The Beginning
by Christopher R. Martin
Chapter 1 – Introduction
Miracle. Noun. Mir·a·cle. \'mir-i-kәl\
1. An extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs
2. An extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing or accomplishment
3. A divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly as the fulfillment of spiritual law
Nicole leaned her back against the wall as the second hand of the clock hanging above her moved in its monotonous tune of gears grinding together. She waited by the door adjacent to her as the next one in line to use the bathroom, the only one in the entire Watterson household. Had she woken up a second earlier, she would have been inside and spared herself the grueling minutes that often made up the family morning ritual. She would have finished and gone off to work at the Rainbow Factory already.
A humming sound could be heard through the door along with the typical running water noise, singing a familiar melody that had a drug-like addictive trait to it. Hearing it drove Nicole up the wall. Well, further up the wall. It was almost like a practical joke played on her by whatever holy being overlooked the world. Like the whole world itself was against her. The other members of the family were not as affected as her; in fact, Darwin bobbed his head to the rhythm of the music being sung as he waited second in line.
Ten minutes and counting. Subduing her temper, Nicole rubbed her eyes and gave the door one knock. Then two, then three, then four…
"Gumball 'Christopher' Watterson, will you please hurry up in there? You're not the only person in this family who needs to use the bathroom, y'know," said Nicole in a tone characteristic of a mother: commanding yet patient.
"Um, honey, it's 'Tristopher'," Richard corrected, his arms laced over the bulge in his gut.
But Nicole paid him no mind; no error in the birth certificates of her children would determine how she referred to them. Her orders blended with the wisping steam inside the bathroom and were snuffed out with her own son's singing.
Idle chatter between Anais and Darwin permeated the house's upper corridor, the hot topic of the morning being the upcoming field trip for Elmore Junior High's seventh grade class. Nicole decided that there was no other way to pass the time.
"I heard that there've been quite a few changes over at the museum," said Anais, fascinated by what she may find there today.
"Maybe we'll get to meet Miss Simian's family when we go there," said Darwin with a grin, inciting laughter from his sister and father.
In short order, Nicole herself laughed a stifled chuckle, glad for the choice she made. She needed to put herself at ease, and what better way to let out a bit of the tension than through a joke at her teacher-tormentor's expense?
The door creaked open at just the right time, too, and through the steam came Gumball Watterson, wrapped in a bleach white bath towel from the waist down. Allowing the remainder of the morning to run its course.
Eight-twenty in the morning, and preparations came to an end with the Watterson's seated together in the dining area for breakfast.
"I sure hope this field trip won't be like the last," said Darwin bitterly as he mulled over a sequence of unpleasant memories.
"You're still getting worked up over that? It really wasn't that bad, dude," said Gumball with a shrug, shoveling down another spoonful of cereal afterwards. "I bet you that you'll be looking back at this ten years from now and laugh." His subsequent garbled remarks flung particles of wheat and milk at his pet-turned-brother's face, though the latter didn't notice. Either that, or he didn't mind at all.
"Uh, I don't think I'll ever find being punched in the face by a kangaroo funny. I swear, she was onto me."
Darwin's face and gills tightened in a scowl from revisiting the image. If he took the time to consider his approach, things would have turned out differently. Maybe had he not mistaken the creature for a male—it was obviously female just by seeing its pouch and the joey in it—and had he not come too close when he volunteered to feed it, the incident would have been averted. The kangaroo and child would not feel threatened the way they did then. The day would have ended better.
He felt like he'd be a good fit in a 'hilarious home videos' show or something. It was mortifying. It sucked. Badly.
"It's a museum, Darwin. Calm down," Anais included, shaking her head. "Really, what's the worst that could happen in a place like that?"
"Come on, buddy. Just bury the hatchet." Gumball ran a finger on the back of Darwin's head as a means to soothe him. He turned back to his bowl to finish the last of his cereal.
But unbeknownst to the young fish boy, Gumball had concealed his face from him. He took a look at his smartphone—a birthday present from Granny Jojo, of all people—and tapped into an alternate Elmore Plus account he had made, snickering at the statistics for the video of the event that he uploaded. Twenty-nine million hits, four hundred thousand times shared and two hundred and thirty thousand people who favorited the video. His snickers went unheard in the dining area.
"Fine," grumbled Darwin begrudgingly, returning to his cereal and occasionally wiping drops of milk off his face with a napkin.
Putting away his phone, Gumball continued with his own meal. He was the first among the Watterson kids to finish, taking his backpack from the hook he left it hanging from. Darwin and Anais followed shortly after, with their own belongings in tow.
Outside, a motor could be heard approaching the curb. As the rumbling grew louder, a school bus yellow as an orange pulled to the side. Gumball caught sight of it, or rather one of its passengers. Penny Fitzgerald. Setting aside a second or two to wave a hand, he felt the need to hurry towards the bus. Straight inside, seated right beside her.
"Mom, we're going," announced Gumball, turning the knob and opening the door.
Nicole settled the pile of dirty dishes back on the dining table to take care of one more thing before the three of them could leave. She dug her hand into her pocket and took out a wad of paper bills.
"Make sure you stay close to each other. Gumball, naturally since you're the eldest, I'll leave you in charge," said the Watterson mother, counting the money in her head as she gave it to her children. A forty-five dollar fee for the field trip, fifteen for each one of them.
"Wait a minute. Why can't I be in charge?" said Anais with a quirked eyebrow, taking the money into her hands as she browsed through the last time her big brother was left in charge of them. Granted, it was a couple of years now since the house was flooded, but one can never be too careful. And she wouldn't want a repeat of it or something similar happen.
Smiling warmly at her daughter's sense of responsibility, Nicole gave her a pat on the head and stroked her rabbit ears back. "I think your brother can take on the responsibility, sweetie," she answered and pulled one ear close.
The word 'responsibility' struck a chord in Gumball. A pleasant one. What was surprising yet nice to hear for Gumball was that his mother did not crack some snide remark or gave either Darwin or Anais instructions as a contingency plan. He expected it from her, but was glad to instead see her place her trust and faith in him.
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll make sure they're safe and sound," assured Gumball. Leaving a peck on his mother's cheek, he bade her goodbye and raced out the door and down the front porch stairs, exuberantly adding, "Let's go, guys. The bus'll be leaving any minute now."
As she watched her children leave for another day, Nicole loudly returned the goodbye with her own in a doting manner. A tone befitting of a mother.
The doors closed behind them, and the bus had already gone.