The Lemon Meringue Boy

Part 12

When I got back to the shack, the first thing I was greeted by was a shriek. Startled, I looked around for the source of the outburst and looked eyes with a grinning Mabel. 

"OH MY GOSH! Dipper! Your hair!" I grinned and shrugged my shoulders sheepishly. Mabel bolted down the front porch to get a closer look. "You look like a freaking science experiment! In the good way!"

"I know right? Pacifica made me. Pretty awesome right?" Mabel dropped the clump of hair she was holding and looked at me funny. I tried to lighten the mood. "You know, sometime I'll have to lock you guys in a room together until you talk your problems out." Mabel sighed.

"First of all, that's my thing. Second, I like Pacifica. I really do. It's just... we were nemeses for a while and now she's dating my brother. It just gets awkward, you know?" I did know. I nodded and headed inside with Mabel tailing me. 

When I opened the door, Mabel immediately screamed for Candy and Grenda to come down, so I had to put up with about three minutes of squealing and excessive fawning over my frosted tips. Grenda finally had to leave to start dinner, which left me alone for about thirty minutes. I decided to go to the basement and begin my research on the portal. 

Once I got down, I flipped open my journal to start. After the red journals were ditched, I'd begun to keep my own journal. In it were snippets I'd remembered from the third volume, some scraps and pages I needed to keep that I had stuck in with a glue stick, and a good amount of things I'd discovered for myself last summer. I had binded the pages in a stiff blue cover. On the front I drew a pine tree. Perhaps someday I'll make more, who knows? 

While I was researching I found that the portal had produced so much force and heat when it was activated that it was able to cause the cement nearest to it begin to bubble and warp, leaving some large dips in the flooring. I sat down in one to find that it was the perfect size and shape to perfectly cradle my body. I made the decision that that would be where I slept the next night. 

Soon dinner was ready. I gathered my pencils, graph paper, and blue journal and shoved them to the corner of my "room" before heading upstairs. When I got there, I was greeted by the mouthwatering aroma of steak and potatoes. 

The gang sat around the table and enjoyed another gourmet meal. Once we were done eating and chit chatting, we all sat around the TV room to watch the first public showing of "My Mummy's a Werewolf III: Another One!" When it was over, we all clomped upstairs to get ready for bed. 

Once again I was the last person in the bathroom. I didn't bother showering. My hair was still damp from earlier that day. I grabbed my reading book and trotted down the stairs to the vending machine. When I got to the basement, I eased myself down into the scoop of stone and bundled my blankets around me to soften the concrete. I read about two words of When Science Gets Smart before passing out with the pages spread over my chest.