The Beginning

by Christopher R. Martin

Chapter 2 – The field trip


A brand new exhibit was set to be unveiled at the Elmore Historical Museum. In the weeks leading up to this point, a publicity campaign had been launched to build up anticipation from the populace. Banners hung and flew from lampposts across every suburb, every street. Representatives of the Museum's committee were sent to distribute colorful flyers to draw interest. Internet users who visited Elmore Plus and Elmore Stream-It found no shortage of advertisements that led them to an information page when clicked. Even officials from the local government had expressed enthusiasm for the occasion, whether during a press conference or within their own social circles.

Despite the inevitable success of the campaign, the exhibit would remain closed to the general public for three more days. Only a select few were given the privilege of getting a first-hand look at the collection.

Elmore Junior High's seventh grade class, led by one Miss Lucy Simian, was among the few to have this privilege. This would become the field trip for their History class.

At the reception area, Gumball waited at a bench close to the glass window by the entranced. He drummed his fingers along his lap as a means to make the time fleet quicker.

On the opposite side of the foyer were two other visitors not a part of his class. Gumball had seen the likes of them before. What were they called again? Humans? Yes, that was it. Humans. He remembered encountering two of them and arguing about being 'hardcore' or something. He also remembered him and Darwin being roped into some pointless tennis match. Or was it badminton? Much time had passed since then, and he could care less.

Eh, whatever.

Gumball found helplessly latched on to the humans' discussion. They had been debating about the brand new presentation for a while now. It must really be as amazing as it was hyped up to be if it could make two grown men—yes, they were grown men, somewhere in their thirties—talk about it for a half-hour straight in sheer excitement. He could have sworn that one of them even squealed at one point.

That was…weird.

Dumbfounded by this, Gumball kept to himself. Or was about to, but they had said something that grabbed his attention.

"Clive, will you cut it out?" said the human who wore a long-sleeved dress shirt. "I know you're excited and all to go in, and I am too, but turn it down a notch, for goodness' sake. There are kids watching."

"Sorry, Gene," the other human, Clive, stated, restless. His whole body jittery, like he had taken in cup after cup of coffee. "It's just that I never thought this day would come. I've been waiting so long for this. I just can't help it."

"Yeah, I bet you have," replied Gene, the more reserved of the two. Rolling his eyes. Truth be told, so was he, but he knew better than to act like a fool in front of a bunch of kids.

Gumball, perching his chin on his fist, deliberated on these words. Elmore's beginnings. What it used to be and how far it had come. That was the selling point of the exhibit. In other words, a gimmick. One that has worked; it had gotten literally the whole town talking about it all month long.

'Everything that happens in this world happens for a reason'. That was what his teacher said in one of his Science classes. The phrase lurked in Gumball's head, and he chuckled to himself.

This was Elmore everyone was talking about. Elmore, for crying out loud! A place where things can happen and will happen. A place where life is breathed into inanimate objects. Where the sun literally smiles down upon all living things, big and small. Where the fabric of reality can be torn apart like tissue paper. This bright, happy little town could be mistaken for a dreamland, for all he knew. Everything that has ever taken place in this quaint town had neither rhyme nor reason, not that they were needed in the first place. And everyone took them for what they were, and they were happy that way.

Although, it wouldn't hurt to wonder. In fact, he did think about this topic himself before, but never like this. Never to this extent, not this deeply.

Maybe there really was an explanation for these strange events. For these peculiar phenomena

What would it be? Will it really worth all the build-up? All the hype?

Gumball's interest was certainly piqued. He was eager to find out. But he was no stranger to disappointment or dashed expectations. And for a huge occasion such as this, he knew that they were looming behind. Waiting to strike at the worst possible time. He eased in his posture, withholding his thoughts for now. Just for today, he wanted to spare himself from this sour feeling. Hopefully, things would turn out right.

As he began to shut his eyes, they fluttered open quickly upon catching a glimpse. Penny Fitzgerald shuffled along the lobby floor, finding a place to sit. She glided towards his bench and settled down next to him, and Gumball sat upright, captivated by her beauty yet again.

"Hi, Gumball," said the young shapeshifter in her usual cheery tone of voice. She patted her darling on the back and left a peck upon his left cheek.

Gumball, aglow from her presence, beamed at her. A flush arose on his cheeks, which he paid no mind to.

"Penny," the blue feline exclaimed, his heart soaring. Clearing his throat.

"Someone's excited," Penny giggled, watching the two humans from one end of the room.

"Tell me about it." Gumball chuckled and shook his head.

"I guess I can see why. This is big for all of us. It's going to change a lot of things around here."

"What do you mean?" Gumball crooked an eyebrow at her claim.

"Come on, it should be obvious. Haven't you ever noticed that we don't have a holiday like an 'Elmore Day' to celebrate?"

Gumball rubbed his chin, drawing his thoughts together.

Now that he thought about it, she did have a point. He couldn't recall the last time there was a celebration for Elmore's foundation. As a matter of fact, he didn't think that the town has ever even held a celebration at all. For a place as lively as this, he imagined that there'd be a fete, party, festival or banquet to commemorate what should be an important moment in history. At the least, there should have been a public announcement to remind everyone.

But there wasn't. There never was.

Gumball nodded, his silence speaking on his behalf.

"That's one of the things that can change."

"Yeah, I see your point," Gumball stated, smiling at the notion. "I guess that would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"You don't sound the least bit interested." Penny furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes. "Care to explain?"

"Eh, I'm just being realistic. In case this whole thing's not as good as it was hyped up to be," said Gumball plainly as he shrugged. Unknown to him was that his words had aroused someone's annoyance.

"Take that back!" said the human from earlier, Clive, who was being restrained by his friend. His appearance had startled both the cat and the shapeshifter. "You haven't even seen the exhibit yet, kid."

"And neither have you," Gumball responded, clearly put off by his intrusion and his rudeness. "What makes you so sure that none of this stuff's made up? Riddle me that, pal."

Clive was ready to answer, but both Penny and Gene intervened right at the nick of time, preventing the situation from escalating any further.

"Okay, I think that'll do it for now. Sorry to bother the two of you," Gene stated first, pushing his friend back to where they stood. Chuckling to himself, his demeanor going from nervous to deadpan. "Clive, what are you doing? A bunch of kids? Really?"

Penny herself was also nervous, laughing away the tension, but took a milder approach to calming Gumball down. "Come on, Gumball. Behave."

"Fine." Gumball sighed, firmly believing he wasn't in the wrong here.

At the reception desk, Lucy Simian finished her own lengthy conversation with the museum staff members and faced her students scattered across the lobby. With a loud blow of her whistle, she had them at the palm of her hand. Gumball and Penny, alerted by the sound, stood from their stool.

"Alright, class. Gather around," said the irate primate, to which the children milled around the foyer like a flock of sheep. "Good. Before we get started, let me introduce you to Mister Emery, the curator of the museum." She gestured to her left, where a paintbrush-shaped person in a suit and monocle stood. The bristles upon his head was akin to actual hair; strands of it were either grayed or limp – a sign of his old age. "Say hello, class."

"Hello, Mr. Emery," said the entire seventh grade class, the brightness in their voice warming even the otherwise ill-tempered Simian's heart.

"Good morning, everyone," answered Emery, adjusting his monocle to give a dignified air to his presence. "I must say that it's such an honor to not only put together our brand new exhibit, but to accompany the lot of you for today's exclusive sneak peek. Lucy, thank you once again for allowing me this pleasure."

"No trouble at all," Simian replied with a nod of her head.

"And what about you, gentlemen? What are you here for?" Emery asked, raising his voice a little higher and tilting his head upwards.

Hearing these questions, Gene and Clive searched the depths of their pockets for a slip of sorts and presented it to Emery. The old paintbrush's face flashed with recognition. These must be the winners of a contest the museum had put together, where one lucky person and a friend of his or her choosing would get an early look at the exhibit.

Emery shuffled forward. "Ah, I see. Well, congratulations are in order," he said to the pair of humans, beaming pleasantly for everyone in the foyer to see. He then trained his eyes on the class and bent his knees slightly. "So, who here is excited to see our new displays?" The question was met with a chorus of enthusiasm, the children crying out 'Yes', 'Yeah' and other affirmatives. "Wonderful. Then what are we waiting for? Let's begin. Gentlemen, why don't you come along as well?"

The children and the two humans did not waste any more time and made their entry. Emery led them to the building's left wing, across the brightly lit hallways, past one display case after another. Signs were scattered throughout the path, all of them bearing stylized fonts and pointing to the exhibit. Drawing attention away from the actual displays that stood alongside them.

Miss Simian stayed by Emery's side for the entirety of the walk and spared the occasional glance at her class for any signs of misbehavior. So far, so good. They were cooperating. It was rare, which made it more refreshing to see.

At the very end of the corridor was a stairway that led to the museum's First Lower Floor. A towering grilled door stood before them and barred their progress. Emery approached the rightmost side and pressed the ID card around his neck against a mechanical panel with a set of number keys, much like a calculator or cell phone. Despite being one of Elmore's oldest establishments, the museum had seen changes over the years to meet the standards of the present day.

The device beeped, and the lock was undone, as heard from the subsequent click. On its own, the metal door swung open fully. Emery took the lead once again and gestured with his tendril of a hand for his guests to follow. "This way," he added as he scurried down the stairs. He flicked open a nearby switch, and the bottom floor was illuminated.

It was like being transported to a brand new world. Everyone felt it once they had set foot on the floor, inhaling the air around them, imprinting their surroundings in their minds. Rows upon rows of display cases, columns upon columns of items from days gone by, were laid out before their eyes. The orderly manner in which they were arranged was further proof of the prestige behind this occasion. Of the blood, sweat and tears put into making this so-called grand event truly stand out.

Like a shepherd and his sheep, Emery took point yet again and motioned for his guests to follow, adjusting his bowtie and combing his bristles back. The children wandered their heads about and soaked up every article on display. But they did not show the same enthusiasm of the curator's, and neither did the two humans among them. They were hoping that the there was more. That they'd come across the one thing responsible for what made Elmore what it is.

"Artistic, but it is rather outdated," commented Emery, referring to a corseted dress and a tuxedo inside a particularly tall display case.

The paintbrush curator moved from case to case, explaining banal topics like economy, transportation, fashion, cuisine. The students and the two humans took in each diatribe, still holding out for that imaginary magnificent object. And all the while, Emery remained oblivious to their dwindling interest.

Miss Simian, however, felt it under her skin. It was probably why her class was able to endure him for this long now.

Thirty minutes of nigh endless talking fleeted in the building, and Emery and his guests had reached the end of the exhibit. Simian kept her sharp stare fixed on her class, ensuring that they were still part of reality. She wasn't going to have them behave disrespectfully. Not on her watch. Though she did have her own expectations which weren't fully met. Not yet, she hoped.

"I see that some of you are just about to nod off," said Emery, adjusting his monocle. His smile shifting into a new expression. "You don't find our brand new collection to be…dull do you?" He asked wearily, his changed face matching his tone.

At that instant, the entirety of Elmore's seventh grade class snapped into attention, eyes flickering open and heads jerking statically. As if they had been awakened from a good night's sleep. They quickly answered 'no' to his question.

The two humans, on the other hand, were apprehensive. They didn't want to be proven wrong, especially not by some random blue-furred cat.

Emery, however, saw past the contrived smiles and responses and sighed, touching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. Frustration sunk in him. No, it was more like disappointment.

"I guess it is what it is. Encouraging our youth of today to appreciate the past is not always easy," said the paintbrush curator, standing upright to maintain his conducted presence. He breathed in and out, swallowing the fact like the bitter pill it is.

He took the time to dwell on his stupor of failure and crushed spirits, his head drooping limply towards the floor. For a second, the crowd joined along, except in a daze of guilt. But that did not last for more than a minute, as Emery lifted his head to look into his guests, renewed.

"But that's quite alright. I have saved the best for last, after all," he claimed, smiling a determined, firmer smile.

Emery clapped his spindly hands two times, and a pair of museum workers entered the hall from his left, carting a display case carefully in the center. Inside it was a boulder of some sort that emanated a peculiar light. By its appearance alone, it most likely weighed a ton. Perhaps even more. The light it was giving off bore colors akin to that of a rainbow, and it was strange looking at it directly. Yet it enticed them to come closer. It was inviting. It was warm. It meant no harm at all.

Gumball stared at the rock from the rim of the crowd, also drawn by its radiance. He felt his spirits soothing, his soul calming. The warmth poured all across his body, which moved in of its own accord. He wondered if this gigantic stone had that same effect on his classmates or they simply approached it of their own choosing. Whatever the case may be, he wanted to be closer. He wanted to feel more of that glow.

Chuckling under his breath, Emery inserted himself within the crowd and snapped his fingers multiple times. "Settle down, everyone," he ordered as everyone returned to their original places. "It appears that it does work. Jolly good show, indeed. Now, then. Ah, yes. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the main attraction of our little tour." His stance was proud and tall as he declared this to his guests. "What you see before you is the very essence of Elmore. The cornerstone of our beloved town's existence: 'Marvelite'."

As Emery spoke the word, he stepped to the side and motioned to the boulder. A metal plate rested on the crook of the display case, with the very word inscribed upon its surface in translucent, capital letters.

"I'm sure all of you here are aware that Elmore is a hub for many peculiar, spectacular occurrences. Occurrences that are beyond our understanding."

Gumball nodded his head at the statement. He understood what Emery was saying. He had witnessed a lot of these strange events, these amazing spectacles, with his own two eyes. The fabric of reality being torn in two. Shapeshifters that walk amongst them. The cycle of birth, death and rebirth. There were too many of them to count.

He had seen so much of them that they were practically a part of his everyday life. Come to think of it, they were part of everyone's everyday lives, not just his. He had seen enough of them to last him a lifetime.

"But do you know exactly what made these happenings happen?" asked Emery. Gumball inched closer, intrigued as to what he would say next. "Well, you're looking at it right now. Had Marvelite not been unearthed, our town would not come to be. Without it, we would not come to be."

He enunciated each sentence, each syllable, his speech rousing. His handling of his words deft. The students and the two humans ate off the palm of his hand, milling around the display case and gazing upon the radiant boulder. Expressing their amazement through their idle, indistinct chatter with one another.

Gumball remained behind, dissatisfied with the explanation, or lack thereof. Was that really the best this paintbrush could say? There had to be more. More to this that he—everyone—deserved to know.

Emery glanced at the blue feline and sensed in him a curious mind. Someone who sought out answers but did not receive them. He moved from the crowd to where Gumball stood and flashed a smile at his direction.

"Is something the matter, young man?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," said Gumball, not budging an inch.

"Why don't you join your classmates, then? You're missing out."

"Maybe I will." The response was spoken flatly.

His options exhausted, Emery got back to his feet and sighed. Simian approached the two of them, assuming that something was awry.

"Mister Emery, perhaps you shoul—oh." Her smile dissipated as she came face to face with her student. "Alright, Watterson, what damage have you caused now?" Her eyes squinted, scrutinizing the blue cat, like she always did.

"He did nothing wrong, Lucy. I just wanted to speak to him." Emery preserved his own smile and returned his attention to Gumball. "Dear lad, what is your name?"

"Gumball. Gumball Watterson."

Emery lifted both of his eyebrows. That wasn't exactly the sort of name he'd hear every day. "Well, pleasure to meet you, Gumball." He extended his tendril-like arm out to the child. It took time, but Gumball complied with his request and shook his hand. "Now, there's no need to be shy, Gumball."

Behind his mouth, Gumball clenched his teeth. What was it with people mistaking kids for shy? He simply refused to talk. It didn't make him shy or withdrawn.

Eager to gain the boy's trust and friendship, Emery perched a hand on his shoulder. "I see that you're bothered. Come, tell me. Your teacher and I will listen."

Simian folded her arms and harshened her stare at her student. This wasn't the first time. To her, the Watterson name was synonymous with trouble.

Gumball averted from both of their faces, not wanting to make eye contact with either one of them. His paws curled into fists, his right one trembling. He was cornered. There was no point avoiding them, so he conceded and looked at the elderly paintbrush squarely. He might as well get it out there, he thought.

"I think there's something you're not telling us?" Gumball began, his footing firm. His voice clear as crystal.

"What would that be?"

"Instead of telling us that Marvelite made Elmore, why don't you explain how? Don't you reckon that's a pretty important detail you're leaving out?" Each question, each word, was spoken sharply and loudly, his peers looking at him over their shoulders shortly. The cat barely gave Emery time to register them, to think them through.

Simian, however, absorbed them one by one, just fine. Now her own fascination was piqued, and her frustration with Gumball had upped and vanished.

Now it was Emery who found himself trapped. He processed the feline boy's queries and was lost as well. This entire exhibit, between the clothes, the transportation, the cuisine and the jobs, was based on fact. Fact gained from hours upon hours of endless research. Everything shown here dated back to the old days. Before Elmore had flourished into a bustling town.

The Marvelite was a matter of its own, though. Every study he conducted, every thorough inspection, investigation, on this topic were met with dead ends. To this day, it remained beyond even a scholar such as him. Despite his failures, he held on to his belief firmly. The belief that everything that Elmore ever was led back to this mysterious mineral.

Swallowing his pride, Emery spared Gumball an uneasy gaze. "To be quite honest with you, I cannot really put it into words. I know it to be true, but the 'how' still eludes me," he said. Before Gumball could erupt into another outburst, he dug his hand into his pocket and searched. "How about this? Why don't you try out your luck and witness it for yourself? See if you can understand it more than I ever can."

He pulled out of his pocket a stone much smaller than the one on display. It shone the exact same spectrum of colors. It had the exact same alluring effect to it.

The stone fell from Emery's hands and into Gumball's, and Gumball was a little perplexed. And so was his teacher.

"You can't be serious," Simian protested, her heart racing like a car engine.

"Come now, Lucy. What harm is there, honestly?"

Simian flinched, biting the inside of her mouth. She wished that he hadn't asked her that. Her history with the Watterson family had always been one big emotional roller coaster. There were too many horrid memories to count. Too many instances where Gumball and Darwin had caused her grief, where they made her blood boil as hot as the sun. If she were any the wiser, she'd assume that this was all retribution for making a fool out of their mother Nicole many years ago. As the old saying went, 'what goes around comes around'.

Still and all, she objected to the idea of a Watterson of all people taking possession of a cosmic, higher force. Rocky Robinson receiving the key to the city would be much kinder, more plausible and more appealing than this. For all the bitterness, all the ill will surrounding her, she was an Elmorean at heart. She loved her home as much as the next person did. There was no telling what sort of havoc, what sort of chaos, would befall the town if a Watterson was in complete command of everything.

Unbeknownst to her, Gumball was divided about the situation. He stared at the stone for the longest time, wondering whether to be grateful or to feel insulted. He had hoped that Emery himself would explain it all to him, but the fact that he knew next to nothing regarding this so-called 'essence of Elmore' didn't bode well for him or his gallery.

"Are you really sure this is such a good idea?" asked Gumball, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I do. Think of it as a learning experience, my dear boy," Emery exclaimed.

"Thanks, I guess," replied Gumball drearily.

Over his shoulder, Penny was gazing at the stone, drawn by the luster. Afterwards, the two were joined by Darwin, then Anais, and finally the rest of the group.

Gumball tucked the stone into his pocket, maintaining a pretense of interest for the sake of his teacher and the paintbrush person. But he already knew what direction this was going to go. If a museum curator failed to convince him about Elmore's beginnings, then nothing would every convince him.

It was only a stone, after all. No more, no less.