Northwest-Pines Mystery Hunters

One- Scammed

Ford Pines was not an easy man to work with. He was always in a horrible mood, regardless of what anyone did to try to change that. That's the first thing I noticed about him when I arrived. The second was that I had gotten a rotten deal.

My parents had suggested I spent the winter at my Uncle's cabin because he was a genius, in definition. I only agreed to go after doing some research and learning that he graduated from Backupsmore with multiple degrees, most of them in paranormal studies. While the shifty sounding College wasn't ideal, it would still be the closest experience I'd had with paranormal investigation.

It was my brother, Dipper, who sealed the deal. He decided it sounded fun to visit a "real" genius, and my parents jumped at the opportunity to get rid of him for a couple months.

Then, Dipper fell out of our tree and broke his arm.

He was perfectly fine, even showed off the cast to some of his friends like it was some sort of award. But the broken arm meant he couldn't come to Oregon with me for about a month.

So that's already one bad mark, my only friend wouldn't be there for awhile. But I wasn't going to let that stop me from having a great time, so in December Dipper helped me pack and I was on my way.

Sitting all alone on the bus, equipped with my suitcase, a notebook and pen, and my favorite Pine Tree shirt visible through my coat, I daydreamed about what my stay with Ford would be like. Mom had already told me he ran a museum, so I had my hopes up. I just couldn't wait to see that spark of adventure in his eyes.

... which just wasn't there. When I met him, all I could see in his expression was exhaustion and bitterness. At first, I tried to cut him some slack, I introduced myself as his niece, Mabel, and he only grunted. That's when I noticed the girl with him. She introduced herself as Melody, apologized for Ford's behavior, and helped me with my bags.

So that's two bad marks because Ford clearly didn't like me, but one good mark because Melody seemed nice on the ride back to the cabin. Ah yes, the cabin.

I say that sarcastically, because shack is a more appropriate term. There's literally a sign on the roof reading, Mystery (S)hack.

That's when I realized that everything my parents told me had been a lie, and so was Ford's so-called museum. Three bad marks.

But there's one last good mark. Robbie.

Robbie's the cashier in Ford's gift shop, and from the moment I saw him I could tell he was gorgeous. This is coming from a nerd whose only friend is her twin brother.

He didn't look up from the magazine he was reading when I walked in, only greeted me with a "sup", but I could tell there was something about him that made him irresistible.

So, I spent the first week of my stay complaining to Melody about Ford's lack of adventure and frequent warnings about safety.

And that's when I found the journal.