The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 44-The Calm
For Nicole Watterson, it was the same routine she always had ever since she began working at the Rainbow Factory: dealing with stubborn customers on the phone and try to offer them a good deal to satisfy their needs and today was no exception. As expected, the older, blue feline received another call from who knows where, but Nicole decided to just accept the call and get this over with.
"Hello and thanks for calling the Rainbow Factory, where our motto is 'We Love Rainbows!'." Nicole greeted the customer on the phone, trying her best to sound as happy as she could. "How may I be of some service?"
"Yes, um, what do you have to offer?" the customer meekly asked.
"Well, as I said before, out motto is 'We Love Rainbows!'." Nicole pointed out, slightly irritated with the customer's questions.
"Is that all you have? I don't want to sound rude, but there has to be more than just rainbows." said the customer, agitating Nicole in the process.
"Sir, if you're not satisfied with what this company is offering, then I suggest you call somewhere else."
"Well, that was rude of you." the customer retorted. "Do you always talk like that to your customers? 'Cause if you do…"
As the customer from the other end of the phone line continued to chastise the older, blue feline, Nicole was starting to lose her patience with him. Her face was starting to turn red, simmering in anger, as steam blew from her ears, her paws gripping tightly on the phone and her teeth gritting tightly. There was only way to deal with someone as unruly as him.
"Sir…" Nicole calmly told the customer on the other end of the phone. "Can you do me one favor AND DON'T BOTHER CALLING THIS LINE EVER AGAIN?!"
As soon as the older, blue feline finished shouting, Nicole angrily hung up on him, just as she noticed her fellow co-workers staring at her, before the older, blue feline also noticed a big, floating cloud with a mustache looking at her rather sternly.
"Wait, it's not what it looks like." Nicole attempted to explain to her boss.
Nicole couldn't believe how her day was turning out. First, she found herself dealing with a rather unruly customer. As if that wasn't bad enough, everyone, including her boss, overheard her outburst in her cubicle. Due to her actions, her boss suspended her for three days from the Rainbow Factory and told her that if she doesn't control her anger issues, she'll be fired.
Now Nicole found herself lying on the couch, still in disbelief, as all she could do was stare at the ceiling and try to take her mind off of today's unfortunate incident.
'What do I do now?' Nicole thought. 'I have to find a way to calm myself down before I lose my job. But how do I do that?'
As Nicole was lost in her own thoughts, she failed to notice her sons and their friends right beside her, looking at the older, blue feline with concern.
"Mrs. Mom, are you alright?" Darwin asked his mother, causing Nicole to shoot up to a sitting position, before she noticed the three boys right in front of her.
"I'm sorry Darwin; it's just that I don't know what to do right now." Nicole explained. "My boss at the Rainbow Factory wants me to fix my anger problems when I return to work in three days. Otherwise, he'll fire me on the spot."
"It's not that hard mom…" Gumball began. "Dad does it all the time."
"But your dad doesn't go to work everyday Gumball." Nicole pointed out. "Besides, I can't relax with the snap of a finger."
"Maybe you can, Mrs. Watterson." Brian suddenly spoke, earning him Nicole's attention.
"What do you mean, Brian?"
"That's simple, Mrs. Watterson. My mom happens to be a therapist and believe me, she can help you relieve your stress and you can show up at your job like a new person. Just check out her place and at least give it a shot."
"I don't know if some simple therapy will help me, Brian." Nicole spoke with uncertainty.
"Would you rather be stuck in the house doing nothing at all?" asked Mike.
Nicole pondered for a moment, thinking of Brian's suggestion. While the older, blue feline had some reservations about getting help from a therapist, she also realized that it would be a lot better than staying cooped up in the house all day. After all, she could use some fresh air to clear her mind after what happened.
Her mind made up, Nicole focused her attention on Brian, ready to give him her answer.
"Where do I find your mom's workplace?"
It took a long while, but Nicole eventually found the place where Annie was working at, thanks to the information that Brian provided for her. In front of the older, blue feline was a modest looking building with the sign "New Age U" in front, much to Nicole's amusement.
'That's a corny way to do business.' Nicole thought, chuckling to herself. 'Anyway, let's get this over with.'
The older, blue feline then approached the front door, opening it to let herself in and as expected, there were some New Age materials hanging around inside the building, from the record labels to the posters. As Nicole wandered around, somewhat awestruck by what she was seeing, a voice spoke out of the blue.
"Welcome. How may I help you?"
As soon as the voice greeted Nicole, the older, blue feline yelped and fell to the floor, startled by this, before she noticed Annie right in front of her, looking at the older, blue feline with a look of concern.
"I'm sorry about that." Annie apologized to Nicole, as she helped the older, blue feline up her feet. "I didn't scare you or anything, did I?"
"I wasn't THAT scared." Nicole insisted, until she noticed Annie looking at her with amusement. "Well, maybe a little bit."
"Fair enough." said Annie. "Anyway, what brings you to my place?"
Despite some hesitation on her part, Nicole took a deep breath before offering the older, purple fox an explanation.
"Well Annie, it all began yesterday…"
Five minutes later…
"…And that's how it happened."
Annie looked at Nicole, having listened to what the older, blue feline had said. Based on her explanation, Nicole was told by her boss to show up in a relaxing demeanor by the time her suspension was over or she'll be fired on the spot. After a few minutes of pondering, the older, purple fox focused her attention to Nicole, ready to talk about what she had in mind.
"Alright Nicole, I think I can help you out with your issues."
"You really mean it?" Nicole asked with enthusiasm.
"Sure, I'm willing to help someone out." Annie replied. "But let me ask you this: are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"If it means keeping my job, then I'll do anything." Nicole replied.
"Alright then." Annie casually said, before the older, purple fox began to playfully bat at one of Nicole's ears, much to the older, blue feline's irritation.
"Hey, cut that out!" Nicole demanded, before she tried to tackle Annie.
But then, as if she had some sort of sixth sense, the older, purple fox calmly sidestepped out of the way, causing Nicole to fall on the floor again, before Annie approached the older, blue feline with concern.
"Well, this is certainly quite serious." Annie commented.
"Wait a minute, you mean you just started and didn't give me a heads up?!" asked an astonished Nicole.
"If I did, it wouldn't make the therapy interesting." Annie explained, prompting Nicole to growl in annoyance.
After Annie apologized to Nicole about her actions, the older, purple fox led the older, blue feline to the roof of the building where, much to Nicole's surprise, it was filled with exotic plants, and it was also being quite spacious. It was the last thing that the older, blue feline was expecting to see.
"How did you manage to do this?" asked Nicole.
"It's a long story and one that I might tell another day." Annie replied. "Anyway, let's get down to business."
Nodding her head in agreement, Nicole followed Annie's lead until they came across a pair of yoga mats lying in front of them, much to the older, blue feline's curiosity.
"Alright Annie, what is this?"
"Oh, that's simple…" Annie began to explain. "We're going to sit still and just think of nothing but peace and tranquility."
"…Alright, I guess that makes sense." Nicole said, somewhat incredulous with Annie's response, before she and the older, purple fox got into position and cleared their minds.
After a few minutes, Nicole managed to settle down, relaxing her body and easing her mind, as she smiled peacefully to herself.
'You know, maybe this isn't so bad.' Nicole happily thought.
Just then, she felt something fuzzy tickling her nose, much to her curiosity. At first, Nicole just ignored it, trying to find peace and tranquility. But soon, her nose continued to itch, irritating her with each passing minute. At this point, the older, blue feline finally decided that enough was enough.
"Cut it out!" Nicole shouted to Annie, before she lunged right at her.
Annie, however, immediately jumped without warning, dodging Nicole in the process, as the blue feline lunged right towards a cactus right in front of her.
"Someone is certainly prickly today." Annie spoke with amusement, while Nicole groaned in pain.
Once Annie helped Nicole remove the sharp needles out of her body, the older, purple fox had somehow convinced the older, blue feline to balance herself on a rather long pole, as Nicole is doing her best to keep her composure as best as she could.
"Annie, are you sure this is necessary?" Nicole fearfully asked the older, purple fox.
"Don't worry too much, Nicole." Annie replied. "You just need to keep your head up above the clouds and just let go of your worries."
'I was afraid of that.' Nicole thought, before she focused on maintaining her pose as best as she could.
But as the older, blue feline was doing her best to hold her composure, Annie suddenly leaned over and held her paws right next to Nicole's side, much to her confusion.
"Annie, what are you-" without warning, the older, purple fox began to tickle Nicole, prompting the older, blue feline to hold back her laughter as best as she could.
"Annie…stop it…you're going…to make…" was all Nicole could say, before she fell from the post, laughing out loud, while Annie gracefully jump off from her post and landed right next to the older, blue feline.
"This is certainly no laughing matter." Annie spoke with amusement.
One hour later…
Nicole didn't know how much long she can take anymore of this. First, her attempt to attain peace and tranquility was rudely interrupted by Annie's fuzzy tail. Then, the older, purple fox thought it would be interesting by tickling on the side and almost got herself injured in the process, just so she can wonder how long she can hold her composure.
But that's nothing compared to the few other "therapy sessions" that Annie was dishing out. First, the older, purple fox convinced Nicole to get a massage and the older, blue feline obliged to her request. Initially, Annie was able to give her some comfort with the massage; a few minutes later, however, the older, purple fox began to rub her back roughly and Nicole ended up suffering back pain as a result.
Next, Nicole, along with Annie, ended up in a sauna, where the older, purple fox claimed that the heat will sweat out all of the negative energies in her body. After thirty minutes in the sauna, however, the older, blue feline came out with a severe case of sunburn, much to Annie's embarrassment.
Recently, Nicole was convinced by Annie to listen to some soothing music, in an effort to help her relax. Initially, the older, blue feline was starting to relax herself by listening to the likes of Beethoven and Ottorino. But without warning, the older, purple fox suddenly switched to rock n roll music and it didn't help that Annie had the volume cranked up to maximum.'I don't know how much more I can take of this!' Nicole thought, still shaken from her recent therapy session. 'As far as I'm concerned, Annie is causing more harm than help for me.'
"Nicole, are you alright?" Annie cautiously asked the older, blue feline.
"I don't know, what do you think?" Nicole answered back with sarcasm to Annie, as the older, purple fox recoiled in shock.
"I'm sorry my therapy sessions didn't help you out." Annie apologized to the older, blue feline. "Normally for me, this would have solved the situation in a flash. But in your case, it seems to be a psychological issue, based on your reactions towards my methods."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" asked Nicole, wanting some specifics from Annie's claims, prompting the older, purple fox to take a deep breath, before offering an explanation to the curious older, blue feline.
"From what I've seen today, it appears that your anger might have been the result of something so traumatic, that just even thinking about it clouds your own judgment and actions, like you want to prove yourself at any cost without thinking of the consequences."
The moment Annie said those words; Nicole suddenly focused her attention on the older, purple fox, as she continued on with her explanation.
"If I had just the slightest clue as to what the origin of your anger is, perhaps it might make some of my sessions a bit easier on you."
Once Annie made her statement, Nicole took a deep breath, decided that this was the right time to give the older, purple fox an answer.
"I think I can help you out on that one."
"What is it?" asked Annie, arching an eyebrow in curiosity.
"You see, it all began when I was a child…" Nicole began.
Five minutes later…
"…And I've been this way ever since."
As soon as Nicole was done finishing her story, Annie looked at the older, purple fox with astonishment, as she was clearly stunned from what she just heard. Apparently, Miss Simian, one of the teachers from Elmore Junior High, has been putting Nicole down just for the sake of sheer amusement, mainly by calling her 'loser' throughout her life.
'If what Nicole says is true, then it would explain why her anger is getting the best of her.' Annie thought, rubbing her chin, before an idea came to mind.
"Perhaps I know a way of getting your anger under control. It won't completely remove the source, but at least I'll be able to alter it. However, it's up to you to decide if you want to try it out or not."
Nicole pondered for a moment, thinking of Annie's offer. The older, blue feline was still irked by the purple fox's treatments and the resulting pain that she went through. However, after looking at the serious look from Annie's face, Nicole decided to give it a shot, despite having reservations about her actions.
"Alright Annie, what do you have in mind?"
After listening to Annie's idea, Nicole agreed to go ahead with the treatment and before long; the older, blue feline found herself standing in an unused room, while Annie began to do some warm-ups, leaving Nicole uncertain as to what the therapist had in mind.
'Whatever it is, I really hope it's enough to keep my job.' Nicole thought, before the older, purple fox was done with her warm ups and faced the older, blue feline once more.
"Alright, I'm all set…" Annie began. "Now, are you sure you want to do this, Nicole?"
"At this point, I'm willing to try out anything." Nicole replied.
"Alright, that's all I needed to hear."
Once Annie said those words, the older, purple fox remained in her position, standing rather still and taking a deep breath. Before Nicole knew what happened, Annie was surrounded by a bright, green aura, surrounding the older, purple fox, as her now blank eyes shot wide open, before she quickly dashed right toward the startled blue feline.
"What are you-" was all Nicole could say, before Annie used her paws to poke her on the head, neck and the side of her body. Before long, the older, blue feline felt a strange sensation coming from all over her body, especially her head.
'I don't feel so good.' Nicole thought to herself, before she collapsed to the ground, while Annie reverted back to her normal self, looking at the older, blue feline with concern.
"I hope I did the right thing." Annie said to herself. "Now it's up to her."
Nicole opened her eyes wide open, getting herself up with a look of shock, as she gasped due to the unorthodox methods Annie just used now. But much to the older, blue feline's surprise, she found herself in a seemingly empty wasteland, as Nicole wasn't able to find Annie or the room she was in at all.
"Hello!" Nicole called out. "Is there anyone out there?"
All Nicole received where nothing but her words echoing right back at her, leaving the older, blue feline rather unnerved by this.
"I better get moving and look around." Nicole said to herself, as she wandered around the landscape, trying to figure out where she was to begin with.
'What did Annie do this time?' Nicole thought. 'Whatever it is, this place is really giving me the creeps.'
Nicole continued to wander around, unsure what to do. After what felt like an eternity, the older, blue feline stopped and heard what appeared to be someone crying, a short distance from where she was.
"Whoever you are, stay put and I'll be there in a second." Nicole called out, before she rushed towards the source. Upon her arrival, she stopped dead in her tracks and couldn't believe what she was looking at.
In front of her was a young, blue feline, wearing a pink bow on top of her head, wearing a white sweater with pink collar and cuffs, with the number one on it and a pink skirt. Judging from appearance, there was no doubt that Nicole was looking at herself when she was just a kid.
It was then that her younger self noticed Nicole's presence, startling her in the process.
"W-who are you?" asked a fearful Young Nicole. "Y-you're not g-going to h-hurt me, a-are you?"
"No sweetie, I won't hurt you at all." Nicole assured her younger self. "I'm just lost and I have no idea where I am. Anyway, why are you crying out here all alone?"
Despite hesitation from her part, Young Nicole took a deep breath and offered her older self an explanation.
"There's this mean, old teacher who keeps picking on me for no reason. Wherever I go, she would show up and call me a…"
"Let me guess, loser." Nicole guessed, much to the surprise of her younger self.
"How did you know?"
"…Let's just say I've had a similar experience." Nicole replied.
Young Nicole looked at her older self, a bit weirded out to hear this. For some reason, she couldn't help but smile, glad to find someone who understood the pain she was going through.
"Look sweetie, I'll tell you something very important…" Nicole began. "Just because that teacher of yours said that one word, doesn't mean it's true at all. If she keeps doing that again, then you must hold your head up high and face them head on."
"Do you really think that could work?"
Before Nicole could respond, she found herself cut off by an eerie cackling, leaving her younger self completely terrified.
"Oh no, she's here." Young Nicole fearfully informed her older self.
"Who exactly is-?"
The older, blue feline heard the eerie cackling once more, only now it has gotten louder and spookier than usual, getting increasingly closer to the two cats, before it stopped dead in its tracks, giving Nicole a full glimpse of whoever she is facing.
'You have got to be kidding me!'
In front of both Nicole and her younger self was none other than Miss Simian, or at least it was supposed to be. Somehow, this version of Miss Simian is nothing more than a floating, black apparition, her face being more skull-like, with fiery sunken eyes and hands with sharp claws. The Apparition looked down at her prey and smiled sadistically at them.
"Nice friend, loser!" the Apparition shouted, its voice sending chills down their spines.
Unwilling to stick around much longer, Nicole and her younger self ran away from it with all of their might, as the Apparition viciously chased them with joy, hounding them from one corner after another, all the while trying to grab them.
'This is so not my day right now!' a panicked Nicole thought. 'What am I going to do to get myself out of this one?!'
In the midst of her own thoughts, Nicole noticed that her younger self was no longer by her side. Before long, she spotted her younger self a few feet away, just as the Apparition was slowly approaching her prey.
"Nice trip, loser!" the Apparition harshly informed Young Nicole.
At that moment, Nicole, unnerved by the Apparition's words, made a mad dash right towards the ghoulish fiend, before leaping right towards it, planting her foot in its face, as she sent the monster to the ground.
"Don't you dare say that in my presence!" Nicole angrily shouted, while her younger self looked on, astonished with her older self's actions.
"Sweetie, are you alright?" Nicole asked, as she turned and approached her younger self with concern.
Before the older, blue feline made her way to Young Nicole, the Apparition suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Nicole with its hand, much to the shock of her younger self.
"How dare you interrupt me!" the Apparition angrily snarled at Nicole, as the older, blue feline struggled to free herself from its grasp.
Young Nicole, meanwhile, could only look on with horror, uncertain what to do or how to help her older self out. Then, something hit her.
'You must hold your head up high and face them head on.'
The moment Young Nicole heard those words from her older self, a look of determination soon formed on her face and soon enough, she marched right up to the Apparition, still menacingly glaring at Nicole.
"Put her right down this instant!"
The moment Young Nicole shouted, the Apparition focused its attention right at her, much to her shock. But the shock was soon replaced by amusement, as the Apparition laugh its head off.
"Nice try, loser! You got to do better than that!"
Expecting Young Nicole to look down on the ground in disappointment as always, she instead continued to glare at the Apparition, unimpressed by its response, much to its shock and irritation.
"Don't just stand there looking at me like that! Get out of my sight this instant loser!"
Young Nicole continued to glare right back at the Apparition, startled that she has remained where she standing, ignoring its demand and insult.
"Stop looking at me! Go away right now loser!"
As the Apparition continued to beg and insult the young, blue feline, Nicole noticed something odd was happening to it: glowing cracks were forming all around the ghoulish fiend, increasing with each failed insult as the Apparition vainly tried to put her younger self down. By now, it looked like it was in a completely weakened state.
"Just…go…away…you…you…" was the last thing that the Apparition said, before it slowly crumbled into pieces, allowing Nicole to free herself from it grasp, landing safely right next to her younger self, just as the Apparition disappeared into nothingness.
"What you did back there was very amazing." Nicole praised her younger self. "Thanks for saving me back there!"
"It was nothing…" Young Nicole insisted, rubbing her head sheepishly. "Besides, I wanted to thank you for standing up to myself."
The two felines couldn't help but look at each other and smile, glad that the other was fine and well. Without any further hesitation, they both proceeded to hug one another, just as a glowing light slowly enveloped them.
Nicole woke up and took a quick look of her surroundings, surprised to find herself back in the same room she was in, before looking back at a concerned Annie.
"Nicole…" Annie began. "How do you feel right now?"
Nicole didn't answer right away, as she rubbed her sore head, before she realized that she felt light and energetic all of a sudden, as if some heavy burden has been released from her body.
"I feel…fine." the older, blue feline responded. "Actually, I feel a lot better now. I don't know what you did, but whatever it is, I suddenly feel less stressed. Thank you so much for the help Annie."
With that, Nicole gave the older, purple fox one big, bone crushing hug. Annie for her part ignored the pain all over her body and smiled, glad that she was able to help the older, blue feline with her problem.
After saying her farewell to Annie, Nicole happily exited the shop, feeling like a new person for the very first time. But as she made her way to her car, the older, blue feline stopped dead in her tracks, as she spotted a certain old baboon heading right at her, causing Nicole to lose her footing and trip.
"Nice trip, loser." Miss Simian insulted the older, blue feline.
But before Miss Simian continued on with her walk, Nicole, having brushed herself off, turned to the cantankerous teacher and what she said next was not what Miss Simian was expecting at all.
"Thanks for the compliment, Miss Simian." Nicole jokingly said.
With that, Nicole went inside her vehicle and happily drove off; leaving the old baboon both dumbfounded and speechless by the older, blue feline's action.
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 45-The Betrayal
When Brian and the Watterson siblings discovered that Rhonda holds a grudge towards Mike, the four tries to figure out why and tries to get them to reconcile.
Tidbits
-First time that Brian had a minor role in this one, but I wanted to at least include him in this chapter.
-The direction that I have in mind for this chapter wasn't what I expected, but it turned out good nevertheless.
-I wanted to thank Sal for his suggestion for The Calm.
I hope everyone enjoyed this and I'll be seeing ya next chapter!