Wow! I can't believe I have over 100 reviews! I never thought this day would ever come! Thank you everyone who had continued to read "The Newcomer"! That means so much to me! I hope everyone continues to fave and follow this story!
That said, please enjoy this chapter!
The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 20-TheTransfer: Part 2
It was the afternoon at the school cafeteria and while most people would be busy eating and chatting about the latest trends, today turned out to be quite different, especially for a certain purple fox and yellow mouse.
Somehow, word had spread quickly all over Elmore Junior High that Brian and Rhonda had challenged Tina and her gang to a game of basketball and before either knew what was happening, they became today's hot topic, much to Brian's discomfort.
'It's déjà vu all over again.' Brian nervously thought, as he sat at the usual spot with both Rhonda and the Watterson siblings, the latter noticing the worried look on the purple fox's face.
"What's wrong, Brian?" a concerned Darwin asked. "I thought you might be having a good time ever since Rhonda showed up."
"Except that this isn't how I imagine today was going to turn out." the purple fox replied. "The last thing I wanted was go through a similar scenario to my first day here and now I have to go through it yet again."
As soon as Brian brought up the fighting incident, the Watterson siblings could chuckle nervously in response, while Rhonda looked at her friends with curiosity about the incident itself.
"What happened on your first day, Brian?"
"It's a complicated story and one that I was glad to come out alive." answered Brian. "I just hope that today ended differently than the last time."
"Cheer up Brian…" Rhonda began. "We've been playing basketball for the last few weeks; that gives us the advantage over Tina and her friends."
"Now that you mention it, I think we might have a chance after all." says Brian, acknowledging the mouse's words.
"Even so, you and Rhonda should keep your guards up when facing Tina and her gang." Anais spoke out.
"I'm going to have to agree with my sister on this one." says Gumball. "If I know any better, either Tina or Jamie will play with cheap shots against either of you, so please be careful and keep a close eye on them."
"Don't worry, Gumball; Brian and I know what we're doing. Isn't that right?" Rhonda asked the purple fox, before she playfully punched him in the arm.
"Um, yeah, we're up to the task." Brian replied, smiling sheepishly. But deep down, Brian was terrified of facing Tina and her gang once again and this time, dumb luck won't be at his side. Even so, he refused to flake out, if only because Rhonda was getting involved. There was only one thing that the purple fox could think of.
'I prayed we don't end up in six feet under!'
After everyone had finished today's meals at the cafeteria, Brian, along with Rhonda, the Watterson siblings and pretty much their fellow classmates, finally gathered around the basketball court. As the fox and the mouse waited patiently at the court for Tina and her gang, everyone else on the sideline were getting increasingly restless, demanding to know when the game is about to start, all the while making bets to see who's going to win.
"My money is on the fox and the mouse."
"Are you kidding me?! Tina's going to crush them before the game even begins."
"They still have a fighting chance, you know."
"Oh, they'll have a chance alright…in their dreams!"
While every kid at the schoolyard were arguing about how the game is going to end, all Brian and Rhonda could is just wait until the game starts, the former sweating like mad and his body slightly trembling with fear and anxiety.
'Pull yourself together man! You have to do this for Rhonda! Just make sure that you do-'
Brian's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a tremendous stomping, each step getting louder by the minute, prompting everyone to stop arguing and turned to the direction of said noise. As it turns out, Tina arrived just in time at the basketball court, alongside her best friend Jamie. However, there was one person missing from the group.
"Where's Anton?" Brian questioned the duo.
"That's simple: we told him to get loss. As far as we're concerned, he was just going to slow us down." Jamie replied.
"Besides, this game is going to end before it even begins." Tina spoke with a smirk.
"I'll be the judge of that." Rhonda responded.
As soon as the four exchanged words with one another, Bobert made his way to the center of the basketball court, carrying the basketball with his metal clamps.
"Alright everyone, before this game could began, here are the rules that you four must follow…" Bobert began explaining. "Both teams must score four points or the team that is ahead before the next bell wins. Everyone must play fair and must of all, no cheating. Does everyone understand the rules of the game?"
In response, Brian, Rhonda, Tina and Jamie all shook their heads in agreement, confirming everything that the robot had told them not so long ago. Satisfied by their answers, Bobert proceeded to throw the basketball into the air, before Jamie and Rhonda both leaped towards it, the latter quickly throwing it towards Brian.
"Alright Brian, heads up!"
Hearing the mouse's shouting towards his direction, the purple fox somehow managed to grab the basketball, before he started to dribble the ball and ran to the opposite side of the court, all the while trying to avoid Tina herself, as she tried to lash out on Brian with her tail.
'Whoa, that was a close one!' thought the purple fox, barely dodging her tail in the nick of time, before he continued to make his way to the other end of the court. As soon as he reached the 3-point line, Brian shot the basketball at the hoop, only for it to bounce off the backboard instead, much to his dismay.
"Aw man!" a dismay Brian spoke out.
"Nice shot, furball." Jamie said, sarcastically praising the purple fox, as she managed to grab the basketball and dribbled towards the other end of the court, all the while running on top of Tina. Then, with one leap from the dinosaur's head, she made a slam dunk, much to the crowd's displeasure.
"Hey, you can't do that!" Darwin objected.
"Do you want to argue with us?" Tina questioned the two-legged fish, prompting Darwin to shake his head in disagreement.
"I thought so." Tina said, before she turned her attention to Brian and Rhonda, the former clearly disappointed by his performance.
"I'm so sorry about that, Rhonda." Brian apologized to the mouse.
"Don't worry about that, Brian. Everyone doesn't make the first shot on their first try." Rhonda assured the purple fox. "Right now, let's just focus on the task at hand."
Nodding his head in agreement, both the purple fox and the mouse returned their attention towards Tina and Jamie, the latter trying to pass the ball to the t-rex. But as soon as she threw the ball towards the carnivore, Rhonda managed to leap in front of Tina and grabbed the basketball just in time.
"Alright Brian, give it another go!" Rhonda called out to the purple fox, before throwing the ball right at him.
Seeing the basketball heading right at him, Brian quickly caught the ball and began to dribble his way towards the hoop once more, as he barely dodged Tina's stomping as fast as he could, until he made his way to his end of the court.
"Remember Brian; try to flick the wrist when you shoot the ball." Rhonda informed her friend.
Taking heed of her advice, Brian did just that and before he knew it, the basketball managed to land in the hoop, much to his, as well as the crowd's, enjoyment.
'Alright, I did it!' Brian thought with excitement, before he picks up the ball.
"That was beginner's luck." Jamie said to Rhonda, clearly unimpressed by Brian's shot.
"Believe me when I say it, luck has nothing to do with it." Rhonda retorted.
Once Brian managed to pick up the ball, he made his way back to the basketball court and the game resumed from there. The purple fox made his first move by passing the ball right towards Rhonda, before she quickly made her way to the other end of the court, dodging Jamie's tackles and Tina's tail, before she made a slam dunk, leaving the entire crowd quite astonished.
"Wow Tobias, good thing you didn't challenge her. Otherwise, she would have embarrassed you in front of Penny." Banana Joe commented, prompting the jock to punch him on the shoulder.
Back at the game, Tina and Jamie were quite amazed by the mouse's agility. But their amazement was quickly replaced with concern on their faces; Rhonda proved to be quite a challenge and from the way she played, there was no doubt that she was quite good. That was enough of a good reason to get rid of her as fast as they could.
"Wow, that Rhonda girl is really good at this." Jamie remarked, acknowledging the mouse's athletic ability.
"That still changes nothing." says Tina. "There's no way that we're going to lose to a bunch of pipsqueaks and that little mouse is no exception."
"What do you suggest then?" Jamie asked the carnivore.
"Isn't obvious, Jamie? We'll by playing harder and dirtier than usual." Tina replied.
Agreeing with the t-rex about their next strategy, the duo waited patiently for Brian and Rhonda to regroup so that they can resume playing the game, intending to surprise them when they get the chance.
Once the fox and the mouse got back to the court, Rhonda made the first move with the basketball at her grasp, with Brian following her lead. But before the mouse could pass the ball to the fox, Rhonda suddenly found herself to the ground, as Jamie had tackled her, leaving Brian shocked by the hybrid's action.
"Whoops." Jamie sarcastically spoke.
As the purple fox stood on the court with a look of shock and worry, Tina took advantage of the distraction long enough for her to grab the ball and quickly shoot it at the hoop. While the dinosaur cackled with joy, the rest of the crowd was outraged from what they had witnessed just now.
"Hey, that was cheating right there!" Gumball pointed out.
"Gumball's right, that shouldn't count at all." Anais agreed with her brother. "Bobert, you go to do something."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this." the robot assured the child prodigy, before he made his to the basketball court, prompting the dinosaur to stop laughing and stare down at the robot with amusement.
"I'm afraid I have to call that a foul Tina. I told you that you and Jamie must play-"
Before the young robot could finish his sentence, the hybrid suddenly pressed the button on the left side of Bobert's face, causing him to reboot for about several seconds, before the robot went back online.
"What was I doing again?" a confused Bobert asked Jamie.
"You were just congratulating us for achieving another score." the hybrid lied to the robot.
"I guess that makes sense." Bobert replied, before heading back to the displeasured crowd.
While Tina and Jamie were quite amused with their strategy, Brian headed to Rhonda's aide, hoping that the hybrid didn't seriously hurt the mouse.
"Rhonda, are you alright?" Brian asked with concern.
"I'm alright Brian, but I am sore." Rhonda replied. "Listen, we need to outsmart them to make sure that doesn't happen again. In fact, I have a few strategies in mind."
"I'm all ears." says Brian, allowing the mouse to whisper to the purple fox. After listening to her for about a few minutes, the purple fox nodded his head in agreement with their next move, before they confronted Tina and Jamie once more with confidence.
"What's with that look on their faces all of a sudden?" Jamie asked, noting their demeanors.
"It doesn't matter, Jamie. We'll be done with this game in no time." Tina replied.
Agreeing with the carnivore's statement, both Jamie and Tina focused their attention on the fox and the mouse, intending to finish the game without any further interruptions. With the ball grasped firmly on her hand, Jamie made the first move, dribbling her way towards the other end of the hoop. However, without warning, Rhonda made a mad dash towards the hybrid and managed to steal the basketball right under her nose.
'What are you up to?' Jamie thought, as she followed the mouse to see her next move. Upon seeing Brian in her path, the hybrid figured out their strategy.
'So that's what you're up to. Too bad it won't happen.' Jamie, along with Tina, made their way towards the fox as soon as Rhonda threw the ball right at him. But when they made it to Brian, the duo realized that he didn't have the ball in his hands, much to their confusion.
"Looking for this?" Rhonda called out to them, revealing the basketball in her grasp, much to Tina and Jamie's surprise. But before they could do anything, the mouse promptly shoots the ball in the hoop, managing to score another point for her and Brian, as the crowd cheered on.
While Brian and Rhonda gave each other a high-five, Tina and Jamie groaned with dissatisfaction by that strategy. They couldn't believe those two made a fool out of them, especially the mouse. How dare she did that to them in front of everyone! They have a reputation to maintain and the last thing they wanted was to have it tarnished from someone like Rhonda.
"I don't believe this!" Jamie angrily exclaimed. "It looks like they can actually win this game!"
"Then what are we standing around for?! You cover the mouse, while I cover the fox!"
Jamie did as she was told without any hesitation, as both the hybrid and the carnivore made their way to their intended targets, as the game resumed once more. Rhonda made the first move, dribbling the basketball to their opponents' side, as the fox followed her lead, while Jamie and Tina chased right after them shortly afterwards. Once they made it to the other side of the court, both the fox and the mouse looked at each other and nodded, as they prepared for the next strategy.
'Alright then, it's now or never.' Brian thought.
With that in mind, Rhonda passed the ball right towards the fox, prompting Tina to quickly stomp on him. Brian, however, managed to rollover and quickly passed the ball back at the mouse, as Jamie try to steal it from her, before Rhonda quickly passed the basketball right back at her friend and vice versa. As the fox and the mouse repeatedly passed the ball back to one another, wearing down Jamie and Tina's energy, the crowd looked on with curiosity and excitement.
"Wow, Rhonda's really good at this game." Penny commented.
"Yeah, I know. It looks like she really wasn't kidding about her claims after all." Masami said to the antler peanut.
Back at the game, Jamie and Tina were becoming exhausted from their attempts to steal the ball and were unable to do anything at all, as Rhonda threw the basketball up in the air, before Brian grabbed it and shoot it into the hoops, scoring another point in the process.
'Wow! Just one more point and we win this game!'
While Brian happily thought about this, Tina and Jamie angrily glared at the duo; they couldn't believe that those two made fools out of them yet again. Adding insults to injury, both the fox and the mouse are just one point away from winning and they only have a few more minutes until the next bell. Something had to be done soon; their reputations were on the line!
"What do we do now?" asked Jamie.
"Isn't it obvious, Jamie? We'll have to get rid of that little mouse once and for all. She's the reason why we're about to loose to begin with." Tina replied. "In fact, I even have a plan especially for her."
Arching an eyebrow in curiosity, the hybrid allowed the carnivore to whisper in her ears about their new strategy. Once Tina was finished laying out their next move, Jamie's curiosity was replaced by a sinister smile on her face. She just couldn't believe what she had just heard and if this plan worked out perfectly, they'll have an easy victory in no time.
"I don't know where you came up with that idea, but I like the sound of it." Jamie remarked, before her and Jamie cackled with devilish delight, while Brian and Rhonda looked at them with confusion and discomfort.
"What do you think those two are up to?" Brian asked the mouse.
"I'm not so sure, but no matter what happened, we have to keep our guard up." Rhonda replied.
Agreeing with the mouse's statement, Brian and Rhonda waited for Tina and Jamie to head back to the court, allowing the four to play the game once again. Holding the ball firmly in his paws, Brian quickly passed the ball right at Rhonda, but once he did, he noticed that the two bullies were suddenly going after her, as the surprised mouse was forced to back away from them as best as she can.
'Oh man! What are those two up to?!' a shocked and horrified Brian thought, as he, along with the entire crowd, watched Rhonda backing away from Jamie and Tina, as the two bullies slowly approached her all the way to the other end of the basketball court, finally cornering her.
"It looks like you got nowhere else to go now, little mouse." Tina snarled.
"Do you have any last words before this day comes to an end?" Jamie mockingly asked.
Rhonda didn't answer right away, as she silently panicked by this unexpected maneuver, her body trembling and her energy surging within her. The mouse had to come up with a quick plan or else she would be a goner right then and there. But what can she…wait a minute! Of course! There was only one move she can pull off.
'Here goes nothing!'
With that in mind, Rhonda threw the basketball down as hard as she can, launching the ball all the way to the clear, blue sky, shocking Brian, Tina, Jamie and the entire crowd by this unexpected move. For a long while, everyone just stood and looked at the sky, wondering what became of the basketball. Then, as if some twisted fate, the basketball was hurling down towards the basketball court at the speed of light, its speed was increasing by each passing minute.
As the ball was inching closer towards the court, Brian ran towards it as fast as he can, quickly leaping and catching the basketball just in time. By a miracle, the purple fox somehow remained unharmed. For a while, there was a long silence all over the court, as no one move or say a single word. Finally, Brian broke the silence by starting to dribble his way to his opponents' side and soon, the crowd we're cheering on the purple fox.
"Alright Brian, you can do it!" Gumball shouted.
"Dude, keep it up!" Darwin called out.
Brian couldn't help but smile at his friends' comment, as he continued to happily dribble the ball to the hoop. But his smile was suddenly replaced by bewilderment, as he noticed that Tina and Jamie were chasing right after him, desperately trying to catch up with him. It didn't take too long for Brian to realize what they're planning to do with him.
'Oh man! OH MAN! I really need to pick up the pace!'
His mind made up, Brian ran with all of his might, ignoring the pain in his body, as he barely dodged another tackle from the hybrid, all the while avoiding the carnivore's stomping and tail whipping. As he continued to avoid the bullies' tactics, the purple fox finally reached his destination, despite his body being completely worn out from pushing it to its limits.
'Alright Brian, it's now or never!' Brian thought, as he quickly positioned himself, aiming the basketball at the hoop and his arms ready to throw at any moment.
"I don't think so!" Jamie shouted, as Brian heard the hybrid's footsteps inching closer to him. Ignoring her words, Brian aimed squarely at the hoop and with one flick of a wrist; the purple fox threw the basketball towards the hoop, before being tackled down by Jamie. But it was too little too late, as the ball managed to reach the hoop, circling around the rim, as everyone, including Brian, waited to see what happens next.
'Oh c'mon already, I can't stand the suspense!'
After what felt like forever, the basketball finally went into the hoop, giving Brian and Rhonda the point they needed to win the game, much to the crowd's enjoyment and to the displeasure of Tina and Jamie.
"I can't believe that we lost!" Jamie moaned in disbelief.
"There's nothing we can do about it, Jamie." says Tina, before the duo turned to the purple fox, as Brian looked on nervously at them. "Alright furball, just as promised, we'll let that wolf incident go, but we won't forget this!"
Once the dinosaur finished her threat, both Tina and Jamie walked away from the terrified fox, as the Watterson siblings approached Brian to congratulate him for winning the game.
"Good job man! I can't believe you won!" Gumball praised the purple fox.
"Yeah, I honestly thought I was goner back there." Brian replied, rubbing his head sheepishly.
"Don't feel so embarrassed, Brian. You and Rhonda did fine back there." assured Darwin.
"Speaking of which, we should check up on her." Anais pointed out, before, she, her brothers and Brian quickly headed to Rhonda, the latter completely worried about her.
"Rhonda, are you alright?" Brian asked with a tone of worrisome.
"I'm good, thanks for asking." Rhonda replied. "That was a nice shot you did back there."
"Oh, it was nothing Rhonda." says Brian, his cheeks blushing slightly. "I couldn't have done it without your help."
"Thanks for the compliment. Now if you guys don't mind, I have to relax."
Once Rhonda finished her words, the mouse's eyes went blank and fainted to the ground, completely unconscious, much to the shock of Brian and the Watterson siblings.
"Rhonda!" the four shouted, before they picked up the unconscious mouse and headed straight towards the school.
It seemed like she had slept for ages, but Rhonda slowly regained consciousness, as she opened her eyes and spotted Gumball, Darwin, Anais and Brian looking at her with genuine concern, before all four sighed with relief, as the mouse had just woke up.
"What happened, you guys?" Rhonda asked, as she sat up on the infirmary bed.
"We took you in the nurse's office after you fainted in the basketball court." Gumball replied. "Fortunately, it turned out that it wasn't too serious."
"You really got us worried back there, Rhonda." says Brian.
"I'm sorry Brian." Rhonda apologized. "I guess I was just scared back there when Tina and Jamie we're attempting to ambush me."
"Don't worry about it, Rhonda." Darwin assured the mouse. "We're just glad that everything turned out alright in the end."
"Now that's settled, we have to get back to our own classes right now." says Anais.
"Don't worry Brian, me and Darwin will cover for you when we get to Miss Simian's class." Gumball said to his friend, before him and his siblings left the nurse's office, while Brian remained at Rhonda's side.
"Sorry that today didn't turn out the way you imagined." Brian apologized to the mouse.
"It's alright Brian. To be honest, I actually had fun at Elmore Junior High. I just wish these things happened more often back at Elmore Academy."
"Well…that's great. I'm really happy for you." once Brian finished his word, he found himself locking eyes with Rhonda once more.
"Rhonda…"
"Brian…" before long, the two found themselves talking to each other.
"I just wanted to tell you…JINX!" as soon as Brian and Rhonda uttered their response to one another, the duo was laughing their heads off, enjoying each other's company.
"Wow Brian; that was the first time you attempted to jinx me." Rhonda noted.
"Well, I've been hanging around with you for quite a while." Brian pointed out. "I guess part of you rubbed off on me."
"Thanks Brian." says Rhonda, touched by the fox's compliment. "You really are a great friend."
Before Brian knew what was happening, the purple fox found himself embraced by the mouse's arm, as Rhonda gave him one big hug. Even though Brian still wished that Rhonda was aware of his feelings for her, he couldn't help but smile and decided to hug the mouse back. It wasn't much, but this is enough to make up for today's surprising turn of events.
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 21-The Unruly
Brian hypnotizes Teri in order to get rid of her fear, but he soon regrets this when she becomes unruly and out of control.
Tidbits
-I know what everyone is thinking, but I wanted to make sure that the relationship between Brian and Rhonda goes on a steady pace. In other words, I'm going to make Rhonda remain oblivious to Brian's feelings for her throughout the story until I decided when the time is right for her to become aware.
-This chapter was really quite challenging, as this was the second time I put a lot of effort in actions sequences. I'm not so sure if I pulled it off or not, so let me know if I done a good job with it.
-Regarding the basketball scenes, I have to do a bit of research online to make sure that I got some of them right. Hopefully it was worth it for this chapter.
-When it was pointed out that there should be a few transfer students for "The Transfer", I was unable to find a way to fit them in. However, I still like the suggestions that Gummypuss had to offer and I think I can use that to reference "The Transfer" in a future chapter.
Thanks for those who have read "The Transfer" arc and I'll see ya next chapter!