The Gauntlet: Chapter One
It was family game night at the Watterson Household.
A weekly tradition that was supposed to be a fun exercise in bringing the family closer together. However, for all intents and purposes, it only seemed to bring out the worst in everyone.
No matter what the game was, a bit of friendly competition always cascaded into an intense grudge match. As per usual, Nicole Watterson was full of competitive spirit and eager to get down to business with her game of choice.
As the leader of the household, Nicole wore her title of breadwinner with great pride and took the latter part, very seriously.
Deep inside of her was a fierce, inherent and ever present desire to win. A force that compelled her to achieve victory in everything she did, no matter what it was. Some might say 'winning isn't everything' but to Nicole, it might as well be.
As a mother, Nicole believed it was her duty to embody the same principles into her children. She deemed it necessary for them to be successful in life, as she had been, if not even more.
Subsequently, when given something as simple as a board game, Nicole's influence made everything seem like an all out competition.
With all the game pieces precisely positioned and properly put in place, they were ready to play.
"Okay everyone," said Nicole, commanding everyone's attention. "Here are the rules. Each player must draw a card. To decide who gets to draw first, we flip a coin. To decide who gets to flip the coin, we roll the dice. To decide who gets what number on the dice, we start by-"
As Nicole continued to explain the rules with her eyes set squarely on the instructions, the others made themselves more comfortable where they sat. Particularly Gumball, who sat at the table with his head down, resting on crossed arms.
This would obviously take a while and he had already grown bored and was close to dozing off.
"Dude, wake up," said Darwin, giving his brother a little nudge. "You gotta pay attention if you wanna win."
"Yeah yeah, I'm listening…" replied Gumball, perking up his ears but leaving his head down.
Anais threw a quick glance in his direction before continuing to make her detailed notes.
"Sure you are..." she chimed in sarcastically.
"Um Anais," said Darwin. "It's a board game, not an exam..."
"Potato, potahto, same difference," she dismissed him with a shrug. "All I know is that I'll be taking first place this time."
"Nuh uh," Darwin shook his head. "This week, it'll be my turn to shine!"
"Hoho, that's nice son," said Richard, gently patting him on the head. "But this one is all mine. Candyland is my speciality!"
The two siblings groaned in frustration before Anais spoke again.
"Dad, for the last time, we're not playing Candyland. It's Mom's turn to pick this week."
"B-But I like Candyland..." said Richard, dejectedly.
"We know, we know," Anais replied with sympathy. "But this week we're playing…" she paused mid-sentence. "...Whatever this game is."
Meanwhile, Nicole had finally finished reading out the rules and everyone, including Gumball, turned their attention towards her.
"Okay, so I've figured it all out," said Nicole. "Gumball, the first turn goes to you. Now go ahead and make your move."
With a heavy sigh, Gumball took a brief glance at the assortment of plastic pieces laid out before him and then looked towards the elaborate layout of the game board. The whole thing might as well have been a miniature labyrinth.
The game had yet to even begin and Gumball was already feeling exhausted. Eager to weasel his way out of this situation, a simple solution suddenly came to him.
With a sneaky smile, he threw up his hands in surrender and calmly said "Okay, I give up."
Which only earned him collective looks of confusion from the rest of the family.
"Huh? Whad'ya mean, Gumball?" asked Darwin.
"I give up," he shrugged. "That means all of you win."
"But we haven't even started yet..." Anais pointed out.
"Yeah because I gave up," replied Gumball. "Great game!" he added with a little clap. "Well, have fun without me."
Gumball began to leave the table only to have his mother stop him right in his tracks.
"Hold it right there, young man!" said Nicole. "This is a family activity. And 'family' means all of us, including you."
"Hmph," huffed Gumball, folding his arms. "Well this 'family activity' is no fun! It's the same story every week and I can't take it anymore. Everyone's always obsessed with winning instead of having fun."
"But sweetie..." Nicole began sympathetically. "Winning is fun."
"Only for the winner," retorted Gumball. "That's why everyone only picks games that they're good at. Or in your case Mom, games that are way too difficult."
"Oh come now," said Nicole, with her hands on her hips. "This game's not that difficult… right?"
The rest of the family exchanged uneasy looks with each other before Darwin and Anais shook their heads and Richard meekly ducked under the table.
"Are you kidding?" said Gumball, now aghast. "This game's so complicated, they included instructions on how to read the instructions!"
"They did?" said Nicole, turning her attention back to the game box. "Where are they?"
Darwin nervously grinned before placing an origami bird on the table.
"Uh sorry Mrs Mom, I sorta made them into a birdie..." he explained.
Nicole held it up and giggled with faint amusement.
"I'm sorry Mom," interrupted Gumball. "But I don't wanna join in if this is how it's going to be."
"Told ya we should've picked Candyland..." Richard whispered to Anais.
"Hmm, maybe you're right," supposed Nicole. "This game is too complicated for its own good. I guess we can play something else.
Having said that, Nicole casually picked up the entire game board with its pieces and threw it to a side, much to everyone else's shock. Nonchalant as ever, Nicole pulled out another game box. One that looked much simpler.
"Hey, what about my notes!?" complained Anais.
"Hmm, you could always make birdies out of them," Darwin innocently suggested.
In merely a few moments, Nicole made short work of unpacking the box and quickly assembling the game pieces together, revealing the game to be Elmoropoly.
Anais immediately beamed at the sight, tossing her notes over her shoulder. Gumball on the other hand, rolled his eyes with annoyance.
"How about this one then?" Nicole asked excitedly. "It's not nearly as complicated."
"Mom, that's besides the point..." began Gumball.
"You're right, too boring," said Nicole, carelessly tossing the game board and pieces away before pulling out another game. "How about a good ol' fashioned game of Ludo?"
"But Mom, it's not the game that's the-"
"No no, wait!" Nicole interrupted, tossing the gamebox aside. "Scrabble would be much better!"
"But you don't understand-"
"Ah, say no more, I've got just the thing!" Nicole enthusiastically interrupted once more, as yet another game went crashing into the corner.
"You do realize we'll have to clean all that up later, right?" asked Gumball, narrowing his eyes at his mother.
"Let's play Go fish!" announced Nicole. "All we need is a deck of cards. It's as simple as it gets!"
"I don't think I'll like that game…" Darwin nervously confessed.
"Mom! You're not listening to me!" exclaimed Gumball. "I don't care which game we play. But no matter what we pick, everyone's always too obsessed with winning instead of having fun. That's the problem."
"What's wrong with a little competitive spirit, dear?" replied Nicole. "After all, the goal of any game is to be the winner."
"As long as we're having fun, we're all winners," Gumball insisted. "Right guys?"
"Speak for yourself," argued Anais.
"I don't think so," added Darwin.
"Nope..." replied Richard.
In hindsight, he should have known better than to look to the others for support. In fact, they were part of the problem but they were like sheep, only following the crowd. The root of the problem was his mother encouraging this sort of behavior.
As much as Gumball respected his mother for everything that she did for them, there were often times where she took things too far. This occasion was one of them.
Unlike the others, Gumball would not back down so easily. He was far too free spirited to play by someone else's rules. He'd play by his rules or he wouldn't play at all.
"You see, honey?" Nicole spoke to her son with pity. "Winning is what really matters. And if you just gave it some effort, you too could be a winner. Then you'd know how great it feels! Don't knock it until you've tried it."
"Ha!" scoffed Gumball, turning away defiantly. "I could beat all of you at any game, any time, any place! I just don't feel the need to prove it..."
It was at that moment, Nicole was struck by inspiration, all thanks to her son's flippant remark. His offhanded statement had given her an excellent idea and suddenly she knew exactly how she could motivate him.
As a leader, Nicole knew Gumball's stubborn attitude could be quite troublesome for her at times. But as a mother, it also made her proud that her son was able to think for himself, as a winner should. All he needed was a little motivation and a push in the right direction.
Instead of asserting her authority as his parent and forcing Gumball to join in, Nicole had a much better idea. She would earn his participation, fair and square. She could very well turn this whole issue into its own little game, or rather one big challenge.
It was the ideal way to infuse Gumball with the competitive spirit. Give him a taste for victory that would leave him wanting more, just like herself.
"Very well then, Gumball," said Nicole, forming a big grin. "Since you want things to be more fun, why don't we make family game night a little more interesting?"
That took him by surprise. Gumball had not been expecting her to take him seriously.
"So what, you mean like a bet?" he skeptically inquired.
"That's right," nodded Nicole. "A little wager, if you will..." she added, tapping her fingers together.
"I'm so there!" announced Richard. "I'll raise you ten bucks!" He began fishing into his wallet only to suddenly frown. "Um Nicole, can I borrow ten dollars?"
"Not that kind of bet, Richard!" Nicole scolded him. "What I had in mind was a little tournament. With Gumball versus the rest of us."
"Say what!? That's totally unfair!" protested Gumball.
"Well Gumball, you did say you could beat us all at 'any game, any time and any place'. Therefore you shouldn't have any problem with it." Nicole reminded him.
"Ugh, me and my big mouth…" Gumball groaned in defeat.
"The rules are simple," explained Nicole, improvising as she went along. "Tomorrow you will face each of us, one by one, in a game of our own choosing. If you win, you get to move on to the next round. But if you lose even once, it's game over!"
"Hmph, I don't have to agree to this," Gumball crossed his arms and looked away.
"Should you beat all of us..." continued Nicole. "I'll give you a very special prize and let you pick what we play for the rest of the year. And if any of us manage to defeat you, they get the prize instead."
Despite himself, the mere mention of a prize immediately got Gumball's attention. Or at the very least piqued his curiosity. Sheepishly, he turned to face his mother again.
"Uh, what kind of prize are we talkin'?" asked Gumball.
Nicole smiled back at him. "You'll have to win in order to find out."
His mother had thrown down the gauntlet. Would Gumball run through it?
He decided to think things over before he made his decision.
On the one hand, all evidence seemed to indicate that this challenge would hardly be worth all the aggravation, no matter how fancy the prize was.
But on the other hand, if he did make an effort and succeed, he wouldn't have to put up with the same ol' family game night routine until next year.
So what did he have to lose?
"Aw fine..." Gumball begrudgingly conceded. "Alright Mom, I accept your challenge. So bring it on!"
"I'm glad to hear that, sweetie," Nicole smiled warmly. "Because if you fail to win, you lose the right to complain in future. And you have to do all my chores for a month."
"What the what!?" he gasped. "T-T-That wasn't part of the deal!"
"Well honey," shrugged Nicole. "You didn't wait for me to finish what I had to say. But there's no backing out. You've accepted and a deal is a deal."
"Oh, what have I signed myself up for!?" groaned Gumball, burying his face in his hands.
"You'll find out tomorrow. Now be a good boy and go to bed." Nicole instructed him.
"But Mom, it's too early for bed…"
"Bed now mister!" Nicole pointed to the stairs. "Or else you immediately forfeit!"
Not wasting a single second, Gumball haphazardly made his way upstairs, lest the challenge end before it even began. The other members of the family, all turned their attention towards Nicole, awaiting her commands.
Even though she had drafted them into her plans without their consent, they knew better than to argue with her.
"Okay everyone," said Nicole. "It's time for a little redecorating. So let's get started!"
"Does this mean we're not playing Candyland?" asked Richard.
He was met with a chorus of silence as the others turned to face him with looks of unamusement.
End of Chapter One