pressure to the gas pedal. "I just remembered that I was in the middle of something before we left the shack," said Sammy, telling half of the truth. "I'd like to get back to it as soon as possible." Once they finally arrived, Sammy got out of the car immediately and ran inside, then ran upstairs to the attic. "Guys, I am so, so, so, so, SO sorry!," he apologized profusely, opening the attic door. "I just wanted to get some more chalk, but then I got sidetracked. How long was I gone for…?" He trailed off when he saw that Mabel, Candy, and Grenda were the only ones in the attic. The books and pillows had been put away. The girls were drawing random doodles on the chalkboard. And to Sammy's dismay, Sev'ral Timez was nowhere to be seen. "Oh, hey Sammy! You're back," said Mabel.
"Yeah… I'm back…," said Sammy, looking around the room. "Um… do you mind telling me where they are?" "Well, you were gone for a pretty long time," explained Grenda. "And a lot of things happened while you were away," said Candy. "It was mostly my fault," sighed Mabel, sheepishly twiddling her thumbs. "I got pretty clingy with them, and I tried forcing them to stay here with me. I'm just glad that my girlfriends here were able to snap me out of it."
"So… they just left? Without even saying goodbye?," asked Sammy. He couldn't help but feel sad and even a bit betrayed, though he should've been glad that they were free now. Deep down, he knew that they had to leave sooner or later. But this was just so sudden…
The girls exchanged secretive glances that Sammy couldn't quite make out. "They left, but… I wouldn't exactly say they left nothing behind," said Candy. Before Sammy could ask her what she meant by that, the Korean girl walked up to him and held out an envelope.
His sadness replaced by curiosity, Sammy took the envelope and slowly opened it. He almost gasped at what he saw. Inside the envelope was a letter. The writing on the letter was messy, childish, and had many misspellings. That was how he immediately knew that Sev'ral Timez wrote this letter, using all the writing lessons that he taught them earlier.
Deer Sammy
Sorry we have to leaf b4 we could say goodbye. Thank you so much 4 teeching us to reed and right. Mr Bratsman never tot us to reed and right, only to dance and sing. Thanks to you, we can reed and right our own names now! Arent you pruod of us?
Thanks to you, we want to lern more! We will inroll in skool! We will learn to reed and right more words! All thanks to you. You are the best, teach. You are the dawg!
We will never 4get you. You, or Mabel, or Candy, or Grenda. Fair well, ladies.
~ Creggy G, Greggy C, Leggy P, Chubby Z, and Deep Chris
Huh. Strange. For some reason, the words on the letter were getting blurrier by the second. Oh wait, never mind. It was just Sammy being blinded by his own tears.
"Farewell, Sev'ral Timez," he whispered. "I'll never forget you guys either."