Chapter 1: The Odd Letter
A few months had passed since Gumball's fourteenth birthday, and he had found out about his family's dark secret behind his true father. He never acted the same or saw his mother and Richard the same, and sometimes didn't even treat them the same. Even yet, none of his friends and family knew why he acted out sometimes. Only one person knew, and that was his girlfriend whom he had been dating. It was a normal afternoon, and Gumball was sitting in the living room in his usual sweater and black jeans. The living room didn't have much to it, other than a coffee table with a carpet under it, along with one big sofa and a television. He was alone as everyone was out doing something.
His mother was out on a date with Richard, the man he had mentally resented a lot, but he tried to pretend that he liked him. Gumball was watching television until he saw the mail truck drive by. He caught a glimpse of it through the window. It was nothing out of the ordinary so far. That day in Elmore, the sun was shining brightly everything seeming at peace. Gumball walked to the mailbox. He had a raised eyebrow when he was going through the letters. One was blank and only had the words "To Gumball" written on it. There wasn't even a stamp. He was confused as he opened it up. The entire note was written in cursive writing, but there were only three sentences. The first sentence of the three read, "Can we talk?" The second one read "Time runs short for me," and the third read, "My life is slowing." That was all it read.
Gumball was confused. He didn't recognize the handwriting at all. "Hey, Gumball," he suddenly heard from nearby. He looked over his shoulder, seeing his younger brother, a goldfish with legs and arms named Darwin approaching. He had just recently come home from what he had to do today. "Oh, uh, hey dude. How'd your date with Rachel go?" Gumball responded, quickly folding the letter up and hiding it away in his pocket. "It could've been better. The power at the movie theater randomly died and we had to leave early," he answered depressingly. Gumball raised an eyebrow. The power randomly dying somewhere in the center of town like that could only happen in a really bad thunderstorm, so it certainly was an odd thing, but he didn't dwell on the thought.
"Sorry to hear, dude. Look at the bright side. Job Week is tomorrow," Gumball tried to reassure him. Job Week was something that was done once a year at their school, where they went and signed up for being a practical tag along to most students. It was basically a week off school to watch and gain early experience in the job of whoever they follow, or at least that was the excuse the principal used when they decided to start it, when really to the teachers it was a break from the students. "Oh yeah, you're going to sign up with me to see mom work at the Rainbow Factory, right?" Darwin curiously asked. "Of course," he answered. They went inside the home while the sun was setting and the street lights were turning on gradually.
"How have things been with Teri?" Darwin asked while he was sitting on the couch. Gumball was throwing the junk mail in the trash. "Great. She wants us to get real tattoos," Gumball responded referring to his girlfriend wanting to get a tattoo with him as a form of milestone in their relationship. "Like... real tattoos? Or marker ones?" the young goldfish stuttered not believing him at first, but he knew that Gumball's girlfriend liked having him draw fake tattoos on her arm for her, but he never expected Teri to get the courage to actually get a real one, and he knew the enragement that would follow from their mother.
"Real ones... we're going to get them tomorrow before we go to school," Gumball awkwardly responded with a sigh. He was more than nervous of the thought alone. He was outright terrified. "Well good luck man," Darwin wished him the best of luck before they heard a car pulling up outside, seeing Nicole and Richard coming back from their date. "Please don't tell mom," he told his younger sibling while beginning to make his way upstairs to their room. "Where's Anais?" Darwin called in curiosity. "At a sleepover!" he loudly replied back down from the stairwell, not really caring in the slightest. Gumball was completely focused on the letter, spending most of the night examining it over and over again. He was hoping to find some sort of secret message, but he had no luck.
End of Chapter 1
