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“Ughhh… Moooom… why do I have to go clothes shopping?” Gumball complained, “Dad just got me a new sweater! Do I really need anything else?”
“Yes, honey, you need some new jeans- you’ve outgrown your current pair,” Nicole said, meeting her son’s eyes through her car's front view mirror. “Plus, we have to get your school supplies anyway, so why not kill two birds with one stone?”
“I'd rather not kill birds.”
Nicole sighed. “It's a saying, Gumball.”
“Oh. Well, I’d still rather be home right now.” Gumball sank into the seat and crossed his arms.
“Aw, are you still nervous about going to a new school?” Nicole asked. “Elmore Junior High is the best, though it is a bit unfortunate your teacher is Miss Simian. It's where I met your father!”
“There's no need to be nervous, dude,” Darwin said, looking at Gumball with a smile. “I'll be there!”
“Yeah, that's the only good thing.” Gumball said, “You know no one else likes us. They all think we're mad! Insane!”
“They think you're insane.”
“You're not helping, Darwin.”
“Sorry. But that was elementary school. This is different, it's middle school.”
“Yes, but everyone’s going to Elmore Junior high with us. Things won't change.”
“Think on the bright side, Gumball! We’ll surely meet some new faces, won't we? And we can make friends with them! That's what I’m most excited about!”
“Sure.”
“And you've got me. You know I’m always there for you. If the others don't like you, that's their loss.”
Gumball smiled. “Thanks, buddy.”
“You’ll love middle school, I know it,” Nicole said. “It's generally where you start to make those life-long friendships. As I said, it's where I met your father so who knows- you might fall in love too!”
“Ew, gross!” Gumball exclaimed without thinking. Nicole began to laugh, and Darwin- though sharing Gumball’s views- laughed too. And Gumball couldn't help himself from joining them.
Once Nicole got the car parked, she headed inside the mall with Gumball and Darwin. She definitely had a tiring day ahead of her- taking nine and eleven year old boys to the mall was never a good idea, but back to school shopping was like the bane of her existence.
Two hours passed and they hadn't yet bought all they needed. Gumball and Darwin had kept getting distracted at the littlest things. Once Nicole turned away from them for a second, and she’d turned back just to find the two of them gone. They’d run to the opposite side of the hallway and into a video game store.
“Boys, you can't just run off like that!” Nicole said once she found them, dragging them along with her. “You could've gotten lost, or worse.”
“We know, but we couldn't resist!” Gumball said. “A video game came out last week that we thought looked cool and we wanted to see if we had enough money for it!"
“We barely have enough money for all your school supplies!”
“Ooh, a fountain!” Gumball stopped suddenly, causing Nicole to roll her eyes in annoyance. Seriously, the kid’s attention span was just about 0.8 seconds. “Do we have a coin I can throw in to make a wish?”
“Oh my gosh, me too!” Darwin exclaimed, joining Gumball at the fountain’s side. “I love making wishes!”
“Y’know what, if it will get you two to calm down,” Nicole said, digging through her purse, “and if you promise to behave- and not run off again- I’ll give you coins. Do we understand?”
“Yeah!” Gumball and Darwin exclaimed in unison, holding out their hands. Nicole gave them each a penny, and, eyes sparkling, the boys turned to the fountain, making their wishes and throwing their pennies into the water with a tiny splash.
“Alright now, let's get a move on,” Nicole said, “We still have to get you jeans, Gumball.”
“Right.” Gumball said, him and Darwin following their mother.
“So what’d you wish for, Darwin?” Gumball asked.
“Gumball! You know if I say it, it won't come true!” Darwin answered.
Gumball rolled his eyes. As he did so, something on the floor above him caught his attention. He looked up to see a girl- he’d lived in Elmore his whole life and was very familiar with it and its residents, and he was very certain he had never seen this girl before.
But she was beautiful, unique. She seemed to be a peanut, with antlers coming from her shell. And as Gumball looked at her, he felt his chest tighten.
“Gumball, watch where you're going, dude,” Darwin said, snapping Gumball out of his thoughts. He tore his eyes away from the pretty girl and looked at Darwin, who had grabbed him by the arm. “You almost walked right into Mrs. Mom!”
“Oh, sorry!”
“What were you looking at?”
Gumball looked above him to see if the girl was still there, but she wasn't, presumably gone into a store with her parents. “Eh, it was nothing…” he lied, “just thought I saw someone I knew…”
The rest of the summer, albeit being only a week and a half, passed by slowly. Gumball would normally have loved this, but ever since he’d seen the peanut girl at the mall, he couldn't stop thinking about her. There was something about her that just made Gumball want to know more about her.
He wanted to talk to her, to know her name- he bet it was as pretty as she was. Since she’d looked to be around his age, Gumball could only assume she was going to be starting school at Elmore Junior High with him and Darwin. Good, so he’d talk to her then!
And eventually the first day rolled around. Gumball and Darwin almost missed the bus- they saw it pull up to their house as they were still in their room. They ran downstairs as fast as they could, grabbing their backpacks and hurrying out the door as Richard called out a “Have a great first day, boys!”
As they climbed into the bus, grateful they’d made it in time, Gumball and Darwin realized there was no seat available in which they could sit together.
“Oh, this is what I was worried about…” Gumball said.
“Gumball, it's okay…” Darwin said, “You know basically all these people."
“Yes, but we've already established they all think I'm insane… they're all gonna decline me a seat!”
“Guys, I hate to interrupt, but I’m gonna have to ask you to take a seat,” Rocky said, “We've gotta get going.”
“Right, right, sorry…”
Darwin gave Gumball a reassuring smile before taking a seat next to Carrie. Gumball walked down the aisle only to be met with his fellow students placing their hands or backpacks on the empty seat next to them.
He sighed, only to have his ears perk up when he heard someone speak to him. “Hey, this seat's open! You can come and sit next to me."
Gumball looked to his left for the source of the voice, and he saw the girl from the mall patting the free space next to her, scooching over to give him some room. She smiled at him, and when she did, Gumball couldn't help but smile back.
He sat down next to her. “Thanks. I was afraid I wouldn't get a seat.”
“No problem. I’m Penny, by the way.”
Her voice was like music to his ears, high-pitched, innocent, and sweet, its beauty matching hers. And Gumball had been right- her name definitely matched her beauty too.
He smiled. “Gumball.”
“Gumball. Charming name!”
Gumball felt his face get hot. “It's a nickname, actually! But thank you! S-So, Penny, are you new in Elmore? I haven't really seen you around before.”
“Yeah, my family and I just moved here this summer because of my dad’s job.”
“Cool. Well, welcome! You’re gonna love it here in Elmore- some really great people go to this school.”
“Well, it doesn't look like it- I saw at least six of these kids decline you a seat!”
“Well they are not among the 'great people.’ Because no ‘great person’ would deny a great guy like me a seat. Honestly, they're missing out.”
Penny giggled. Even her laugh was sweet. “Clearly.”
“No, but seriously, there are some really great people at this school. Like my brother Darwin. You'll definitely want to be friends with him.”
“Noted. So, I heard Elmore Junior High has a cheer team?”
“Yeah. You're a cheerleader?”
“I desperately wanted to do cheerleading at my old school. But I only managed to get on the team in 5th grade, then we had to move.”
“Well, I can be in the stands cheering you on once you make the team here! I can be, like, the cheerleader’s cheerleader!”
Penny laughed. “I appreciate it!”
The two fell silent for a moment, holding each other's gaze with smiles on their faces. Oh gosh, Penny’s smile just filled Gumball with pure delight, and his chest tightened further the longer he looked at her.
“Why didn’t anyone let you sit next to them?” Penny asked suddenly. “It wasn't nice.”
Gumball's smile faltered. It's ok- just be yourself. Sarcastic! “Maybe they were intimidated by my awesomeness. Because look at me with my turtleneck sweater- I’m clearly the coolest person on this bus.”
Penny laughed.
“No, um, I don't think these people like me that much, to be honest. I am bullied and teased quite a bit. They think I’m crazy, they think I’m a loser.”
“Oh no! How come they think that?”
“I don't know. I kinda am a loser, though.”
“You shouldn't talk yourself down like that. I admit, I've only known you for, like, five minutes, but you don't seem like a loser, and you definitely don't seem crazy. You're funny and you're nice. You seem like a great person, and I’m proud to call you my first friend in Elmore.”
“Really? We’re friends?”
“Well, yeah! There's no reason for us not to be, is there?”
Gumball smiled. Yeah, he liked this girl. It was certainly refreshing to talk to a kid his age without being made fun of.
The week before, at the mall fountain, when his mom had given him a penny, he had been about to wish for some new video games. But, for some reason, he had begun to think about what she had said to him in the car earlier- “it's where I met your father so who knows- you might fall in love too!”
In the end, his wish was for a relationship like the one his parents had. He wanted to fall in love, too. And after today, Gumball was certain his wish was coming true.