The Gift: A TAWOG Story

Chapter 11: The Fair

It was Friday night at the Watterson household. Richard was watching TV while Anais was doing arts and crafts on the kitchen table and Nicole was preparing her chicken casserole to give to the soup kitchen downtown.

Gumball and Darwin were upstairs in the bathroom. Gumball was trying to groom his fur to look his best for his date with Penny at the county fair. He sprayed himself with Catzon Body Spray for Male Felines, and brushed his teeth twice. He attempted to undo his collar on his sweater slightly, but he could not help but reminisce to when Zack did this and nearly took over his life. Instead, he sprayed his ears with some spray to make them stand up.

"Don't you think you're kinda overdoing it, Gumball?" said Darwin. "I mean, you're practically piercing the ozone layer with that spray."

"A cat needs to smell his best, Darwin," replied Gumball, staring at himself in the mirror.

"Yeah but you left your trimmed claw nails on the counter and fur all over the soap in the shower! And that's not even all the shedding you do all day!"

"C'mon, I don't shed that mu..." Suddenly, he started gagging. He coughed aggressively over the sink, hissing noisily while Darwin waited for him to be finished. Within a moment, he coughed up a blue hair ball.

"Disgusting!" Darwin exclaimed.

"I can't help it!" said Gumball. "Besides, your scales constantly fall off. How could you not leave your scales on the soap too?"

"Because I make sure to wash them off!" Darwin said, crossing his fins.

"Fine, I'll scrub the fur off!" He grabbed the bar of soap and started rinsing it under the faucet. "Geez, Darwin, why are you so tense?"

"I don't know man," said Darwin. "It's just that... it irritates me when you go all out just to impress Penny. What happened to just being yourself? I mean, it's perfectly understandable you don't wanna smell bad in front of her, but do you have to go all out with the body spray?"

"I just wanna make sure my night with Penny goes perfect," said Gumball, grooming his fur. "As soon as you get a girlfriend, you'll understand."

"What the?" Darwin was now agitated. "What are you talking about? I got Carrie!"

"Yeah, but like, how often do you go out with her?"

"Well, uh..." Darwin had trouble responding.

"Have you ever even made out with her? Can you even do that considering she's a ghost?"

"At least I'm honest with Carrie!" Darwin retorted. "You, on the other hand just have to go all out, desperately trying to change yourself just to get Penny to like you. If only you could see that Penny already does like you for who you are, but you don't, do ya? You might as well write 'I'm so insecure' on your forehead!"

"Maybe I don't need to," said Gumball now becoming slightly aggravated himself.

"Well that's what you are, and as far as I'm concerned, all you'll ever be, Gumball! You don't even know her all that well!" Gumball's anger was building up as Darwin kept ranting.
"Before you know it, you're gonna forget her birthday and she'll be devastated. You don't even know her middle name!" Gumball's anger built more and more, and he was on the verge of outburst. "Or her favorite food or color! Heck, before you know it, she'll just wanna split up with you and find somebody who will actually take the time to get to know her and love her for real!"

"JUST SHUT UP!!!!" Gumball screamed at the top of his lungs. Darwin felt much more than the sonic boom of his voice. He was literally knocked down to the floor by a bright white magnetic wave that knocked down everything else in its path, identical to the one Nicole blasted to Richard with her menacing stare in the supermarket that knocked over the items on the shelves. In the bathroom, all the bottles and brushes and soaps were knocked over either in the sink or on the floor.