january
In the January snow, Pacifica stood in the Mystery Shack parking lot with Dipper Pines as they both shivered and tried to make small talk. The blonde kept her head down, staring at the glitter and confetti from the party poppers they had all opened right at midnight earlier that morning. She'd barely gotten any sleep since.
"How are your parents?" Dipper asked, tugging a hat that used to belong to Wendy Corduroy over his curls.
"Meh. Yours?"
"Meh."
"Where's Mabel? Aren't you supposed to be leaving for the bus stop soon?" Pacifica glimpsed over her shoulder, gazing back at the old building. The two weeks the Pines twins were visiting had already flown by and they were scheduled to leave back for Piedmont that afternoon. She wasn't ready for them to leave, but it wasn't like they had much of an option.
"Probably still packing all of her stuff. I'm still amazed with her skills. It's like watching someone play Tetris," Dipper joked, kicking one of his sneakers against the ice.
"She is pretty great," Pacifica murmured before quickly realizing what she said. Her eyes went wide as she looked up at the boy in front of her. "I mean-"
Dipper laughed and shoved his hands in the pockets of his coat. "She'd say the same about you, y'know."
"Me?" Pacifica shook her head. "There's nothing really great about me." What confidence she once had (mostly what she had faked but a good deal of what was real, too) had crumbled in the past few months. It wasn't like she had a reputation to uphold anymore, however. With her old friends no longer talking to her and her parents no longer dragging her around to different galas and parties, she never had to have the I'm a Northwest and I'm better than you attitude she was once used to.
"Are you kidding me?" Dipper reached over and punched the side of her arm. "Pacifica, Mabel's always talking about you." He then cleared his throat and batted his eyelashes in some sort of attempt to impersonate his sister. "'Oh, Pacifica sent me a package from Gravity Falls today! I saw a picture of her online the other day! She has the prettiest blue eyes and blonde hair that must be so fun to braid-'" The Pines boy was interrupted by a singular snowball nailing him in the back of the head. He stumbled forwards before spinning around to see who threw it.
"What are you dorks talkin' about over there?" Mabel called out from the porch before hopping down the creaky steps, her many suitcases and bags trailing after her.
Dipper rubbed where he had been hit, pouting. "Nothing," he muttered.
"Well then. I have a gift for Paz that I need to give her before we leave!" The Pines girl suddenly shoved a package towards Pacifica, beaming.
"Again? Mabel, you already gave me something for Christmas-"
"Just open it, dummy! It's important!"
"Okay," Pacifica muttered, her lips curling into a small smile as she tore leftover candy-cane wrapping paper away from a book that felt heavy in her chilly hands. Her eyes widened. Mabel and Paz's Great Adventures was written on the cover of a handmade scrapbook decorated with glitter and ribbons galore.
"It's pictures and drawings of all the cool stuff we've done together!" Mabel chirped, placing her hand on Pacifica's shoulder. "I thought you might want something to kind of, uh," she hesitated, "think about while you're up north."
Pacifica held the book to her chest. "Thank you. That's sweet. Cheesy, but sweet."
"Kids! We've gotta get you to the bus station!" Stan's rough voice yelled from the porch.
Mabel and Dipper both let out loud groans in harmony. "I guess this is goodbye," the girl murmured.
"I mean, it's only for a few months. You guys will be back in June," Pacifica reminded her. "That's not, like, too long."
Mabel wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her into a bear hug. "Promise you'll text and call when you can!"
"Duh," Pacifica replied.
Giggling, Mabel shoved Pacifica away, but not before leaning in and pecking a quick kiss on the blonde's cheek. "Bye, Paz!"
Pacifica, cheeks red hot, stammered out something (was it a goodbye? She couldn't even remember). Mabel Pines just kissed you. No big deal. No. That's totally, like, a big deal. She kissed my cheek. Am I allowed to kiss her? Does she like-
No. We're not going to go there.
But Mabel Pines just kissed your cheek.
"This is it?" Pacifica glanced over at McGucket and Stanford, who were busy lugging various suitcases and trunks onto the boat in front of them. Nearly a week had passed since Dipper and Mabel had gone home to California.
"The Stan-o-War! Ford and I busted our asses to get this ready for sailing out there, y'know," Stanley replied, ruffling Pacifica's ponytail.
"Language, Stanley!" Ford scolded.
"She's- what're you, 13? She's 13! And a sailor now! She'll get used to it," Stanley argued before patting Pacifica on the back. "Right, Pacifica?"
"Right," Pacifica answered as she rolled the sleeves of her cardigan up to her elbows. I can't believe I'm going to spend the next two months on this thing, she thought, staring up at the vessel. It was definitely a lot smaller than she had expected. She could barely imagine one person staying on the boat, let alone a crew of four.
"It might be a little cramped, but we'll make it work," Stanley told her, as if reading her mind. "I just hope you don't get seasick easily," he added with a gravely laugh.
Swallowing whatever doubt she had in her, Pacifica boarded the Stan-o-War for the first time. She knew now that there was no going back. She would be exposed to whatever lied beyond the Oregon coast, suffer from a serious lack of good cell reception, and be stuck on the boat until the voyage was over. Did she really want to do this? Pacifica leaned over the side of the boat, staring at the salty water below. It wasn't too late to ask to go home.
She shook the thought away. There was no way she was going back to the manor or her parents. Not without a little adventure first.
The girl wandered over to the inside of the boat, which was a cramped space that was even tinier than her bedroom back at home. There was a workbench cluttered with maps that rested underneath a shelf on the wall that held several thick encyclopedias and journals. A wide table with booth seating and a futon were awkwardly placed next to the kitchen area (if a mini-fridge and two cabinets even counted as a kitchen).
"Where do we sleep?" Pacifica asked.
"You can sleep on the futon," Ford replied. "The table folds out into a mattress for two. It's not comfortable, but it's manageable."
A futon. It was definitely a downgrade from the king-size mattress at home that she was more familiar with, but she was determined to make the whole living-on-a-boat situation work. You can do this. It's only a few months.
"Alright," Pacifica answered, forcing a smile.
Step out of your comfort zone, Paz. This is just what you need.
January 20th, 2012
It's been two weeks since we've set sail.
Sharing a boat with three old dudes for two months is a bit more fun than I thought it would be, actually. Ford can go on and on when he's talking to McGucket. I knew they used to be work partners back in the day, but they're really close friends now apparently. I guess Stan's alright too. He smells weird but he makes funny jokes and has some interesting stories to tell. McGucket and I are still doing our lessons on weekdays, too. We've been using Ford's old research and some books he brought on the boat with us.
It's surprising how little I've thought about my parents, too. It's not like I can really call or text them out here with this bad cell reception, but I don't think they would want to talk to me anyways. I miss Melody and Soos, though. Wendy, too. It's weird that I haven't talked to anybody besides Ford, McGucket, and Stan these past 14 days. It's not that bad. They take turns (driving? steering? captaining?) the boat, but usually Ford handles it. It's cold out here, but luckily I brought Mabel's sweaters with me and I went on a shopping spree for warmer clothes before we left.
I haven't seen any mermaids OR penguins yet. I hope Mabel's not too disappointed.
I miss Mabel.
We've been talking almost every day since August. It's hard to just quit something like that cold turkey. We've become so close since last summer, sometimes I wonder if we'll ever be any closer. Maybe I'll even get the courage to ask her
Maybe I can show her some of the journal entries I've written when she comes back in June. Not this one, though. I was hoping by now I would have seen some kind of weird creature to write about. Sure, I saw them all the time in Gravity Falls, hell, I was even a witness of an APOCALYPSE full of weird stuff, but this would be different. Ford said there are mermaids in the lake back home, but he also said freshwater mermaids are 'pretentious assholes- I need to watch my language, sorry' and that whatever is out here is likely to be more interesting than what's back home.
Who knows? Maybe I will see some mermaids or penguins or giant squids out here. I'm ready for some more adventures, I think.