I apologized for the very long delay, but I was caught up doing so many errands that I forgot about this chapter. I'm sorry this happen and I swear that this won't happened ever again.
Now that I got it off of my chest, lets get right back to the basics:
Greetings fellow readers!
It's been a long while, but I proudly announced that not only will I be doing the first story arc since "The Kid", I'll finally introduced to you guys, for the first time ever, Brian's love interest, along with a few other OCs that I have been planning for a long time.
The reason I'm going through with this now is because I felt Brian didn't developed enough to have one since I began this story. However, I feel comfortable enough to go through with this after ten long chapters.
Hopefully, the wait was worth the effort.
Finally, when anyone has the chance, check out Supergogeta14's "Gumball Z" and see what you think about it.
So read and enjoy!
The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 11-The Mouse: Part 1
It was another beautiful day in the town of Elmore. The birds are singing, the sun is shining brightly and four elderly men sitting on the lawn, reminiscing about the good old days of their youths. Everything seems to be quite perfect and serene. That is, until…
"Oh man! I can't believe I woke up late!" Brian shouted, riding on his bike like mad and leaving a trail of dust, causing both birds and men to cough in the process. "I'm in so much trouble right now!"
"Watch what you doing, you crazy kid!" shouted Bert.
But Brian didn't have time to apologize at the moment. Right now, he had to get to school on time before Miss Simian gave him detention.
Not so long ago, Brian panicked when he saw the time on his digital clock in his bedroom. To make matters worse, his father had already left for work and his mother was still asleep, forcing the purple fox to bike his way to school. Thankfully, he had been around town long enough for him to memorize the path.
'As long as I could keep this pace, I think I should make it to school on time.' Brian thought, still riding his bike as fast as he could. While the purple fox focused on his destination, he failed to notice another individual on the path.
"Wait a minute there! Look out!" shouted a feminine voice.
"Huh?"
Before Brian could even react, both he and the individual struck one another on their bikes, forcing them to fall to the ground. Fortunately, neither of them suffered any serious injuries, as the two landed safely on the lawn. As Brian got up and dusted himself, he spotted the individual a few inches away, attempting to regain her composure.
"I'm so sorry!" Brian apologized, as he made his way to the individual and offering his paw, his eyes momentarily off of her as he looked at his bike. "I woke up late this morning and I was in a bit of a rush to my school."
"That's alright." The individual replied, as she grabbed Brian's paw to get herself up. "I was also in a bit of a hurry to my own school as well."
"I'm just glad that you're alright." says Brian. "I wouldn't know what would have happen if I…I…I…"
When Brian finally sets his gaze on the individual, he was at a loss of words. In front of him was a mouse, with yellow fur, short, brown hair with a green bow on it and was as tall as Penny. Her outfit appeared to be a uniform of sort: a blue sweater with white collars and cuffs, a green plaid skirt and a pair of white socks and black shoes.
Struck dumb by her beauty, Brian was unable to say anything and instead formed a goofy smile on his face; his eyes grew wide, his arm hung down and his knees bend in an awkward position. Fortunately for the fox, the mouse didn't notice his strange demeanor right away.
"Like I said, it's alright." The mouse assured Brian. "By the way, my name's Rhonda Paxton, what's yours?"
"B-B-Brian O'Quinn." The fox awkwardly introduced himself, earning him a perplexed look from Rhonda.
"Alright then." says Rhonda, before expressing concern for the fox. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yep, never better." Brian replied.
Rhonda continued to look at Brian, still a bit weird out by his behavior. But she smile, glad to know that the purple fox was at least fine.
"Well, its nice meeting you Brian, but I have to get to my school right now. Bye now."
"Bye-bye." Brian bid the mouse a farewell.
With that, Rhonda picked up her bike and left for her school. The fox remained on the lawn, still entranced by the sight he had gazed upon not so long ago.
'Wow...what a girl.' Brian thought, before he picked up his bike and continued biking his way towards Elmore Junior High.
The afternoon had made its way to Elmore Junior High, as every student left their classes and made their way towards the cafeteria, either to munch on today's meal or simply formed a conversation with one another. While Gumball and Darwin head towards their usual spot, their meals on their tray, they noticed Brian was already at the table, happily drawing on what appears to be a sketchbook.
"Hey Gumball…" Darwin began whispering to his brother's ear. "Have you noticed that Brian has been acting a bit weird lately since he came to school this morning?"
"Yeah buddy, I have noticed that." Gumball answered back. "He wasn't even fazed by Miss Simian's lecture when he came a minute late to class."
Gumball and Darwin noticed that Brian had been in a blissful-like trance ever since he came to school, to the point that he became oblivious to his own surroundings. In class, when Miss Simian gave everyone a surprised pop quiz, they noticed that Brian ended up answering each question in the form of hearts, much to the baboon's confusion. At the gym, when Tobias knocked the purple fox down on the head, his eyes formed into hearts for no reason. Finally, on their way to lunch, Tina shook Brian out of half his lunch money, yet he didn't seem to have a care in the world.
Determined to find the cause of their friend's unusual behavior, Gumball and Darwin headed right to their table where Brian is, hoping that he was no longer in his trance-like state.
"Hey Brian, are you feeling alright?" asked Gumball.
Brian almost jumped when he heard his friend's question. "...I'm doing well so far. Why?"
"Well, it's just that you've been acting very strange lately and we wanted to know what the big deal is."
Brian put his sketchbook and pencil on the table, before he happily gave his friends an explanation.
"If you guys must know, I think I have met the girl of my dreams."
Brian's answer stunned Gumball and Darwin. It's been one whole month since Brian moved from Folsom and the last thing they ever expected was for their friend to fall in love for the first time. At the same time, they couldn't help but feel happy that their friend has somebody to love.
"Congratulations Brian." Darwin said, as he patted the fox's back. "So who's the girl that won your heart?"
Before Brian could say anything, Gumball suddenly cut him off, as if he had already found the answer.
"I knew you weren't going to deny it any longer. It's obviously that you finally realized that you have feelings for Masami."
In response, Brian glared back at the feline, confused by the fox's action.
"Gumball, we've been through this already. Masami and I don't like each other that way."
"Sure Brian, I believe you." Gumball sarcastically replied as he smiled slyly.
"Is it Teri?" Darwin asked Brian, hoping to change the subject.
"Are you kidding me? She sprayed my paw and cleaned it with sanitizers before I could even shake her hand."
"What about Carmen?" Gumball guessed.
"Have you seen those needles? There's no way I could kiss her without getting myself hurt."
"Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I bet its Sussie." Darwin eagerly exclaimed
"Aw gross. Are you serious Darwin?"
"It's not Carrie, Molly, Jamie or Tina, is it?" Gumball inquired the fox.
"No, no, no and no." answered Brian. "Also, as a remainder, I'm only interested in Penny as a friend."
"Alright Brian, we give up. If it isn't any of those girls, who is it then?" Gumball impatiently asked.
"If you guys just let me show you who it is, I'm more than willing to answer that nagging question." Brian replied, as he grabbed his sketchbook and presented them to his friends.
Gumball and Darwin looked at the drawing, inspecting it as hard as they could. From what they could tell, the sketch itself appeared to be a mouse, apparently sharing Penny's height, with short hair and a bow attached to it. She was also wearing a school uniform. After inspecting the drawing further, Gumball and Darwin looked at Brian with a smug look, much to the fox's confusion.
"Why are you guys looking at me like that?"
"I think I know what's going on." Gumball finally spoke. "You're too proud to admit that this girl existed only in your head."
"Say what?" Brian asked, aghast by Gumball's answer.
"There's nothing to be ashamed about, Brian." says Darwin. "It's alright to admit that she's just literally happens to be the girl of your dreams."
"Guys, I would never make up something like this." Brian attempted to explain. "She's a real girl. I know, I even touched her hand this morning. Plus, her name's Rhonda Paxton"
"Alright Brian, whatever you say." Gumball sarcastically replied. "We'll play along with you if it'll cheer you up."
While Gumball and Darwin chuckled, Brian simply rolled his eyes, a bit disappointed that his friends expressed doubts about her existence. Just then, Anais strolled by, with a book resting on her arm.
"Hey guys." Anais greeted both her brothers and Brian, prompting the trio to wave their hands back. Anais then noticed the fox looked a bit down for some reason.
"Um, is everything alright Brian?" Anais asked.
"Oh, it's nothing big, Anais." Brian replied. "But if you must know, I've been trying to explain to your brothers about this girl I liked this morning."
"Wow Brian, you've found a girl you liked in just one month?" Anais was a bit surprised to hear that from the fox, but she couldn't but smiled for him. "That's good to hear. Who is it?"
"I'm glad you asked, Anais. The answer is from this sketchbook." Brian then handed the sketchbook to the child prodigy, who began to examine the drawing, while the purple fox anxiously waits for a response from her. He just hoped that Anais doesn't expressed doubt about the mouse's existence, just like Gumball and Darwin did earlier.
"Well…" Anais started to talk. "I'm not so sure whether or not this girl is even real to begin with."
'Aw man! I knew this was too good to be true!' Brian thought in dismay.
"But if it makes you feel better, I think I know which school she goes to."
All of a sudden, Anais found herself pulled off the ground and found her face pressed onto Brian's, stunned to hear such an answer from the child prodigy.
"Are you serious, Anais?! Please tell me where she is! I really want to see her again!" Brian pleaded.
While Brian tried to get some answer out of the child prodigy, Gumball suddenly popped right in front of him, displeased by what he's just witnessing.
"Brian! Calm yourself! Also, put down Anais this instant!" Gumball demanded, prompting the fox to put the child prodigy down to the floor, much to his embarrassment.
"Are you alright, Anais?" Darwin asked, as he and Gumball came to their sister's aide.
"I appreciate your concern Darwin, but I'm fine." Anais replied, regaining her composure from Brian's earlier action, before she confronted the fox, glaring at him.
"I'm so sorry, Anais." Brian apologized, rubbing his head sheepishly. "I guessed I overreacted with joy. But do you really have a clue as to her whereabouts?"
"If I say yes, can you promise me not to do that again?" asked Anais.
"Don't worry, Anais, I won't pull off another stunt like that." Brian assured the child prodigy.
Anais pondered for a moment about her decision, while Brian nervously looked on, uncertain whether she was more than willing to help him out or not. After what feels like a long time, Anais turned her attention to Brian, ready to give the anxious fox her answer.
"Sure Brian, I think I know where she could be. In fact, we'll even help you out."
"You really mean it, Anais?" Brian asked with enthusiasm. "Thank you so much!"
"Wait a minute!" Gumball suddenly said. "What do you exactly mean by that, Anais?"
"Isn't obvious, Gumball?" Anais began explaining. "Brian clearly wants to meet this girl again. Besides, he's still not familiar with certain areas around town, so we might as well have his back for the time being."
"Are you saying that we should help Brian look for a girl who might have been a figment of his imagination?" Darwin asked, prompting the purple fox to glare back at the fish. "What?"
"Regardless, we're still his friends and I think we should give him a benefit of the doubt." Anais then returned her attention to Brian. "Before I could go any further, I just got one question: are you wanted to go through with this, Brian?"
"I'll do anything to see her so badly again." Brian replied.
"That's all I needed to hear. Now, here's how this is going to work…"
The very next day, Brian made his way to the Watterson's house, having to leave his home thirty minutes ago, but not before he left a note to informed his parents that he was going to take the bus to school instead of the usual routine. He felt bad about lying to his folks, but Anais insisted that it was the only way for this plan to work out. Speaking of which…
"Where is Anais anyway?" Brian asked himself. "She said she and her brothers would be here as soon as possible."
On cue, Anais, along with Gumball and Darwin, came out of the front door of their house, making their way towards Brian.
"There you are." Brian exclaimed. "What took you and your brothers so long?"
"I apologized for the long wait, Brian." Anais explained. "I just double checked to make sure the school was convinced that we were going to be absent for today."
"I still have a hard time believing a four year old was capable of hacking into the school's system with such ease." says Brian.
"Believe me, Brian…" Gumball started to talk "When it comes to technology, Anais could pull it off like a pro."
"Besides, at least we don't have to go Miss Simian's class today." Darwin cheerfully spoke.
"If you put it that way, I guess this plan could work out." Brian agreed, before returning his attention to Anais. "Did you by any chance found out where Rhonda might be?"
"I stayed up all night looking for any clues for this girl." Anais explained. "As promised, I was eventually able to find which school she goes to. It appears that she goes to a place called Elmore Academy."
"You really mean it?" Brian asked with excitement. "Tell me more."
Before Anais could open her mouth, she noticed the transit bus heading towards their way, until making a full stop near their house and opening its doors for them.
"I'll explain what I know on our way." Anais said to Brian, before she, her brothers and the anxious fox stepped inside the transit bus, before closing its doors behind and preparing to make the long trek to Elmore Academy.
30 Minutes Later…
Brian, Gumball, Darwin and even Anais couldn't believe the sight that befell upon them, as the four exited from the transit bus. Standing right in front of them was a building that looked liked a huge old mansion, much bigger and grander than their school, with steel fences and a large, state of the art gate separating the school and the four kids.
But the school was not the only thing Brian was thinking about. While the transit bus was taking them to their destination, Anais explained a bit more about Elmore Academy: apparently, only those who came from wealthy families are able to afford it and the students who attended this school were uptight and more snobbish than Masami, to the point of superiority. But the purple fox found that information troubling: the girl he met yesterday certainly didn't behave like a snob, yet why would she attend a school with such people? Either way, this information did little to deter Brian's interest in Rhonda.
"So this is the place where she attends." Brian muttered. "Hopefully, I could give her a proper introduction this time."
With that in mind, Brian proceeded to make his way towards the gate. But before he could even touch it, the purple fox suddenly felt a slight tug from his arm, prompting him to turn around and saw Anais staring at him, a look of worried on her face.
"You can't just go walk in there anytime you want to."
"Why can't I do that?" Brian asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Yeah Anais, what do you mean by that?" asked Gumball.
"This isn't like the school we normally attend." Anais began explaining. "Elmore Academy is very strict when it comes to outsiders. The moment we step foot in their territory, we'll practically be chased off before we even have a chance."
"Are you sure what you're saying isn't in any form of exaggeration?" Darwin curiously asked.
"Get out and stay out!" a rough, deep voice shouted.
Without warning, a young individual, an orange dog, is suddenly thrown towards the now open gate, prompting the four to quickly step aside to avoid getting injured. The orange dog looked towards the mystery figure, cowering in fear from the ground, before he walked right towards to the dog, giving both Brian and the Watterson siblings a good glimpse of the individual. Standing in front of them is a tall, well built, bald toad, with black, beady eyes, a large chin and a purple tracksuit that he was wearing, as he stared right at the terrified orange dog with a stern expression.
"I'm only going to say this once and you better listen. The next time I see you on school ground, you're going to face the wrath of Big Mac! Understand townie?"
The orange dog nodded his head in agreement, before he got up and ran as fast as he could to the opposite direction, disappearing from Big Mac's sight. The disgruntled toad then spotted Brian and his friends on the sideline, as the four became quite uncomfortable in his presence.
"The same applies to you little munchkins as well, so don't make me do anything that I'll regret." warned Big Mac, before he turned around and headed right back to the academy, the gate automatically closing right behind him. Brian, meanwhile, was clearly shaken by the toad's dire threat.
'Oh man! That is one toad I don't want to mess with.' Brian thought.
"Come on, you guys, lets get the heck out here." says Darwin, as he quickly turns around to walk away from the academy. Unfortunately for the two-legged fish, Brian quickly grabbed his flipper, dismay by his friend's action.
"We can't leave yet, Darwin. I haven't even talked to Rhonda."
"Brian…" Darwin started to talk. "As much as I want to help you find your dream girl, there is no way I am going to set foot in there and risked getting my life beaten out by some macho toad!"
"Plus, we don't even have a plan to get in and out of the academy without getting caught." Gumball explained to Brian. "Also, that Big Mac fellow looks like he might follow through with his threat. I don't think it's worth such a risk for one girl."
Brian looked at his friends, stunned to hear what was coming from their mouths. In disbelief, the purple fox looked down on the ground, depressed by this unfortunate turn of event. Sensing his state of distress, Gumball put his paw on Brian's shoulder, trying his best to comfort the purple fox as best as he could.
"Look Brian, I'm sorry for what I said earlier and I know how much you want to see this Rhonda person, but it's not like the solution to our problem is just going to show up in an instant."
Out of nowhere, a white truck, with "Laundry" labeled on the side, drove up towards the gate, making a complete stop. Its driver, Pantsbully, was busy humming some song on the radio, all the while ignoring the presence of both Brian and the Watterson siblings, surprised to see such an unexpected outcome.
"What are the odds of that ever happening?" asked Gumball.
Anais was about to answer her brother's question until Brian put his paw over her mouth, much to her confusion.
"You don't really have to answer that." says Brian, before releasing his paw. "Let's just get inside the truck right away."
Nodding their heads in agreement, Brian, Gumball, Darwin and Anais quickly opened the back of the truck before quietly closing the door. Shortly afterwards, the gate automatically opened, allowing the laundry truck to make its routine delivery towards the academy.
Meanwhile, back inside the truck, both Brian and the Watterson siblings looked at another, their faces filled with anxiety and fear, as they could hear the truck inching much closer to its destination. Whether it was being caught trespassing or facing the wrath of Big Mac, one thing is certain: they have just entered in enemy territory and the only thing they could do now is pray that they'll make it out of the academy alive.
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 12-The Mouse: Part 2
Brian, Gumball, Darwin and Anais go incognito as students of Elmore Academy, all the while avoiding Big Mac. But when Brian finally manages to meet Rhonda again, he discovers another student vying for her affection.
Tidbits
-Just to remind everyone, when I do OCs, I usually envisioned how the character will sound like, in order to match their personality (in case anyone has forgotten, I visualized Dante Basco voicing Brian O'Quinn). For Rhonda Paxton, I imagine Ashley Johnson (best known as Gwen from the Ben 10 series) voicing her and for Big Mac, I imagine Kevin Michael Richardson (recently voicing Kilowog on Green Lantern) voicing him.
-The story arc was loosely inspired by the iOS game "The Act", due mainly by its plot, which I find to be rather interesting.
-Just to clear things up, Elmore Academy is created specifically for the story and as such, it does not exist on the show at all.
-When I created Rhonda, my intention was to make her quite different from Penny, in terms of personality, which will be featured much more in the next chapter.
-As mentioned earlier, the reason I finally decided to create a love interest for Brian now is because I felt that, at the time, he wasn't developed enough in the story yet. After ten long chapters, however, I felt it was the right time to go through with it.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, as well as Rhonda, despite her brief appearance in this chapter. But don't worry fellow readers, she'll be featured a lot more in the next few chapters.
See ya next time!
