It's Not Over Yet

I twirl the pencil in my hand, a habit I developed in middle school. I lay on my stomach on my sleeping bag, propped up on my elbows with my feet in the air. I study the list in front of me, the meager attempts at formulating a plan continuing to mock me.

"Where do I even begin?" I ask myself aloud, twirling the pencil faster. My fingers stumble, causing my pencil to go flying out of my hand. It rolls across the floor and underneath the curtain.

I sigh, getting up on my hands and knees to go retrieve it. I reach under the curtain, not wanting anyone to gaze upon the unholy sight that I am when I first get up in the morning. I look like a wreck, especially considering yesterday's events. The only person who should have to see me like this is myself.

"Did you drop this?"

The curtain is pulled aside, revealing Mabel as she holds my pencil out towards me. I smile awkwardly, taking it from her.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Whatcha working on?"

"Just trying to formulate a plan. I'm not sure where to start. If only I knew more about her and this curse."

"Well, maybe we should go look for clues," she suggests. "There's probably lots of rooms that hold secrets in that old place."

I nod along. "Yeah, she was always really stingy about the library. I never even bothered with her room, I knew that place was definitely off limits."

"Well, I hope you're ready for some rule breaking, 'cause that's where we're gonna go! I'm sure Dipper would be ecstatic about conducting an investigation."

I know for a fact that Lenzee would be mad if I went through her room, but what choice do we have? If she's upset when we find her, we'll just point out the fact that we totally saved her butt, so you're welcome.

Mabel leaves me to get dressed, so I throw on the same clothes I wore yesterday, considering I hadn't thought to pack extras. My maroon skirt almost reaches my knees, and I make sure to tuck in my golden yellow t-shirt. After running a brush through my hair, I decide to leave it down. I tie my sneakers, grab Spunk, tuck him in the mesh pocket, swing my bag onto my back, and head downstairs.

"Ready to go?" I ask as I enter the kitchen.

"Yup!" Mabel gets up from the table, skipping towards the door. Dipper glances up from his book long enough to realize we're about to head out. I begin following them, but I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"May I speak with you for a moment?" Ford asks.

I nod, turning to tell the others that I'll catch up with them in a few minutes.

"Mabel informed me of your plans to search Lenzee's house for clues and hints. I knew Lenzee, but I didn't know her as well as I would have liked to. I don't know if she was hiding any secrets, but I wouldn't be surprised if she was. I just want you to be prepared to find some things you might not like."

I study Ford's eyes, trying to see if they reveal a hidden meaning or a coded lie. There's definitely something causing him to keep his guard up, but whether or not that has to do with Lenzee is beyond me.

"Thank you," I tell him. "I'm sure I can handle whatever it is."

He nods, dismissing me. I catch up to Dipper and Mabel as we head towards Lenzee's house.

"What was that about?" Mabel asks as I approach.

"Just wanted to let me know that Lenzee was probably hiding stuff that he didn't know about. He was making sure I was prepared to find things that I might not like."