Gravity Rises (S1)

DRB: Part Two

The grand reopening of the Tent of Telepathy was hardly the biggest event Mabel had ever seen, but she could guess it was the biggest this town had.

The line extended out the Tent's door and down the road; nobody seemed to mind standing around in the cold. Mabel and Dipper were close (but not quite inside) the door, and they looked longingly at the warm interior beyond the entrance. The two had yet to get used to the cold — not to mention the sheer amount of snow — in Gravity Rises. Melody, their benefactor for the evening, chatted easily with the townsfolk around her, smiling and laughing as she waited to enter the Tent.

The Tent itself was a sight to behold. At the base, it was a normal brick building; but, fastened above the roof, a pyramid of purple cloth rose into the air. That way, the Tent was stylized to look like an actual tent, but it still had the advantages — like heating and electricity — of a normal building. Atop the cloth peak, held up by a firm pole, a white crescent moon loomed over on the crowd; a single eye stared out from its center. The late evening sun shone on the back of the moon, making it appear to glow (although, on second glance, Mabel decided it must be made of painted wood). The top of the Tent rose over the surrounding trees, and the eye seemed to watch the crowd below.

"You sure you don't mind taking us, Melody?" Mabel asked. She felt bad that Melody had to pay for their tickets — but if Ford wouldn't, then someone had to.

"Not at all," Melody replied with a smile. "I wanted to come down myself sometime, and now I get to come with you two. Sounds like a great deal to me."

A cheer rose up from inside the building, and — finally — the line started moving. Mabel shivered in relief as she stepped through the door, her eyes adjusting to the electric lighting. Down the entrance hall, the doors to the showroom stood open, framed by decorative purple curtains. "There's Bud Pleasure," said Melody, pointing to a man who was collecting tickets as people moved through the door. "He's Pacifica's father." He looked congenial enough, though the residual signs of worry still showed on his face.

Soon, it was their turn, and Melody cheerfully handed Bud the three tickets she had purchased earlier. Dipper raced ahead to find good seats, and Mabel followed at a slower pace, drinking it all in. The showroom was shadowy; the curved, protruding designs on the wall made it feel small and enclosed, though it was fairly large. Wide tiers of seats surrounded a single isle, which led to the stage. The stage, a simple wooden platform, was unremarkable save the large crescent-moon-and-eye symbol painted on the back wall. Staggered curtains formed a visual maze of entrances and exits on the sides.

"Over here!" Dipper called. He'd found three chairs by the aisle on the third row. Mabel sat next to him; he'd gotten a good view.

It took a good fifteen minutes for the crowd to get settled and fill the showroom with chatter. Dipper turned to his automatic reliever of boredom: talking. While he and Melody chatted, Mabel's eyes traced the crescent moon with its watchful eye. Excited, but a bit apprehensive, she wondered what the psychic show would be like.

A sudden noise sent her spinning around, and she saw the back doors close as the last of the audience found their seats.

Then the lights went out.

~~~~~

Pacifica stood in the wings, running her gloved hands over her purple amulet as excitement rushed through her. Time to put on a show.

Time to reclaim her fame.

She had all the workings of a typical psychic show: plants in the audience, microphones planted throughout the building, a concealed headset that got Pacifica the information she needed. She'd had all these resources in Portland, where she had lived with her grandmother for the past year. Yet her show had failed in Portland.