I wanted to thank wiseguy1107 and Supergogeta14 for their suggestions.
Anyway, enjoy!
The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 32-The Talent: Part 1
It was another day at Elmore Junior High, as every student gathered around at the bulletin board, excited to see what kind of extracurricular activities were going on. As the rest of the students began chatting excitedly with each other, Gumball, Darwin and Brian were walking down the hallway, curious to see so many students gathering in one spot.
"Excuse me…" Brian began, as he tapped on Banana Joe's shoulder. "Sorry for bothering you, but what's going on around here?"
"Haven't you read what's been posted on the bulletin board? The school is hosting a talent show this Saturday and the winner will receive a gold trophy." Banana Joe explained.
"Are you serious, Banana Joe?" asked Gumball, somewhat interested by this information.
"If you don't believe me, check the bulletin board for yourself." Banana Joe replied.
Gumball, Darwin and Brian went to the board to see the information with their own eyes, mostly reading the requirements and rules of the talent show; once they were finished reading the hand-out, the trio couldn't help but be amazed by this. They could envision the glory and recognition they would be receiving the moment they showcased their talents this Saturday.
While Gumball, Darwin and Brian were entranced by their own imagination, a certain antlered peanut showed up just a few inches from the trio, looking at them with confusion written on her face.
"Um, what are you guys doing?" asked Penny, snapping the trio right back into reality.
"Hi Penny." Gumball greeted the antler peanut dreamily. "I didn't notice you there."
"Yeah, we were just looking at the bulletin board about the talent show." explained Brian.
"Are you guys going to participate this Saturday?" Penny asked the boys.
"To be honest, we haven't decided yet." Darwin replied. "What about you, Penny?"
"I don't think I have the time." Penny answered the two-legged fish. "Besides, I'm not so sure I even have a talent to begin with."
As soon as Penny says those words, the antlered peanut found herself being confronted by Gumball once more; only now, there was a serious look on his face, much to her surprise.
"Don't say something like that, Penny. I'm sure you're good at something."
"Gumball, I really appreciate what you're saying and I'm flattered…" Penny began. "Even so, the talent show is only just a few days."
"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but I think I have an answer to our problem." Brian suggested, prompting Gumball, Darwin and Penny to focus their attention on the purple fox. "Let's form a rock band together at my place. Fortunately, my mom has some musical instruments in the garage we can use to practice."
Gumball, Darwin and Penny pondered for a moment, thinking of what Brian had proposed just now. It was very nice of the purple fox to come up with something for the talent show. But then, something just came to their mind.
"Sorry if I asked the obvious, but what song are we going to play?" asked Gumball.
"Now that Gumball mentions it, we need to come up with a very good one if we're going to win the talent show." Darwin pointed.
Brian pondered for a moment, trying to come up with some song that he and his friends could cover for the talent show. But before he could come up with something, Penny managed to speak up, as if she had found the answer to their problem.
"I think I could come up with lyrics for our band."
"Are you sure you can pull it off?" Brian questioned the antlered peanut.
"Of course she can, Brian. I mean, we need to at least give her a chance." Gumball insisted.
"I have to agree with Gumball on this one." said Darwin. "We should check them out before we could go through with it."
Brian thought for a moment, thinking what his friends had pointed out just now. He had to admit, he shouldn't have doubted Penny immediately. After all, this might be an opportunity for the antler peanut to show off any talent she might have.
With that in mind, the purple fox turned to the trio, ready to give them his answer.
"Alright, you guys. It looks like we're all set then. Penny will write the best lyrics, while Gumball, Darwin and I will set up the instruments back in my place."
"Thanks Brian. I'm happy to hear you trust me with this."
"Anything to help out a friend." said Brian.
"Don't worry Penny, as long as we have everything planned out…" Darwin began.
"…Well blow their socks off." Gumball added.
Once everyone agreed on what to do after school, the four went off to Miss Simian's class, hoping to make it on time before they get into trouble.
After school was done for today, Gumball, Darwin and Penny all met up with Brian at his house, just as they had promised earlier. Thankfully for the purple fox, his mother agreed to lend some of the instruments to them, even setting them up at the garage, saving the four a great amount of time.
"Wow Brian, it was very good of Mrs. O'Quinn to help us." Gumball commented, as he grabbed an electric guitar.
"We should thank her after we're done practicing." says Darwin, heading towards the drum sets.
"I couldn't agree more, Darwin." said Brian, before he focused his attention to Penny. "Penny, do you have the lyrics ready?"
"I did the best I could with It." she replied, before she handed the lyrics to the purple fox. "It's not much, but it'll have to do."
Brian, along with Gumball and Darwin, looked at the lyrics that Penny had wrote. After a minute or two, the boys focused their attention back at the antlered peanut, looking very amazed and ecstatic.
"Penny, this is really good."
"Yeah, it looks very amazing."
"I'm just surprised that this was all written down during school."
"You guys really think it's good?" asked an astonished Penny.
"Sure Penny, we really mean it." Gumball insisted. "We can definitely used them for the talent show this weekend. In fact, you can even be our lead singer for our band."
"I don't know about that Gumball." Penny spoke with uncertainty.
"Don't be so sure of it until you give it a shot." said Brian, as he grabbed an electric bass.
"Besides, we're just going to practice and who knows, you might actually be a natural." Darwin said to the antlered peanut.
"Well…alright, I'll give it a go." Penny complied, as she made her way to the microphone stand.
After the boys finished prepping their instruments and Penny finished adjusting the microphone, all four kids were ready to practice.
"Alright then, let's do this!" Brian declared, before him, Gumball and Darwin began to play on their instruments, giving Penny enough time to sing on the microphone.
I remember when I saw you
you got me in the heart
Just like cupid's dart
I hope you feel this way too.
I just wanted to ask
do you want to go on a date.
I think that'd be great.
I'd be up for the task.
Just say the word
I'll be there
Faster than a hare
I won't be deterred.
We should be together,
You're as pure as a dove
I'd give nothing but kindness and love
We'd be like birds of a feather.
The moment Penny began to sing, Gumball, Darwin and Brian suddenly stopped playing their instruments, their bodies cringing as she horribly sang from one lyric after another. It sounded like a vinyl record being terribly scratched one too many times.
'I take that back! Penny's not a good singer at all!' Brian thought, trying to ignore the antlered peanut's singing as best as he could.
After Penny sang the last note, the antler peanut enthusiastically turned to the boys for their honest opinion, especially Gumball, oblivious to the plight she had unknowingly brought onto them.
"Well, what do you guys think?"
While Brian and Darwin looked at one another with uncertainty on how to respond to the antlered peanut's question, Gumball, on the other hand, hesitated for a moment. As much as he wanted to tell her his honest opinion, the blue feline could only imagine the scenario that would played out should Penny, his crush, learned how he truly felt about her singing.
"Penny, I need to be honest with you…" Gumball began. "You're a very horrible singer."
"I see, Gumball." said Penny.
"So, are we cool?" Gumball sheepishly asked.
Before the blue feline knew what happened next, the antlered peanut walked towards him, clearly peeved by his words and without warning, promptly slapped him on the face, leaving a red mark in the process.
"You can forget about me becoming your girlfriend! I don't ever want to talk to you again!"
With that, Penny turned around and left a shocked Gumball down on his knees, horrified to hear his crush's answer.
"Penny, come back! I was just being honest, I swear!"
As fear and anxiety expressed itself on Gumball's face, Penny continued to look at the boys, still waiting for a response from them.
"Well, aren't you guys going to give me an honest opinion on my singing?"
For a while, there was a long, awkward silence in the garage, with none of the boys unable to come up with an answer. Finally, Brian decided that the antlered peanut needed to know the honest truth.
"Well Penny…" Brian began. "About your singing, it was-"
"So good, that we were just left speechless to come up with any answer." Gumball suddenly spoke, cutting off the purple fox. "Isn't that right, you guys?"
Both Brian and Darwin looked at Gumball, surprised to hear what the blue feline had just said to Penny. At the same time, the duo also noticed the look of desperation on his face and with much reluctance; the two nodded their heads in agreement, much to Gumball's relief.
Penny, for her part, looked at the trio with suspicion, amazed that it took them that long to come up with a response. Eventually, the antlered peanut couldn't help but smile, glad to finally hear a response from them.
"I'm glad to know that you three loved it." Penny ecstatically said. "Anyway, I have to get back home and finished up my homework."
With that, Penny left the garage and walked her way home, leaving only Gumball, Darwin and Brian on their own, prompting both the purple fox and the two-legged fish to looked at their friend, stunned by his earlier actions.
"I don't know what that was about, Gumball..." Darwin began. "But that was the worst singing I ever heard in my life."
"I know Darwin and you're right, Penny couldn't sing." Gumball confessed.
"So, why did you lie to her to begin with?" Brian questioned the blue feline, prompting Gumball to take a deep breath, before he explained to the purple fox.
"I just didn't want to hurt her feeling, that's all."
"But Penny asked us to be honest." Brian pointed out.
"Brian's right. You need to let her know the truth." Darwin said to his brother.
"Alright you guys, I get it. Besides, Penny might not have been that horrible."
Just then, Annie came through the garage door, looking at the boys with curiosity and astonishment on her face.
"Boys, did you hear that just now? I have never heard anything that horrible in my entire life."
Gumball looked at Brian and Darwin, both having a serious look on their face, prompting the blue feline to sigh in dismay. It was clear that they wanted him to be honest with Penny about her singing and he'll have to let her know tomorrow.
It was the next day at the school cafeteria, as Gumball, Darwin and Brian sat at their usual spot with their food on their tray. But today was anything but eventful, especially for Gumball; ever since yesterday, Brian and Darwin insisted to the blue feline that Penny needed to know the honest truth. As much as Gumball dreaded this, he had to man up and informed Penny about her singing talent.
'I just hope that Penny will forgive me for lying to her.'
Just then, a certain antlered peanut happily made her way to the trio's table.
"Hey guys."
"Oh, hey Penny." Gumball quickly greeted. "Why so upbeat?"
"After what happened yesterday, I decided to sign up for the school talent show." Penny replied, leaving the boys clearly shocked.
"Oh…that's good to hear, Penny." says Gumball, as he tried to hide his discomfort.
"I know Gumball and I can't wait until this Saturday to show them my talent!" Penny happily exclaimed. "Anyway, let's continue practicing at Brian's place until then."
As soon as Penny finished her sentence, she headed towards her table, leaving Gumball, Darwin and Brian on their table, still stunned to hear the last statement Penny gave to them.
"What should we do Brian?" Gumball frantically asked the purple fox. "We need to find a way to tell Penny that she's can't sing before Saturday."
"That's easier said than done, Gumball." Brian replied. "We just need to relax for a moment and thank clearly about this."
"I'm going to side with Brian on this one." Darwin agreed. "After all, it's not like we could have someone to tell Penny how awful she is for us."
The moment Darwin said those words, something lit up inside of Gumball.
"Darwin, that's it!" Gumball happily exclaimed. "Well just find someone to tell Penny that she's awful. That way, she'll understand what we were trying to tell her and we'll be in the clear."
"That does sounds like a good plan, Gumball…" Brian began. "But who would be willing to listen to Penny's singing?"
"Now that he mentions it, we need to find someone who would endure something so agonizing." Darwin informed his brother.
"Don't worry about it, you guys. I think I have someone in mind."
"So let me get this straight…" Anais began. "You, Darwin and Brian wanted me to record Penny's singing so she can hear it for herself?"
"That's why we dragged you here. All we wanted to do is let Penny hear herself on the recorder and she'll understand why we couldn't say she was awful in the first place." Gumball explained.
"Well, if this is just your way of coming clean with Penny, then alright." the child prodigy agreed. "By the way, where is Penny?"
On cue, Penny made her way inside the garage.
"Sorry I'm late, you guys. I was having a quick chat with my friends." Penny apologized, before she noticed Anais with the boys. "Sorry for stating the obvious Gumball, but why is your sister here?"
Before the blue feline could answer her question, Brian suddenly spoke and answered the question on his behalf.
"You see Penny, we needed a second opinion, so we convinced Anais to drop by and record our music."
"I guess that makes sense then." says Penny, despite being somewhat suspicious.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's do this!" Darwin exclaimed.
With that, the boys began to play on their instruments, before Penny began to sing once more. While the trio did their best to ignore the antlered peanut's awful singing, Anais, on the other hand, was having a hard time concentrating on her task.
'Wow! They weren't kidding about Penny's singing!'
In the midst of her own thought, the recorder on her hand suddenly became haywire, unable to bear with Penny's singing. Before the child prodigy could have a chance to react, the recorder suddenly exploded, sending Anais flying into the wall, prompting both the boys and Penny to stop what they were doing.
"Anais, are you alright?!" Gumball shouted, as he, Darwin, Brian and Penny came to the child prodigy's side.
"WHAT?!" Anais shouted. "I can't hear you! There's too much ringing going on in my ears!"
"Sorry about that Anais! I guess it didn't go as well as we had hoped!" Brian shouted back
"Daisy the Donkey isn't stupid!" the child prodigy yelled at the purple fox, before she promptly kicked him on the shin for the misinterpretation.
'Ow! That really hurt!' Brian thought, wincing in pain from Anais' kick.
"Why did that recorder explode like that?" an astonished Penny questioned her friends.
"I think we should be more concern whether that recorder caused serious damage to Anais' hearing." Darwin informed the concern antlered peanut. "Anyway, let's just inform Mrs. Mom to let her know what happened."
With that, the four agreed to call it a day and take Anais back to the Watterson residence, hoping that Nicole wouldn't get too mad with what happened to her daughter.
The next day, Gumball, Darwin and Brian discussed with Bobert about Penny's singing and how they wanted the young robot to make an attempt to record it. Once Bobert agreed to help the trio out after a few minutes of thinking, all five showed up at Brian's garage for their usual practice after school.
"Alright Bobert, we're ready to practice." Gumball informed the young robot. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Don't worry about it Gumball, I'm here to help out whenever I can." Bobert assured the blue feline.
"So it's settled…" Brian began. "Alright then, let's practice."
With that, the boys started to play on their respective instruments, while Penny began to sing as usual. By now, the trio was used to the antlered peanut's awful singing, ignoring it the best they can, while Bobert was doing his best to record it. But during those few minutes, the young robot suddenly started to malfunction.
"Can't take this…too unbearable…circuits are overloading!"
Unable to stand Penny's awful singing anymore, sparks flew out of Bobert's body and after a few seconds, the young robot shuts down in the process, much to the trio's chagrin.
'Geez Louise! I knew this would too good to be true!' Brian thought in disbelief.
"What happened to Bobert?" asked Penny, oblivious to what happened to the young robot. "I hope it wasn't anything serious."
"He…probably ran out of energy." Darwin lied. "I think its best we let his mom know what happened."
While the lie was enough to throw off any suspicion from Penny, the trio knew that it would be a matter of time before the antlered peanut knew the truth and it was the last thing they wanted to happen.
'This is going to be harder than we imagined.' Gumball thought. 'I just hope this is all cleared up by Saturday.'
A few days later…
Gumball, Darwin and Brian sat on the school steps, dismay that, despite having it all planned out, not one person was able to endure Penny's singing long enough to inform the antlered peanut how awful it was.
During those few days, each of their classmates ended up suffering some unfortunate consequences as a result of listening to Penny's awful singing, including Alan deflating almost immediately, Carmen inadvertently shooting her sharp needles at them, Idaho exploded on impact, Dolly's head melting away and Leslie fainting. No matter how hard they tried, none of them could endure it for more than a few minutes.
'This is becoming hopeless!' Brian thought. 'Saturday is around the corner and we still couldn't find a way to let Penny know the truth.'
As Brian and the Watterson brothers continued to sit on the steps, lamenting over their situation, Penny came through the school door, happy as ever, as she approached the trio.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey Penny." Gumball, Darwin and Brian greeted back, trying their best to hide their despair.
"So, are you guys looking forward to the talent tomorrow night?" the antlered peanut asked enthusiastically.
"Um, sure, I guess." Gumball replied.
"I just hope it won't end very badly." says Brian.
"What they said." Darwin commented.
"Don't worry about it you guys…" Penny began. "We've been practicing for quite a while. We're going to ace it when we go on stage."
Penny's last statement prompted Brian and the Watterson brothers to chuckle nervously in response. Fortunately for them, the antlered peanut didn't seem to notice.
"Anyway, I have to let my family know about this when I get back home. I can't wait to see their faces when we get on stage."
The moment Penny brought up her family, the boys froze in fear, horrified that the antlered peanut planned to bring her family to the talent show tomorrow. If they discovered that she wasn't talented at all, as well as the fact that they have lied to her about it, they'll be in so much trouble. That was one scenario the trio wanted to avoid at all cost; now, they have to come up with something before they come up on stage tomorrow night.
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 33-The Talent: Part 2
The night of the talent show has arrived and Gumball, Darwin and Brian must come up with a plan to tell Penny the honest truth about her talent.
Tidbits
-First time I managed to do a chapter about Penny. It's been a long while, but I'm glad that I finally had the chance to do this.
-I wanted to thank wiseguy1107 and Supergogeta14 for their suggestions once again.
-Originally, this chapter was going to be called "The Band", but after seeing a TAWOG fanfiction with the same name, I have to change the chapter title to "The Talent".
Hope everyone enjoyed this and I'll be seeing ya next chapter!