"Watch out, Gravity Falls, because at a hundred and ten degrees, we're looking at the hottest day of the Summer!" said Toby's voice on the radio.
Inside the Mystery Shack, wax Stan was melting, wall paper was peeling right off the walls, and the fish tank in the TV room was boiling.
Stan, Soos, and the triplets were all in the TV room as well, laying around trying miserably to cool down. Stan was lying on his back on the ground with a melted tub of ice cream sitting on his chest and his mouth smeared with ice cream, and Soos had stripped down to his underwear and was currently laying face-flat on the floor.
Dipper had taken off his shirt, and was sitting on the couch fanning himself with his hat, Mara was wearing a white muscle tee while she was hanging upside down from the dinosaur head coffee table, and Mabel was wearing a pink tank as she was sitting at the foot of the couch.
"All in favor of doing nothing all day, say 'uh!'" said Dipper.
"Uh!" repeated everyone.
Just then, Waddles crawled up to Stan, who was still laying on the floor. Waddles was now right in Stan's face.
"I'm gonna throw this pig out of the house!" exclaimed Stan.
Waddles then started to lick the chocolate ice cream that was all over Stan's face.
"You called my bluff, pig."
"On the bright side, pun very much intended, it's opening week at the Gravity Falls pool!"
The triplets all instantly perked up.
"Gravity Falls pool?" said Mabel.
"Opening week?" said Mara.
"Today?" said Dipper.
"Pun intended?" said Soos.
"Quick, to the car!" said Stan cheerfully.
Soos, Mara, Mabel, and Dipper all stood up to leave, and Grunkle Stan tried to do so as well, but found that he was stuck to the floor.
"Uh, kids, a little help here?" he said.
Mabel, Mara, and Dipper pulled out three spatulas, and stuck them underneath Grunkle Stan. They strained as they struggled to pry him off the floor, but in the end the floorboards finally gave way.
"Alright!" said Stan cheerfully, now up on his feet again. "Let's go to the pool!"
He started walking away, and the triplets noticed that the floorboards were actually now stuck to Stan's back. Stan was now walking out the front door.
"And remember to look out for random wildfires!"
"Wait, what?"
Suddenly, he started screaming in pain as the floorboards that were stuck to his back suddenly caught aflame.
"Should we help him?" asked Mara to her siblings.
"He'll be fine" insisted Mabel.
The five of them were now arriving at the pool. Stan was wearing a striped grey bathing suit with a matching rashguard and his usual fez and Soos was wearing tight purple trunks that made his stomach patrode and was holding a pink towel with a sun graphic printed onto it.
Meanwhile, Dipper was wearing red swim trunks with a white rash guard and his usual pinetree hat, Mara was wearing a black one piece bathing suit with a white snowflake symbol on the front and her usual camo bandana, and Mabel was wearing a pink one piece bathing suit with a yellow star symbol on it.
"Ah the pool!" said Mabel cheerfully. "Sparkling oasis of Summer enchantment!"
"Not to mention kid pee" said Mara.
"Yeah, nothing like sitting in a moist tub with strangers" said Stan. "It's like the bus, but wet."
"Took the words right out of my mouth" said Mara.
Dipper was looking at the towel that Soos was holding, which had a picture of a sun wearing sunglasses on it and green lettering at the bottom that said 'Summer Fun.'
"Why would a sun need sunglasses?" Dipper questioned.
"It's best not to think about it" said Soos.
Suddenly, Mabel halted to a stop.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" she exclaimed. "Stop the presses! Who's...that?" she said lovingly, her eyes becoming huge and sparkly with admiration.
She was looking at a tan boy with a long nose and a seashell necklace around his neck, who looked around their age, with long dark brown hair that was flowing in the wind.
"Oh yeah" said Soos, shoving some more chips into his mouth. "Word is dude never leaves the pool. People say he's a mysterious loner" he said, leaning into Mabel's ear. Her eyes got even huger, if that was even possible.
"Mabel, that dude has hair that is longer than yours" said Mara in exasperation.
"But it's so...fabulous!" said Mabel. Is it getting hot out here, or is it just, that guy?"
"It's the hottest day of the year, Mabel" said Dipper, as Soos's chip crumbs started to fall onto his hat. "Besides, can't you go for one week without having a new crush on some random guy?"
"Uh uh" said Mabel, shaking her head. She suddenly gasped in amazement.
"Look at his little mustache hairs!"
"Ew" said Mara. "He looks like he's our age. He's not supposed to have any facial hair."
Dipper nodded.
"Agreed" he said, but Mara suspected that he might only be agreeing with her because he didn't have any facial hair himself.
Soos wrapped his arm around Mabel.
"You are clearly enamored" he said, his mouth covered in chip flavoring. "Go to him."
Mabel didn't hesitate. She took off in a full sprint towards the pool, tripping over a bucket, jumping over people laying down in beach chairs, and knocking over a bin of beach balls.
"She's so beautiful!" said Soos.
"Eh, Mabel's all talk" said Dipper. "You wanna know a secret? She's never even kissed a guy before. She always messes it up somehow."
"And what's wrong with that?" said Mara. "Have you ever kissed a girl before?"
Dipper blushed and scratched the back of his head, not wanting to answer that question.
"Dipper, we've twelve years old. None of us should even be dating, let alone kissing people."
"Why, Mara Pines! What a lovely surprise to find your acquaintance here!"
Mara's eyes widened in shock for a brief moment, but they were quickly replaced with an expression of annoyance.
It was none other than Nathaniel Northwest V.
He was wearing navy swim trunks and a white rash guard, and his signature smug look plastered across his face.
"Yes, I'm shaking in excitement" replied Mara irritably. "Normally, I'd electrocute the crap out of you, but seeing as I'm currently unarmed, it looks like I'll have to beat you to a pulp with my bare hands instead."
Nathaniel laughed discourteously, putting an arm around her shoulders.
"Ah, Mara, you never cease to make me laugh. Now come along darling, we shouldn't make my personal cosmetologist wait for too long."
He gestured towards a man with gelled, glossy dark hair wearing sunglasses and no shirt. It looked like the man had set up a miniature spa, with a small hot tub and massage tables. He was sitting on a fancy white chair, and there were two pristine towels laying on the ground in front of him.
Nathaniel snatched her hand in a firm grip, and started to pull her along towards the man.
Mara was starting to prepare herself for a fight-and-flight moment, but it didn't look like she would need to, for suddenly, a water balloon came soaring out of nowhere, hitting Nathaniel directly on the head.
He screamed in horror and let go of Mara.
"Oh no! I've been hit!!!!" he exclaimed, and he hurried off to his personal cosmetologist.
Mara looked up to see Wendy, sitting in the lifeguard chair wearing a red one piece bathing suit with an entire bucket of water balloons next to her, laughing her head off.
Mara and Dipper both started laughing as well, watching as a soaked Nathaniel stormed off towards his cosmetologist.
"Thanks, Wendy!" said Mara. "I owe you big time!"
"No prob, Mara!" said Wendy. "I never miss an opportunity to soak a self-centered jerk who doesn't care about anyone but himself."
She threw a water balloon at Stan.
A soaked Grunkle Stan looked up at Wendy.
"Wendy? Where's the lifeguard?"
"I am the lifeguard" said Wendy. "I make the rules, sucker!" she said, picking up another water balloon and throwing it at Stan. "Boosh!"
Stan screamed, and managed to duck just in time. He started to run away as Wendy threw even more water balloons at him.
"She's attacking me with water!"
Dipper, Mara, Soos, and Wendy all started laughing.
"Wow, you work here?" asked Dipper.
"I found out lifeguards get free snack privileges" said Wendy. "Plus I get the best seat in the house!" she said, pointing at the high life guard seat.
"Yeah you do!" said Dipper, laughing awkwardly for an uncomfortably long time. Mara elbowed him slightly to get him to stop.
"I've been laughing for too long" whispered Dipper awkwardly, not taking his eyes off of Wendy.
"Yeah, just a bit" Mara whispered back.
"Dude, are you and Wendy having a secret staring contest?" asked Soos. "Because I think you're winning."
"SOOS!" exclaimed Dipper, hurriedly pushing him away and continuing to shush him.
Wendy looked at him suspiciously.
Mara figured that she should at least help her pitiful brother.
"Pre-teen boys, am I right?" she said, shrugging casually. "With their developing testosterone and androgenic hormone levels. They go through all sorts of weird things."
Wendy nodded, accepting her answer.
When Dipper was done ushering Soos away, he turned back towards Wendy.
"Hey, you wanna go chuck more water balloons at Stan?" he asked eagerly.
"I'd love to" said Wendy. "But I've gotta spend the day doing tryouts. We're looking for a new assistant lifeguard" she said, gesturing towards a slightly smaller chair that was right next to her.
"Hey!" said Dipper, and Mara sniggered at how high pitched it sounded. Dipper shot her a glare, then cleared his throat.
"Hey" he said in a much deeper voice. "What if I was assistant lifeguard?"
Wendy's face brightened.
"That would be so much fun! You're totally in, dude!" She said, tossing him a red lifeguard buoy. Dipper caught it, and grinned widely.
Mara leaned into her brother's ear.
"I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. If you need me, I'll be keeping an eye on Mabel."
And with that, Mara walked away towards the pool to find her sister.
"You should check in with my boss first, Mr. Poolcheck" said Wendy.
"Your boss?" said Dipper in confusion.
Wendy gestured towards the other side of the pool, where there was an extremely buff and intimidating man with short blonde hair cut to the scalp and sunscreen on his nose. He was wearing a tight red polo shirt that showed off his muscular body, and a whistle around his neck. He was also holding a clipboard. Dipper recognized him as one of the men from the biker joint.
Mr. Poolcheck threw aside his clipboard that he was holding, then took in a deep, intense breath before dropping to the ground and doing several push ups, clapping his hands together every time he came up. He then started doing push ups on his index fingers.
Mr. Poolcheck then raised his head, and in one swift motion turned it so that it was facing Dipper. His freaky eyes were staring right into his soul.
Dipper's eyes widened as he gasped in shock.
The boy with long hair that Mabel was staring at earlier was now drinking a glass of lemonade while he was leaning against a red pool floatie. He relaxed, and reclined back, setting the glass against the concrete ground, and leaned back against the pool edge.
Suddenly, Mabel came up for air right in front of him, taking in a deep breath of air.
"Wow!" said Mabel cheerfully. "How crazy is it bumping into you here even though we don't know each other?" she said, leaning against his red pool floatie.
The boy's eyes widened.
"How long have you been underwater?" he asked in a concerned voice.
"That doesn't matter!" said Mabel, before coughing up a band aid along with some water.
"So, hey!" said Mabel, turning back towards the boy and leaning against the red pool floatie once again. "My name's Mabel."
"Hola" said boy, with a rather impressed voice.
"Whoa!" said Mabel, in amazement. "Are you Australian?"
The boy laughed genuinely.
"I am charmed by your sense of humor" he said. "And your bold lack of water-wings" he said, raising an eyebrow and smiling.
Mabel laughed.
"You're so funny!" she exclaimed, then she suddenly leaned down and started to stroke the boy's hair. "And your hair is beautiful."
"No, no" said the boy, swatting away Mabel's hand. "It has silly tangles" he said, sounding clearly ashamed of his hair.
Mabel suddenly held up a comb that she had been holding underwater.
"Mind if I..."
The boy turned around, and let Mabel brush through his hair with the comb.
"Why, Mabel, you're so...forward" said the boy in amazement. He started laughing.
'This is it' said Mabel in her head. 'He likes you. Go for it, Mabel, it's time. Ask him out on a date!'
She had been stroking her finger along the teeth of the comb as she thought her anxious thoughts.
"So, hey!" said Mabel out loud. "You wanna go dry off, maybe hit the snack bar..."
The boy suddenly looked sad.
"I...I'm afraid I cannot" he said, turning back towards her. "For I have a terrible secret!"
Mabel's eyes widened.
"I must go" said the boy sadly, and with that he started to swim away defeatedly.
"I'm upset..." said Mabel. "...yet intrigued."
Mara had was in the pool against the concrete edge, a few feet away from where Mabel and the boy had been talking just a few moment earlier. She had been watching her sister, making sure that things didn't get too escalated, and grinned as the boy started to swim away from her sister sadly.
"Yes!" said Mara. "That's right. You stay away from my sister, you little twerp."
"Ah, hovering over your sister, eh?" said a voice suddenly.
Mara's eyes narrowed as she let out a loud groan, purposely drawing it out to make sure that the boy knew she was displeased about his presence.
"Nathaniel" she said, turning slowly around to face him.
Nathaniel was standing at the edge of the pool, looking down at Mara. It looked like he was now completely dry. He had a huge smirk on his face.
"You know" he said. "I can make it so that your sister doesn't start dating that boy over there. Just come and join me at my little personal spa, and I'll make sure that he never even comes close to your sister."
Mara raised an eyebrow, but thought over that deal for only a split second before finally coming to a rather quick decision.
"Ok, first off, the answer is no. It's my job to watch out for my sister, not yours" she said acerbically. "And secondly, do you even care enough about me to know my own sister's name, or are you so shallow as to just covet me?"
Nathaniel frowned.
"Of course my affection for you extends to the knowledge of your sister's name!" he exclaimed. "It's..." he paused to think about that. "...Mavis, isn't it?"
Mara glared at him, then splashed him with water from the pool and swam away back towards her sister.
Nathaniel watched her glide away, his hair sopping with water, which was running down his face.
"So much for negotiation" he said darkly. "Looks like I'm going to have to use other means necessary..."
"And that is why I think I'd make a good lifeguard assistant" said Dipper, finishing up his speech to Mr. Poolcheck, who was busy hammering to even hear him.
The man had been hammering a "Do not touch" sign onto the pool supplies door.
He turned suddenly and examined the boy.
"Hmm..."
He bent down onto one knee and started to sniff Dipper, who was starting to feel very uncomfortable. Did he do this to Wendy when he was hiring her?
"SPF 100?" he said with a serious tone that matched his joyless face. "Good. I like you."
He stood up and puffed out his chest.
"But this isn't an easy job" he said, turning back and pointing at the pool. "It's anarchy out there."
The area of the pool where he was pointing was filled with harmless old people who were lounging happily around on floaties, without a care in the world.
"I think I can handle it" said Dipper.
Suddenly, Mr. Poolcheck bent down on one knee, and held up a hand in Dipper's face that he had unscrewed off of one of his arms.
"Can you handle this?"
Dipper yelped in shock.
"I lose my hand to a pool filter!" He stood up again and screwed his hand back on. "The pool may seem friendly, but she can turn on you in an instant, which is why you must respect the rules."
"Good thing Mara's not trying out for this job" Dipper muttered.
Suddenly, Mr. Poolcheck bent down on one knee and grabbed the boy around the shoulders.
"You think you have what it takes, boy?" he bellowed, shaking Dipper back and forth. "Do you?!"
Dipper turned and saw Wendy smiling at him, tossing a water balloon up and down.
"Sure..." he said cheerfully. "...I guess."
Mr. Poolcheck stood proudly, then held up a whistle that was hanging on a looped string. He lowered it around Dipper's neck.
"Welcome to the deep end, son"
"Well thanks" said Dipper. "I..."
Just then, Mr. Poolcheck squeezed Dipper in a tight embrace.
"Yup" winced Dipper, trying to squirm out of the tight hug, but found that he was stuck. "This is happening."
Stan and Soos were walking, Stan leading Soos to one particular pool chair.
Stan grinned widely.
"There she is, Soos" he said. "Equidistant from the snack bar and the bathroom. Just the right amount of sun and shade. And pointed away from where Old Man McGucket lotions himself."
He gestured towards Old Man McGucket, who was wearing swim trunks as he slapped sunscreen onto his bare chest.
"Whoo whee!" he exclaimed cheerfully.
The people who were sitting near him screamed in horror at the sheer sight of McGucket in swim trunks.
"The perfect lawn chair" said Stan with greed. The lawn chair almost seemed to sparkle.
Soos stared at the chair in amazement.
"The legends that you told me in the car were true!"
"I can't just believe it wasn't already taken!" said Stan, placing his towel on the chair. "And now to sit on it, and claiming it as my own."
He sat down on the lawn chair, and started to recline back, only to feel someone's foot stick into his back.
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Stan, turning to see that the chair was now occupied by none other than Gideon Gleeful. He was wearing American flag swim trunks.
"Why hello, Stanford" said Gideon smugly.
"GIDEON!!" exclaimed Stan angrily, standing up from the chair, and pointing at the ground. "Get out of my chair, kid!!!"
"Oh my, was this your chair?" asked Gideon with an insincere tone, turning and looking at Stan's red towel that he had placed on the chair labelled 'Property of Stan.' "I had no idea."
Then he put his hand next to his mouth.
"Yes I did, Stan" he whispered. "I knew."
Gideon then reclined back into the chair and started to make himself comfortable.
"Move it, you little troll" said Stan angrily.
"First come, first serve!" chimed Gideon. He started giggling as he rolled back and forth in the chair.
"I'LL FIRST SERVE, YOU!" exclaimed Stan, and in his anger, he grabbed Gideon by the scruff of his back and hoisted him up into the air.
Suddenly, a whistle blew at the sight of Stan's sudden outburst.
"Huh?" said Stan.
A few short moments later, he was thrown into pool jail by Wendy, in between two kids. The three of them were sitting on a purple bench.
Wendy was now locking the gate that closed off pool jail.
Stan had been in many prisons before, but this was ridiculous.
"Come on, Wendy" said Stan. "You can't do this to an old man!"
"Sorry, Stan" said Wendy as she finished locking the gate. "It's not up to me." She then laughed at what she had just said. "Actually it is."
Suddenly, Dipper ran up to her.
"Hey, Wendy!" he said excitedly. "I got the job!"
"Sweet!" said Wendy, turning around to face him. "Wanna go abuse our power?"
Dipper winced. That sounded like something Mara would say.
"But what if Poolcheck catches us?" he asked uneasily. "He seems emotionally unstable."
They turned to see Poolcheck hanging off the side of the pool fence. He sat upwards stiffly, and looked around. He examined the area intensely, then leaned back and hung off the side of the pool fence again.
"Nah, don't worry, man" said Wendy. "You just have to be sneaky about your rule breaking."
That phrase sounded awfully familiar.
"Like Mara?"
"Yeah" Wendy smirked. "Like Mara. Race you to the no running sign!"
The two of them then took off sprinting, and Dipper laughed joyously. He turned to see Poolcheck drinking water from the pool from a glass of water. Poolcheck then looked up at Dipper and stared at him with those soulless eyes, licking the pool water off his lips.
Dipper then stopped running, and tried his best to flash him an innocent smile.
"So how long you here for?" asked one of the kids in pool jail to Stan.
"Two hours for rough housing" Stan replied. "But I'm innocent!"
"Pool jail ain't so bad" said the other kid. "As long as you don't wind up in solitary."
He gestured towards the pool, where there was a kid trapped behind two bars underneath the edge of the pool.
"It's the nights that are the hardest" said the poor kid sadly.
The boy that Mabel was talking to earlier was lounging sadly in the pool, lost in thought.
Mabel emerged out of the water to stare at him.
The boy turned around, feeling as if someone was watching him, but Mabel had submerged herself.
When the boy turned back forward, Mabel emerged once again.
He turned in her direction, and she submerged herself again.
He shrugged, then turned back.
Suddenly, Mabel emerged out of the water loudly.
"Hey there!" she chirped, and the boy yelped in surprise. "I brought you a sandwich" she said, holding up a waterlogged sub from underwater. "It's sorta wet, but it's still good" she said, placing the sandwich on the red pool floatie that the boy seemed to always have with him. "Blop!"
"I like sharing things" she said cheerfully. "Sandwiches, secrets..."
She put her face up real close to the boy's.
"...share you secret, beautiful stranger" she whispered.
"That wet sandwich does look delicious" replied the boy. "Very well. But you must not tell another living soul my terrible secret."
Mabel nodded, clearly transfixed.
"You have to stay away from me because I am..."
The boy hesitated, then finally pushed aside the red floatie, revealing that he didn't have legs, but a blue and green fish tale.
"...a merman."
There was a very long pause, before Mabel finally said something.
"Oh, thank goodness" she said in relief. "I thought you were going to say you had a girlfriend."
"A merman" said Mabel, as she observed his fish tale. "I should have known from your strange fish language."
The boy stared at her.
"It is spanish."
"Your voice is so deep and masculine" said Mabel. "How old are you?"
"I am...twelve years old. Mermen's voices change when we are three."
"So, what's your name?" asked Mabel.
"There are some who call me...Mermando" said the mermand, strumming a guitar that seemed to magically appear in his arms. "That is because Mermando is my name."
"But I don't understand" said Mabel. "What's a guy like you doing in a public pool?"
"It is a tragic story, Mabel" said Mermando sadly. "I was swimming with my friends, the mighty dolphins, in the Gulf of Mexico, when I was ensnared! The cargo was heading for Gravity Falls. Using all my strength, I tried to escape back home, but it was not to be. I would have died of dehydration, if it were not for the kindness of the forest animals. But now that you know what I am, you must be seriously weirded out."
"What?" said Mabel, leaning against the red floatie that Mermando had brought back to hide his tail again.
"I don't care that you're a merman" said Mabel. "You're, like, the coolest guy I've ever met. And you can play at least one chord on the guitar" she added.
Mermando smiled.
"Oh, Mabel, I have never met another human like you" he said. "Would you care to join me in a game of the...marco polo?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Oh, yes, Mermando!" chirped Mabel. "Yes!" In her happiness, she grabbed Mermando's face with her hands and hugged it.
"You are covering my gills" said Mermando. "I cannot breathe."
Mabel immediately let go, and laughed nervously.
"Weird..."
Mara was standing on the edge of the pool, watching the entire thing. She was furious to see that they were together again. She had also seen that the boy was actually a merman named Mermando, which only fuelled her desire to protect Mabel.
"Dating paranormal creatures never ends well" murmured Mara as she watched the two playing marco polo. She remembered the incident with the gnomes.
"That little barnacle scum better stay away from my sister."
"Hello, Mara, my darling" said someone, who Mara knew instantly was Nathaniel.
By now, she was sick of him trying to her to go with him to his little personal spa. Moreover, she was sick of him talking to her.
She rounded on him in fury.
"Look, if you want me to go with you to your little spa, forget it" she said. "I have more important matters to deal with."
"More important than me?" said Nathaniel cockily, raising his eyebrow as he walked closer to her.
"There are actually a lot of things in the world that are a whole lot more important than a spoiled blond brat" said Mara. "And speaking of which, shouldn't you be getting back to your snobbish cousin?"
Nathaniel scoffed.
"Pacifica can wait. You're much more important than her" he said. "She's spoon-fed, selfish urchin who doesn't have any regard for anyone but herself."
"Funny. I was about to say the same thing about you" said Mara.
Nathaniel only laughed, and stepped even closer to her.
"Always so cheeky and vivacious. I love it."
Mara could feel her temper rising with each step that he took closer to her.
"Look, just give up already. I'll never go out with you. When are you going to accept that?"
Nathaniel shrugged.
"Never." He took one step closer to her. "I won't ever give up, not until you love me as much as I love you."
"I don't love you. I hate you!"
"Hate and love aren't that different from each other, you know. They're both fuelled by passion, and can easily transform into each other with time."
He was now only inches away from her. He leaned in closer to her face.
"Come with me, Mara Pines. Be my little princess, and we'll be together" he whispered with an infatuated tone. "We'll make each other happy, and love one another eternally. Be mine, forever."
That was Mara's last straw.
Without even thinking about it, she grabbed his arm, and judo flipped him upwards, sending him flying violently into the pool with a barbarous splash.
A whistle blew in her direction.
It was Dipper and Wendy, who were both rushing towards her.
It had been Dipper who had blown the whistle.
"Whoa, Mara, what in the heck happened there?" said Wendy.
"Mara, I know you hate Nathaniel, and trust me I hate him too, but you have to learn to control yourself" scolded Dipper.
"And I was" said Mara in a low voice, now cooling off from her outburst. "Until he was inches from my face telling me to be his little princess forever."
Dipper could feel his fists start to clench when she told him that. For a brief moment, he felt the urge to lock up Nathaniel in solitary.
"But I have to lock you in solitary now" said Wendy. "And I'd hate to do that to a friend."
"If you'd 'hate to do that to a friend' then don't do it" said Mara. "Why can't you just stick me in pool jail for a few minutes?"
"Because you committed a serious felony as far as pool standards go. Your upheaval should land you in solitary" said Dipper.
"What's the big deal? Why can't you just let me off the hook?"
"Violent outbursts, Mara! Wendy locked up Stan in pool jail for grabbing Gideon. You freakin' judo flipped a kid into the pool!"
"If I may, ladies and gentleman, I believe I can propose a solution."
The three of them turned to see Nathaniel, who had climbed out of the pool. He was sopping wet, but still strutting over to them as if he was in total control of the situation.
"I am the victim in this situation, aren't I? I believe that I can get little Mara out of solitary."
Mara already knew what he was going to suggest before he even said it.
"If she does a favor for me, then that would 'let her off the hook,' won't it?"
Dipper raised his eyebrow, obviously not knowing what he was getting at.
"You want me to go with you to your little spa, don't you?" said Mara.
"Ah, sharp as ever, love" said Nathaniel. "That is, unless you want to get stuck in solitary."
He gestured towards the kid who was currently stuck in solitary, behind bars underneath the pool edge.
"It gets lonely in here sometimes" he said. "But I've gotten used to it after the first three years."
Mara shivered.
"So what do you say, darling?" said Nathaniel. "Won't you join me on our little rendezvous?"
Mara clenched her fists in fury.
"Well it looks like I don't have much a choice, do I?" she said grudgingly.
Nathaniel's face brightened.
"Then come along, my little princess" he said eagerly, putting his arm around Mara and leading her away towards his personal spa on the other side of the public pool. "We mustn't keep my cosmetologist waiting for too long!"
Dipper was glaring daggers into Nathaniel's back as he led Mara away, furious that his sister was being forced into this and that there wasn't anything he could do about it. It made him feel so frustrated and helpless.
"You planned all of that, didn't you?" said Mara. "You manipulated me into getting angry enough to do something violent to you, so that you could swing in and force me into going with you."
"Your acuity never ceases to amaze me, Mara" said Nathaniel triumphantly.
"You little snake" said Mara, as they got approached the greasy haired man, who flashed a grin at the two of them. "I hate you."
Nathaniel chuckled.
"Ah, I know. And I'm hoping to change that."
Gideon was still lying in Stan's chair, feeling as relaxed as ever. He squeezed a bottle of sunscreen into his hands, and started to rub it onto his face.
He giggled to himself.
"My cheeks are baby soft!"
Meanwhile, Stan was watching from a distance, growling in fury at Gideon.
"Look at him" he grimaced. "That smug, chair-stealing jerk. But I can't touch him or the pool patrol will throw me in pool jail."
Stan started to think of ways to get back at Gideon, when his shiny watch that was on his wrist suddenly caught his eye. The sun's light was reflecting off of it.
Stan suddenly got an idea.
He chuckled evilly as he aimed the sunlight that was being reflected off of the watch in Gideon's direction.
The light was only a few inches away from Gideon's face.
"Yes, yes! Burn the child."
But unfortunately, Gideon seemed to have been prepared, for he held up a pair of sunglasses right as the light was about to shine into his eyes. The light was reflected right into Stan's eyes.
"Ah!" Stan screamed in pain, falling backwards into the pool. "My eyes!"
"Deal with it" said Gideon smugly, placing the sunglasses over his eyes.
Stan emerged from the surface of the pool as angry as ever.
Meanwhile, Soos was fitting an inflatable duck floatie around his stomach, when suddenly it seemed to talk to him.
"Soos!" it said.
Soos gasped in excitement.
"Inflatable duck-guy? Is that you?"
"Yes, Soos" said the inflatable. "I can talk."
"Oh my gosh" said Soos. "I knew you guys were secretly alive. Knew it!"
Dipper and Wendy were hiding a few yards away from Soos behind the pool supplies door. Wendy was holding a bullhorn that she had been using to make the duck inflatable seem like it was talking to Soos.
The two of them were laughing, but a little too loudly.
"Shh"
"Shh"
"Shh"
They shushed each other, putting their fingers over each other's mouths.
Wendy raised her lips to the bullhorn again.
"My people have been enslaved, Soos. You must free us!"
Soos looked at the open supplies closet, where there were more inflatable duck floaties hanging in a net.
"The inflatable pool-duck revolution is at hand" said Soos, as he started to walk into the closet.
Dipper and Wendy were laughing together, when suddenly a whistle blew.
Mr. Poolcheck was driving around in a golf cart, yelling into a bullhorn at everyone.
"Four thirty! Clear out everyone!" he yelled.
"Poolcheck!" exclaimed Dipper in alarm.
"Hide!" said Wendy.
The two of them ran to find a hiding place.
Poolcheck was driving in the golf cart around the pool inspecting everyone and making sure that they were leaving. He saw Soos about to go into the supplies closet.
"Don't touch that!" he yelled.
Suddenly, he caught sight of Dipper trying to run.
"Assistant lifeguard!" he yelled.
Dipper screeched to a halt and froze in his tracks, afraid of what Poolcheck was going to do to him.
Poolcheck stopped the cart next to Dipper.
"Have a good night, son" he said rather gently. He unscrewed his hand, and held it over Dipper's outstretched hands. A ring of keys dropped out of Poolcheck's fake hand.
"Lock up the supplies for me" said Poolcheck, as he screwed his hand back on and drove away.
Dipper made his way over the supplies closet, shut the door, and used the keys to lock the door.
Poolcheck blew the whistle to signify that the pool was closing.
Mara was sitting impatiently on a towel while Nathaniel's cosmetologist was doing her hair, and for obvious reasons, she had insisted on keeping her bandana on. She had been waiting anxiously for that moment to come.
Nathaniel, who was sitting on a towel next to Mara, looked up.
"Is it time for departure already?" he said, his face pouting a bit.
"Yes! Finally!" Mara exclaimed, rising back up onto her feet, and pulling her hair back from the cosmetologist.
"But I am not done yet!" he protested.
In response, Mara pulled her hair back into its usual pony tail, completely messing up all his hard work.
"See ya, sucker!" she exclaimed, before running off to the exit.
Mara made a mental note that Nathaniel wasn't as dumb as she had always thought he was, and that she would have to be more careful around him.
Mabel and Mermando had been combing each other's hair when the pool whistle blew again. People were starting to leave.
"The pool, she closes" said Mermando. "Can I see you tonight?"
"Sure, where?" asked Mabel. "Wanna go for a walk?
Mermando looked at her.
"Merman. I am a merman."
"Oh, right" said Mabel, pulling herself out the pool and running off with her family. "Then I'll be back tonight."
Mermando smiled.
That night, Mabel drove back to the pool in the golf cart that Dipper and Mara had used to rescue her from the gnomes all those weeks ago. She parked the cart, then ran up to the tall fence surrounding the pool. Mabel was wondering how she was going to get up the fence, when she caught sight of a pool skimmer hanging against the net.
She reached her hand through the fence holes, and grabbed it by its handle. The she stuck it through one of the fence's bottom holes, and stepped on it, using it to hoist herself up onto the fence. She broke it as she stepped on it.
Mabel managed to reach the top of the fence, and jumped onto the other side, running right past the signs that were labelled "Do not Touch" and "No Trespassing."
Mabel leapt into the pool and swam to Mermando.
She held up the scrapbook that she had brought with her, and placed it on the edge of the pool so that it wouldn't get too wet.
"This is a scrapbook of human stuff" she explained to him. "This me standing on my legs" she said, pointing to a picture. "And here's a picture of Mara kicking Dipper in his legs" she said, pointing to another picture. "He couldn't move his legs after that! It figures, since she was wearing her combat boots. But can you imagine not having legs?"
Mermando stared at her.
"Let's skip this part."
"And here's a picture of my whole family kickboxing!" said Mabel, pointing to a third picture. "Mara won, not surprisingly. She gave Dipper a black eye."
Mabel frowned.
"Most of these photos seem to be of Mara beating up Dipper, but that's a piece of my life for you."
Mermando sighed sadly, and then swam away from her. Mabel swam after him.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Mermando sighed, and pulled up his guitar from underwater. He strummed a chord, but it sounded muffled because the waterlogged guitar was filled with water. He groaned, dumped out the water, and strummed a chord.
"I too used to have a family, once" he said. "Back in the ocean." He pulled his seashell necklace off and flipped it open, revealing a small picture of him with a mom, dad, and little brother. They were all mermaids.
"Oh I miss them" he said sadly, flipping the seashell shut again.
Mabel put her hand on Mermando's shoulder.
"Mermando, why don't you just leave the pool?"
"I've already tried once" said Mermando. "But escaping the pool required a plan that was bold and daring."
He told his poor attempt at an escape to Mabel, describing every painful detail that had happened, from flipping through beach chairs to getting pecked by a woodpecker.
"...and then the wolves came" he finished his story. "No, I am glad I am here, because I met you."
He stared off into the distance, a shooting star soaring through the night sky.
'This is it, Mabel' said Mabel in her thoughts. 'First kiss moment, here we come. Just go for it.'
She leaned forward towards him, and puckered her lips.
"What are you doing with your mouth?" asked Mermando.
Mabel immediately retracted.
"Me? What this?" she said quickly, puckering her lips again and pointing to them to demonstrate. "I was just eating some sour candy. My lips were doing that, because the candy was so sour."
"Can I have some candy?" asked Mermando hopefully.
Mabel paused, and looked around awkwardly.
"No."
The next morning at the pool, Blubbs and Durland were sitting on a pool bench, when suddenly a lifesaver fell onto Blubbs, pinning his arms against his side.
"W-w-what?" stammered Blubbs.
Just then, another lifesaver onto Durland, pinning his arms against his sides as well.
"I'm scared!" he exclaimed.
"Me too!" said Blubbs.
It had been Wendy and Dipper who had thrown the lifesavers onto the police officers from the height of the lifeguard chairs.
"One hundred points!" said Dipper excitedly, holding onto a lifesaver.
"Dude, with this job, you and me are going to be having fun all Summer!" said Wendy excitedly.
Dipper smiled, and blushed nervously.
"All Summer?"
Just then, a whistle blew, and Dipper looked down to see Mr. Poolcheck, standing next to a struggling Durland and Blubbs. The lifeguard didn't look very happy.
"Pines, here, now!" he yelled angrily, pointing at the ground next to him.
Dipper gulped.
Mr. Poolcheck was now pacing back and forth angrily while Dipper was standing soldier style in front of the open pool supplies closet door.
"You gave me your word that you would respect the sacred rules of this public pool!" exclaimed Poolcheck rather emotionally.
"Poolcheck, are you crying?" asked Dipper.
The man turned around to face the boy, revealing his red face and teary eyes.
"That's not important right now!" He sniffed. "You are on thin ice, boy! You wanna keep this job?" He held up a pool skimmer that that had a severely bent handle. "Well some maniac broke into the supply closet last night and destroyed our one and only pool skimmer!"
"Mara..." murmured Dipper to himself angrily, immediately suspecting his destructive sister of this crime. After all, breaking into things did sound like something she would do.
"I want you on stake out. If one more supply is taken, YOU'RE FIRED!!"
Dipper held his hand up to his forehead to salute him.
"I won't let you down."
"Mabel's bringing the heat!" said Mabel, holding up a beach ball and throwing it at Mermando. "Boosh!"
The sad merman didn't even seem to notice the ball, as it bounced right off his glum face.
"Mermando, are you ok?" asked Mabel.
Mermando swam sadly over to her. Mabel understood immediately.
"Oh. It's your family, isn't it?" said Mabel. "Are you thinking about them?"
Mermando made confirming dolphin squeaks in response.
"Mermando, enough is enough!" said Mabel determinedly. "I care about you too much to see you like this. We're gonna bust you out of here and get you back to your family!"
"But Mabel" said Mermando. "Escape is impossible."
"We're breaking you out of here, tonight!" declared Mabel, punching the surface of the pool water in determination. Water was splashed all over her and Mermando.
"Whoops. Sorry about that" said Mabel. "Water."
After doing a parameter check for Nathaniel and finding that he wasn't here, thank goodness, Mara had gone back to spying on her sister and Mermando. She was hiding behind the supply closet door, because she didn't want to be seen. She was too far away to hear everything that they were saying to each other, but fortunately Mabel had at least declared that last statement loud enough for her to hear:
"We're breaking you out of here, tonight!"
Mara's eyes widened.
"She's taking him out the pool now? Oh, the nerve of that fish-freak!" she murmured furiously. "Tonight, huh? We'll see about that..."
"MARA GRACE PINES!" someone shouted suddenly, and Mara jumped in surprise at first, then turned to see that it was only Dipper, who was marching towards her furiously.
Mara sighed.
"What did I do this time?" she asked.
"I don't know, why don't you tell me?" said Dipper furiously. "I can't believe you broke in last night and broke the pool skimmer!"
Mara snorted, and then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Why are you laughing?" he asked impatiently.
Mara stopped laughing, and wiped a tear from her eye.
"Oh come on, really, Dipper?" she said. "Breaking into a public pool just to break a pool skimmer? Who do you think I am?"
Dipper sighed.
"Well someone broke into the pool" he said. "And I'm going to find out who."
"So you automatically assumed it was me?" said Mara, in a playfully offensive tone that wasn't a seriously angry one. "I am deeply offended by that accusation."
Dipper rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with Mara's games, and stormed away.
That night, Dipper was patrolling the pool with a flashlight in hand, on the lookout for the trespasser. He was wearing a red hat that said "Night Patrol" instead of his usual blue pine tree hat. He started to pace back and forth.
"Alright, Dipper, here's the plan" he said to himself. "Catch the trespasser, protect the pool supplies, keep job at the pool, keep Nathaniel away from Mara, and eventually marry Wendy."
Suddenly, he heard the sound of someone snipping at the pool fence.
He turned around immediately, shining the flashlight on the person making the noise.
It was Grunkle Stan. He was holding a pair of wire cutters, and a door-shaped hole in the fence suddenly appeared in front of him as a section of the fence fell forward.
"Grunkle Stan?" said Dipper in disbelief.
"I, uh, I'm sleepwalking" said Stan. "Also now I'm sleep talking. Nice hat, by the way."
"You!" accused Dipper. "You're the one destroying pool supplies."
"What? No, my crime is a lot better than that" said Stan cheerfully, walking into the pool through the hole in the fence that he just made.
"I'm gonna get the seat and be ready in the morning when Gideon comes. Then maybe I'll destroy some pool supplies. The night's still young."
Dipper inhaled, then blew the whistle so loudly that his cheeks turned red.
Stan held up his hands in a surrendering gesture and took a few steps back.
"Sheesh, alright, I'm going." He turned and made it look like he was about to walk back, but then suddenly turned back around and ran through the hole in the fence towards the seat.
"Hey!" said Dipper, running after Stan.
Just then, Mabel appeared driving a golf cart. She backed it up through the hole in the fence that Stan had made.
"Mabel!" said Mermando.
Mabel jumped off the golf cart, and started to make her way towards Mermando, when suddenly Mara appeared from her hiding spot behind one of the chairs, and leaped right in front of Mabel.
"I knew it!" she exclaimed, pointing at her sister. "You're sneaking out with that merman!" she said.
"What? Mara? What are you doing here? And how do you know?"
"First off, you talk really loudly" she said. "Also, I may or may not have been spying on you and Mermando for the past couple of days."
"What?!" Mabel glared at her sister. "Why?"
"Mabel, don't you remember what happened that last time you dated a paranormal creature?"
"Oh yeah" said Mabel, putting her hand under her chin as she thought back to the incident. She smiled. "The gnome incident. The first exciting thing we did all Summer."
"Mabel, don't you ever learn?" said Mara angrily. "For all you know, Mermando could be luring you away from everyone else using his enchanting singing to eat you for dinner when no one's around!"
"Hey!" said Mermando from the pool. "Those are sirens! What are you, some kind of callous clone of Mabel?"
Mabel sighed.
"Mermando, this is my triplet sister, Mara. Mara, Mermando."
"I already know his name" said Mara with a acrid voice. "I just haven't had the pleasure of meeting him face to face yet."
"Believe me, the meeting is just as pleasant from the other side" said Mermando.
"Just stay away from my sister, fish-breath" said Mara.
"Mara! He's not like the gnomes" said Mabel. "He's so nice, and loving."
"That's what you said about Gideon."
"But this is different."
"How so? You're breaking him out of the pool!"
Mabel sighed.
"Look, Mara, I'm trying to get Mermando back to his family in the ocean. I have to get him to the Gravity Falls lake, or he'll never see his family again. I could use your help."
"Psh" said Mara, turning away and crossing her arms across her chest. "Why should I care? He's a heartless creature who only cares about his own survival."
"Again, those are sirens!" said Mermando.
"Please?" begged Mabel. "If you help me get Mermando back to the ocean and his family, I'll never see him again! Think of it that way!"
Mara processed this information, then sighed.
"Fine."
Mabel grinned, and hugged Mara in a tight embrace.
"Great! Thank you, Mara!" she said excitedly. "Now I need you to to pick this lock" she pointed at the door to the pool supplies closet.
Mara sighed, and reached into her toolbelt, where she pulled out a thin tension wrench. She inserted it into the lock, and after picking it for about ten seconds, the lock clicked. The supplies closet swung right open.
Inside the pool closet was a large cooler, and Mara knew immediately what Mabel's plan to get Mermando to the lake was. She went inside, and started to drag the heavy cooler to the golf cart.
"Are you ready to see your family?" Mabel asked Mermando.
"Yes, but how can I, a merman, possibly escape?" asked Mermando.
"Ok, my original plan was to tape together a bunch of fish sticks to make you a prosthetic pair of people legs" said Mabel, pulling out a drawing of Mermando with fish stick legs out from her sweater, and handing it to him.
Mara snorted, as she lifted the cooler into the back of the golf cart.
"Mabel, I've built several robots over the twelve years of my life, and you cannot build prosthetic legs out of fish sticks and tape."
"Intriguing" said Mermando, examining the drawing.
"But then I realized I could just transport you in this cooler" said Mabel, turning on a water hose, and holding it over the cooler to fill it for Mermando.
"Ha ha!" laughed Mermando triumphantly, and he leapt out of the pool onto the land. He flapped uselessly around, for without water he couldn't exactly breathe. He eventually got stuck on the ground about three feet away from the cooler.
Mara sighed, and made her way over to the dehydrated merman. She scooped him up into her arms as if she were carrying a large baby, and dumped him into the cooler filled with water.
"Thank you, Mara" said Mermando.
"Don't mention it" said Mara. "No seriously, don't ever mention this again."
"Hey!" a voice suddenly said. Mabel and Mara instantly recognized the voice: it was Dipper.
"Who's there?"
The girls could see the light of a flashlight making its way towards them.
"Quick, hide me!" exclaimed Mermando. "My kind must not be seen!"
Mabel gently shut the cooler lid while Mara turned to face their brother.
"Oh, hey, Dipper" she said, trying to flash him a charming smile. "What are you doing out here so late?"
Then, she noticed the hat on his head that read "Night Patrol."
"You know what, forget I asked" she said.
"Mara? Mabel?" said Dipper. "Is there anyone not breaking into the pool tonight? What, is Soos here too?"
As if on cue, Soos climbed the pool fence, and when he reached the top, lost his balance and fell right onto his back against the hard concrete.
"I'm ok" said Soos.
"Go home, Soos" said Dipper.
"You got it" said Soos, and he turned back towards the fence and tried to jump back up onto it, however, he didn't seem to be able to jump high enough.
"So, why are you two here?" said Dipper impatiently.
"Uh, no reason" said Mabel. Just then, Mermando cleared his throat from inside the cooler.
"Did that cooler just clear its throat?" asked Dipper suspiciously.
"No" said Mara. "It's getting late, brother, you're probably just seeing things because you're tired" she offered.
"Don't be silly" said Mabel nervously. "There certainly isn't a merman in there if that's what you're implying. Who said anything about a merman?"
Mara elbowed her sister.
"Guys, I don't have time for your games" said Dipper. "If you guys don't give me those supplies, I'll lose the coolest job ever!"
"You mean hanging out with Wendy?" asked Mara. "You could be scooping poop with her and you'd still say it was the coolest job ever."
Mabel sighed, and looked down at the ground.
"I understand."
Suddenly, her eyes widened and she pointed in a random direction behind Dipper.
"Look! Wendy in a bikini!" she exclaimed, as she and Mara bolted towards the golf cart, Mabel taking the driver's seat.
"Really? At night?" Dipper asked, turning around immediately.
"Sorry, Dipper!" yelled Mabel, as she drove off in the golf cart, crashing into the pool fence and creating another hole.
Mara smirked.
"Good one, sis. Man, are we lucky that Dipper's so naive."
Dipper turned angrily to see that he had been tricked.
"Mabel! Mara!" he yelled, and he hurried to the cart that Poolcheck had been driving earlier that day labelled "Pool Mobile". He stuck the keys into the keyhole, and drove off after his sisters.
"Go, Mabel! Go, Mara! Go!" cheered the boy in solitary. "We can't all be saved."
Just then, an open bag of chips floated towards him, and the boy shoved the chips into his mouth and chewed.
Mabel was now frantically driving the cart with Mara in the passenger seat navigating.
"We've gotta get you home!" yelled Mabel to Mermando, who was peeking out from the inside of the cooler.
She then turned towards Mara.
"Which way to the lake?" she yelled.
"There should be an upcoming split in the road in a few yards!" yelled Mara. "When you get to it, turn left!"
"Got it!"
Just then, a water balloon was thrown at the cooler. The girls turned to see Dipper, who had a whole bucket of water balloons next to him and a net that he was using as a catapult.
He was holding up a bullhorn to his mouth and yelling at them through it.
"Hand over the pool supplies in the name of pool law!"
"Pool law is dumb" Mabel yelled. "And so is your hat!"
"Mabel, watch out!" yelled Mara, suddenly grabbing the wheel and jerking the cart to the left. A water balloon flew right in the spot where they have been just a few seconds ago.
"You know, in all my years I never thought that my first car chase after a heist would be in a golf cart being pursued by our brother" said Mara. "It's actually really thrilling."
As Dipper was catapulting more water balloons and Mabel was swerving from side to side to avoid them, Mara searched around in her tool belt for her latest contraption that she had invented when she had gotten home yesterday.
"Alright, let's see what I've got" she said, rummaging through the belt and pulling out several inventions.
"Knock out gas, tranquilizer darts, smoke grenades...ah ha!"
She pulled out a long and thin metal cylinder, with a button on one end. She aimed the contraption at Dipper and the cart he was driving, and pressed the button on the end.
A red beam was shot out the end of the prototype, and hit Dipper and his vehicle.
Suddenly, it seemed as if Dipper and the cart were driving extremely slow, only going about an inch a minute.
"IIIIIIII'llllll...Geeeeeeeettt...yooooouuuu" said Dipper slowly, as his vehicle inched forward slowly.
Mabel grinned.
"A slow-motion ray? Mara, you're a genius!"
"Yeah yeah" said Mara nonchalantly, not caring for the flattery too much. "But that's only a prototype, and the effect is only gonna last for about two minutes, so you'd better keep driving before it wears off."
Mara glanced at the road.
"The turn's coming up! Turn left!" she yelled.
"Okay!" yelled Mabel, as she yanked the wheel to the left. The cart screeched as it made its sharp turn to the left, as did Dipper's pool mobile.
Meanwhile, Stan peeked out from the women's bathroom, where he had been hiding from Dipper previously. He figured that it would be the last place that Dipper would check...and also the women's bathrooms were much cleaner than the men's.
"The coast is clear!" Stan said excitedly, as he crept over to the lawn chair and laid down in it.
"Ah!" he said. "Now all I have to do is wait here for fifteen hours until the pool opens!" he said, waiting for a long time.
"This was a good plan."
Mabel and Mara were now almost at the lake, and Dipper was still on their tail. He was still throwing water balloons at them, which he miraculously hadn't run out of yet.
Mara turned over her shoulder, and blew a raspberry at Dipper.
"Try and catch us, sucker!" she yelled at him. She laughed boisterously, and ducked when Dipper threw another water balloon aimed at her.
"Hey, Dipper!" she yelled cheekily. "My brother still misses me, but his aim is getting better!"
She laughed at her joke as Dipper's face turned red in anger.
"Mara! You crossed the line when you used one of Stan's ex-wife jokes!" he yelled angrily, catapulting the next water balloon, which hit the faucet at the bottom of the cooler that allowed water to pour out of it more easily.
The water started to flow out of the cooler.
"Well, it looks like my brother's aim really is getting better" said Mara simply.
"Mabel, I cannot breathe! You must hurry!" said Mermando frantically.
Mabel was now approaching the lake, which was only a few yards away as the morning sun was starting to come up.
"Mabel! The brake!" yelled Mara, for they were going so fast that they would be driving right into the lake if they didn't stop soon.
Mabel slammed on the brake, but lost control of the vehicle. It started to spin out of control, throwing the girls up into the air.
Mabel and Mara screamed.
Dipper screamed as well, and yanked the wheel to the right, causing his vehicle to come to a sudden halt so that he didn't run over his sisters.
Mara wrapped her arms around her Mabel, then did her best to do a somersault when they landed on the ground to soften their landing, though it was a bit more difficult to do with two people.
Mara got up quickly, and helped her sister up. The two girls were now brushing each other off, right next to the cooler, which was sitting on its side.
"We're ok" said Mabel.
Dipper made his way to his sisters.
"Alright, the jig is up!" he said angrily. "Hand over that cooler!"
"Never!" said Mabel.
"Why not?" said Dipper in confusion. "Why do you even need it?"
Mabel paused, before deciding to tell her brother.
"I needed the cooler to save my new friend because he needs to go home and he's really nice and we combed each other's hair and he needs to be in the cooler because he breathes water because he's a merman!"
"Remember to breathe, Mabel" said Mara, as she opened the cooler. Mermando came rolling out of it, right in front of Dipper's feet.
"Hola" he said.
"Dipper, meet Mermando the merman" said Mabel. "He's a merman."
"Hola" said Mermando. "It's nice to meet you. Also, I think I am dying."
He gasped and suddenly and started to turn blue, as he couldn't breathe now without water.
"Water!" he gasped, pointing at his mouth. "Agua, yo necesito!"
He eventually became so still that a fly landed on his eye.
"Oh no! Mermando!" exclaimed Mabel, holding her friend up.
"Dipper, you're a lifeguard" said Mabel. "Give him CPR!"
"Mermen don't breathe air!" said Dipper.
"Then give him reverse CPR, doi" said Mabel, as if it were obvious.
Dipper ran back to the pool mobile, retrieved a water bottle, then ran back to the dying merman. He skidded on his knees and kneeled in front of Mermando.
He poured the bottle of water into his mouth, and then put his lips onto Mermando's, blowing the water into his lungs. He poured the bottle of water into his mouth again, and blew another thing of water into Mermando's mouth.
"I hate this" said Dipper, as he repeated the process again.
"I hate this!" He repeated it once again.
Mara smirked evilly as she reached into her toolbelt, and brought out a camera. She started snapping pictures of Dipper with his lips on Mermando's.
"Blackmail" said Mara.
Mabel grinned.
Suddenly, Mermando sat up, fully revived and able to breathe again. He turned towards Dipper, who was wiping his lips.
"Thank you for saving me, but why didn't you just throw me into the lake?"
He gestured towards the lake, which was only about a foot away from them.
Dipper facepalmed.
The triplets dragged Mermando to the dock, Mara and Mabel each holding one of his arms and Dipper holding onto his tail. They reached the edge of the dock, and tossed him into the lake.
Mermando swam around happily before surfacing again. He made cheerful dolphin noises, then suddenly stopped and started coughing.
"I am weak from coughing" he said. "How will I get my family to hear my call from the might depths of the ocean?"
"I've got it" said Mabel. "BRB."
She ran to the pool mobile, and retrieved the bullhorn. She ran back to the dock and held it up.
"Problem solved!" she said.
Dipper suddenly snatched the bullhorn out of her hands.
"Mabel, those are pool supplies" he said. "I'll get fired!"
"Dipper!" said Mabel. "Don't you know what it's like to fall for someone, even though you know in your heart that it'll probably never work out? That you'd do anything for that person?"
Dipper looked down at the bullhorn in his hand guiltily.
"Actually, my problem is just the opposite" said Mara. "Tell me how to get someone who loves you that much to stop loving you."
Dipper sighed obviously thinking about Wendy, and reluctantly handed over the megaphone to Mabel.
"Give Mermando the megaphone.
"Thanks, Dip" said Mabel, tossing the megaphone to Mermando.
"Mabel, I have never met anyone like you" said Mermando.
"Same here" said Mabel.
"He's a stinkin' merman, Mabel. Of course you haven't met anyone like him" said Mara.
Mabel continued on as if she hadn't heard her.
"Except for a zombie, a gnome, and a couple of cute vampires."
"I don't remember the vampires" said Dipper.
"And I thought that zombie actually turned out to be a bunch of gnomes" said Mara.
"I don't tell you guys everything" said Mabel.
"That's actually very surprising to hear" said Mara.
Mabel turned back towards Mermando.
"Well, Mermando, I guess this is it" she said sadly.
"Not quite" said Mermando. "This is!"
Suddenly, he leapt up onto the dock, and kissed Mabel on the lips.
Mabel's eyes widened in surprise at first, before she closed them and lifted up one leg back.
Dipper turned around immediately.
"Whoa, hey! That's gross!" he exclaimed.
Mara turned around as well. As much as she currently wanted to murder Mermando with her bare hands a hundred times over, she had marked him off as harmless after she had met him, and she also knew that he would never see her sister again after this.
"He'd just better make this quick" murmured Mara.
Mermando pulled back, and grinned before retreating back into the water.
Mabel giggled and stomped her legs excitedly.
"That was my first kiss!" she squealed, as her siblings were looking at her with concerned expressions.
"It was technically your first kiss too, wasn't it?" said Mara, grinning evilly as she elbowed Dipper.
Mabel decided to join in on the teasing.
"Huh? Huh?" she said.
"Please don't involve me in this" said Dipper.
Mabel then turned back to the lake, and took Mermando's hand one last time.
"Goodbye, Mermando" she said.
"Goodbye, Mabel" said Mermando. The two of them let go of each other, and with that Mermando started to swim away towards the ocean.
"You did the right thing, Dipper" said Mabel.
"Yeah, yeah" said Dipper.
"And on the bright side, at least you won't be taking orders anymore from a mentally unstable buff guy" said Mara.
Dipper smiled sheepishly.
Just then, Mabel stopped walking.
"Oh, one last thing!" she said, starting to run back to the lake.
She made it to the rocks, and held up a fist into the air as the morning sun was coming up. Mermando swam upwards in an arc in the air behind her, and then landed in the water again.
"Yes!" exclaimed Mabel. "I've always wanted to do that."
"A wrecked fence, dents in the pool mobile, and a missing megaphone?!" exclaimed Mr. Poolcheck furiously. He spun around and grabbed Dipper, shaking him back and forth angrily.
"WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS??"
Dipper hesitated before answering that.
"It's my fault, sir" he said reluctantly. "I'm sorry. I got in too deep."
Poolcheck looked absolutely outraged.
"HAND...OVER...THE WHISTLE, BOY!!!" he yelled.
Dipper took the whistle off from around his neck, and sadly handed it to Mr. Poolcheck, who snatched it out of his hands and ripped the cord in half with his bare hands. He then opened his mouth and stuck the whistle inside, chewing the whistle and its chord, and then swallowing the entire thing.
Dipper backed away slowly, disturbed by the sight.
When he was done eating the whistle, Poolcheck looked around furiously.
"If one more thing goes wrong today..." he said, anger starting to rise in his voice. He was clearly on the edge.
As if on cue, Soos emerged from the supplies closet carrying all of the inflatable ducks in his arms. He tossed them over the pool fence.
"You're free now!" he said happily. "Inflatable ducks unite!"
Poolcheck started to growl furiously, and Soos screamed when he saw him. He immediately climbed up the fence, and ran away on the other side, just as Poolcheck was charging towards him, running right through the fence and creating yet another hole.
Tyler appeared at the new hole in the fence that Poolcheck had just made.
"Get 'em! Get 'em!" he said.
Dipper was walking away sadly, when suddenly a water balloon hit him in the face.
A soaked Dipper looked up to see Wendy.
"Hey, doofus" she said cooly. "You'll never guess what happened. I just got fired."
"What?" said Dipper, rather happily. "Really?"
"Yup" said Wendy. "I guess Poolcheck found out I was taking too many snacks."
"How many?" asked Dipper.
In response, Wendy lifted her hat, revealing three snack packets on top of her head. She grinned mischievously, and Dipper laughed.
"Hey, wanna go break rules somewhere else?" she asked.
"Of course" said Dipper, and with that the two of them walked out through the fence and away from the pool.
Meanwhile, Mabel was sitting sadly on the edge of the pool with her feet in the water. She missed Mermando already.
Suddenly, a bottle popped out from the gutter, and Mabel looked at it, confused.
She then bent down and picked it up. Inside the bottle was a note labelled "Mabel."
"Huh?"
She uncorked the bottle, and unfolded the letter:
'Dear Mabel,
I am home with my family now. Our first kiss will always hold a place in my heart. Technically hearts...as a merman, I have like, seventeen hearts. Horrifying, but true!
*More bottles on the way
As if on cue, about six more bottles popped out from the gutter and floated along the surface of the pool, all of which contained notes that were labelled "Mabel."
Mabel giggled, and started to collect the bottles, intending to read them all.
Mara was walking around when suddenly she saw Mr. Poolcheck, storming back to the pool, holding all the inflatable ducks that Soos had tossed over the fence. It looked as if Soos had actually managed to get away.
Poolcheck growled angrily.
"I need a new assistant lifeguard" he said, scanning the pool for someone to take Dipper's place. "Someone who can spend the entire rest of the Summer cleaning the pool of urine and scrubbing the pool bathrooms."
Just then, Mara caught sight of Nathaniel entering the pool.
She smirked, an idea suddenly coming to her mind.
"Mr. Poolcheck" she said, walking up to the irritable man. "I've got the perfect guy for the job."
She pointed at Nathaniel, and then yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Hey, Nathaniel! I'm over here!"
He perked up immediately, and started to hurry in her direction.
"Why, Mara!" he said eagerly. "Come to see me again?"
Mara smirked.
"Not exactly."
Mr. Poolcheck examined Nathaniel, who started to shift uncomfortably.
"What's your name, kid?" he asked sternly.
"Northwest. Nathaniel Northwest V."
He then lifted Nathaniel's arm, and examined it. Nathaniel yelped in surprise.
"Hmm...a little lanky for my standards" said Poolcheck. "But sustainable. You're hired, boy"
Nathaniel laughed nervously.
"Hired for what exactly?"
"Hired as assistant lifeguard."
Nathaniel's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Excuse me?"
"From here on out, you'll be taking orders from me, boy" he yelled insanely, like a general to a soldier. Nathaniel gulped, and stood straight up, but he was trembling from fear slightly.
"For the rest of the Summer!"
"F-for the rest of the Summer?"
Poolcheck got up close to Nathaniel's face.
"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME, NORTHWEST??" he yelled, so loudly that Nathaniel's hair was actually blown back.
"Now get to the bathroom, assistant lifeguard. Someone clogged one of the toilets."
He tossed him a plunger, and Nathaniel looked at it in disbelief and outrage.
"Mara?" he said, looking around for her to help him. But she had disappeared.
Mara was now exiting the pool, looking back at a now desperate-looking Nathaniel.
"Mara!!!!!!"
Stan was lying comfortably in the chair when Gideon walked up to it.
"Stanford!" he exclaimed in disbelief.
Stan laughed triumphantly.
Gideon looked up sadly.
"Well, guess you won" he said, outstretching his hand for a handshake. "Put her there."
Stan tried to reach his hand over to take Gideon's hand, but found that he was actually stuck to the chair.
"Hey!" exclaimed Stan. "What the-?"
"Unless perhaps I predicted your plan and coated the entire chair with glue last night!" said Gideon triumphantly.
"Enjoy your chair...forever."
He laughed, and then started to walk away from Stan, who was now struggling furiously against the chair.
"Kids, get the spatulas!" he screamed. "KIDS!!!!"