The Mystery Trio

Prologue

Present Day, Wartwood, Amphibia.

I decided to grab a book to read from my bag. I sat down on the couch to read, but to my surprise, my friend, Sprig Plantar, was sitting next to me on one side and my other friend, Anne Boonchuy, was on the other. "Hey, Rowena, whatcha reading?" Sprig asked. "Just one of my books from back home, but I already read it twice since Anne and I arrived." I replied. "Well, why don't you tell us a story." Anne suggested. "I mean, we stopped hanging out with each other about a year ago." "A story?" I asked. "About what?" "Anything." She replied. "Could you tell us one of your stories from back home, or maybe another place you went?" Sprig suggested. "Well, probably the most interesting things happened when I wasn't at home, but on vacation with my sister in the small town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, this last summer." I explained.

Last summer, somewhere in California

It all started at the beginning of the summer. Dad was offered the job of a lifetime as an engineer for celebrities in Los Angeles. He told me and Rosalina about a summer camp in Portland. Before we left, I went over to see Marcy. I knocked on the door to her house and she answered. "Hi, Rowena." Marcy greeted. "What's up?" "Well, I'm leaving for the summer to camp, and I just thought I'd come say goodbye." I explained. "But luckily, I'm bringing my Swap (kinda like a Nintendo Switch) with me so we could play  Vagabondia Chronicles." Marcy hugged me tight. "I'm gonna miss you!" She cried. "Me too." I said. "But I promise to send some pictures." I left Marcy's house and waved.

I finished packing and got back outside with Rosalina, who wasn't like herself. "Aren't you excited?" I asked. "Of course I am." Rosalina replied with a frown. "Kurt just broke up with me." "Kurt Fahnz, the guy who's liked you for eight years?" I asked. She nodded as I hugged her. "Look sis, all you need is a vacation, you're gonna have so much fun at camp, in the meantime, you can read a book or something when we get on the bus." The bus for our camp arrived shortly after. "Bus is here." The bus driver said as we climbed aboard.

We were finally in Oregon, but we were still a ways from camp. I was playing a game online with Marcy using my Swap. Rosalina was reading a book. "Hey, sis." Rosalina said. I didn't hear her with my earbuds in. "Hey, sis!" She repeated as she grabbed her pillow and hit me with it. "Rosa, what's wrong?" I asked. "Thanks for helping me out." She replied with a hug. "What would I do without you?" I checked my phone to see our destination. "Hey, bus driver, when do we arrive at our destination?" I asked. "We're just pulling in to your stop." He replied. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Because according to my phone, we're in the middle of nowhere." "Well, actually, we're in a town called Gravity Falls." He explains. "What?" Rosalina freaked out. "We're supposed to be in Portland!" "This bus service doesn't go there." He said. "And we're the only bus service in this town." "So, could you take us back to California?" I asked. "No can do." He replied. "The next bus to California isn't until August." I groaned. "Listen buddy, you don't mess with me and my little sister!" Rosalina argued. "I'm sorry, unless you can get another ride, you're gonna be here all summer." He explains. "Now get off my bus!"

The bus driver kicked us to the curb. Rosalina was even more stressed than when her boyfriend broke her heart. "Rosa, what are we gonna do?" I asked. "Where are we gonna stay?" "I don't know." Rosalina replied. "Dad didn't give me much cash to work with since he suspected that we were going to summer camp, but since we're not going anywhere anytime soon, I'm gonna try to find a summer job." I didn't want Rosalina to be under a lot of pressure, but I had an idea. "If you have to get a summer job, then so do I." I said. Rosalina was shocked. "I appreciate you wanting to help out, sis." Rosalina smiled. "But I don't think you are able to get a job, you're only 12." "I wanna help you in any way I can." I replied. Suddenly, I found some signs in the shape of arrows that were labeled, "Mystery Shack, help wanted, positions for all ages." "Rosa, do you think we should apply?" I asked. "It's worth a shot." She replied. "And they're accepting positions for all ages."

We followed the arrows to the location, a tourist trap called the Mystery Shack. I guess the owner turned his house into a tourist attraction just to make money. We opened the door to the shack to see a small gift shop. "Hello?" Rosalina asked. "My sister and I are here to apply for the summer." "Also we're kinda lost." I added. A guy around his early 20's came over to greet us. "Hey, dudes." He greeted. "Welcome to the Mystery Shack." "Hi, we're both applying for a summer job here, are you the owner?" I asked. "Nope, that would be Mr Pines, I'm Soos, the handyman." He replied. "I can let him know you're here." "Thanks." Rosalina said. I found a bunch of pamphlets in the gift shop. One in particular was about Gravity Falls in general. Apparently, they don't have any hotels or anything. "Welcome to the Mystery Shack, folks." An elderly man greeted. "The name's Stan Pines, Mr Mystery, and I here you ladies are looking for a job." "Well, Mr Pines, my sister and I were on our way to a camp in Portland, and the bus dropped us off here, and we have nowhere to go." Rosalina explains. "If you are looking for a place to stay, you can stay here, my niece and nephew are coming for the summer next week, the beds in the attic are bunks." Stan replied. "Also, if you wanna stay here, you're gonna work here."