The Newcomer
An Amazing World of Gumball Story
By NeoNimbus
Chapter 64-The Honesty
Today turned out to be another beautiful day for Clayton, as the birds were singing, the sun was shining its beautiful ray and wind was hitting his face as gently as it could. As far as the clay was concerned, everything was normal for a change and he couldn't have been any happier about it.
'Now this is more like it!' Clayton happily thought.
But all of a sudden, the entire sky was covered with grey clouds and the wind began to pick up with increasing speed, alarming the young clay. Before he knew what happened next, a tornado began to form, as it slowly descended towards Clayton, much to his horror.
"I need to get out of here!" he exclaimed with horror, as Clayton began to hop like mad.
Undaunted by this, the tornado continued to make its way to the frightened clay, picking up several random objects along the way and hurling them right towards Clayton, ranging from pieces of fence, cars and even cows. Fortunately for him, one of the objects that it threw happened to be a skateboard, as hopped onto it just in the nick of time.
"Hasta la vista, sucker!" Clayton taunted as he began riding on it.
But his joy was short-lived, however, as the tornado picked up more speed, causing the skateboard that Clayton was on to lift, sending him spinning around rapidly. After what must have been like an eternity, the tornado suddenly disappeared and before the young clay knew what happened next, he realized too late that he was aiming towards Elmore Junior High and could do nothing but close his eyes, bracing for the impact.
"…And that, Miss Simian, is why I came late to your class."
Once Clayton was done telling his latest excuse to his teacher, Miss Simian, along with the rest of her students, could only stare at the young clay with doubt and skepticism on their face. Contrary to his story, it had been sunny this morning as far as they were concerned and there were no reports of a tornado. It didn't help that the injuries Clayton received didn't match up with his claim, leaving Lucy no doubt that he obviously just tripped and exaggerated it. Still, she didn't want to waste her time with this; right now, she had a class to teach and she wanted to get it over with.
"Clayton, just take a seat."
"Thank you so much." said the young clay, as he happily hopped his way to his desk, somewhat proud of his action.
As Miss Simian began to go on with class, a certain purple fox continued to stare at Clayton, clearly unimpressed.
'Geez Louise! Doesn't Clayton realize that his lies will only get him into more trouble?!'
The afternoon had finally arrived, as everyone went to the cafeteria. Everyone sat at their usual spots, including Brian, Mike and the Watterson brothers. The purple fox, in particular, kept a close eye on Clayton, who was happily eating his meal at his own table, remaining unimpressed by his actions. He has been in Elmore for quite some time and he still couldn't stand Clayton's lies, each getting ridiculous then the next.
During PE, the young clay feigned sickness by making up some nonsensical disease that clearly doesn't exist, using it as a means to excuse him from class. Then, Clayton thought that it was wise to mix in one too many chemicals and claimed he found it like that shortly after creating the biggest explosion ever. Finally, in the cafeteria, he made some sob story of why he didn't have his lunch money, but that was merely just to get a free meal.
Needless to say, it was irking Brian to no end and he was sick of it.
'Sooner or later, Clayton's going to be in hot water if he keeps this up!' Brian thought. At this point, both Mike and the Watterson siblings noticed his demeanor, prompting a certain blue feline to speak up.
"Brian, are you alright?" Gumball asked his friend, snapping Brian back to reality.
"I'm fine Gumball." the purple fox assured the blue feline. "It's just that, what's up with Clayton and his habit of lying?"
"I think he believes that fiction is more interesting than fact." Mike noted. "Though that disease one was probably the best one I've seen so far." Mike then began to imitate Clayton. "'I'm sorry coach, but I play today as I've got Salacamalism.' Where does he get this stuff?"
"Believe me Mike, that's just the tip of the iceberg…" Darwin began to explain. "Clayton always had a knack with coming up with such outrageous stories to get himself out of any situation."
"Not to mention that it can be rather infectious as well." Gumball recalled. "I can't believe Darwin and I tried to even befriend him."
"How bad was it?" asked Brian, as he arched an eyebrow in curiosity.
In response the Watterson brothers explained to the purple fox, along with the maroon badger, of the event that occurred with him and how his lies ended up becoming outrageous, up until a fellow student by the name of Razor showed up. The whole incident was eventually cleared up, though. As soon as the duo was done with their stories, Brian and Mike looked at them with an incredulous look.
"Wow, it was that bad." Brian remarked.
"You guys just can't have a normal life, can you?" Mike asked the Watterson brothers.
"Well, what can you do, that's Clayton." Gumball responded flatly.
"Besides, it's not like we can stop his lying just like that." Darwin stated.
"Maybe we can after all." a certain pink bunny spoke, causing the boys to turn their attention to Anais.
"You've been listening to our conversation the whole time, didn't you?" Mike asked nonchalantly.
"Yes…yes I did." Anais simply replied. "But seriously, I think I have the solution to Clayton's excessive lies."
"You do?" the boys asked, before a skeptical Brian spoke up.
"Exactly how do you plan on doing that?"
"By using this!" Anais then pulled out what appeared to be a soda can, much to the four's disappointment.
"That's it?! You're going to stop Clayton from lying with a soda can?!" Gumball spoke in disbelief, as it was the last thing he ever expected from his sister.
"I'm going to agree with Gumball on this one, Anais…" Darwin began. "This is not what I was hoping for."
"A can of soda? We're going to change the biggest liar to ever grace the earth...with a can of soda?" Mike asked, clearly annoyed. "What are we supposed to do? Quench his thirst?"
"Guys, calm down for just a second." Anais insisted, prompting the boys to hear her out. "It's not the can itself, it's what inside. I managed to create a potion that would cause anyone to tell the truth AND nothing but the truth. It's guaranteed to end Clayton's lying streak once and for all."
"…What did you do to it...?" Mike asked the child prodigy as he took a couple steps back "…Are you sure it's going to work?" Mike still had his doubts on whether or not it was even safe for him to drink.
"Look, if it'll make you feel better, how about one of you give it to him and test it out after he drinks it?" Anais suggested to the boys.
"You know, that's a good idea." Brian replied. "In fact, let me take it to Clayton myself."
Nodding her head in agreement, Anais gave the soda can to the purple fox, as he got out of his seat and made his way to the young clay at the nearest table, still happily eating his meal.
"Clayton, how are you today?" asked Brian, prompting the young clay to turn around and see the purple fox standing right behind him.
"I'm doing pretty good so far. Anyway, what brings you over here?"
"I just dropped by to say hi." the purple fox replied, before revealing a soda can in front of Clayton. "That and I thought that you could use a drink."
The young clay pondered for a moment, thinking of Brian's offer. He didn't feel that thirsty, but he did feel he could use one to get rid of the after taste; at least then, his breath could smell as good as he was.
"Sure, I could use something to drink."
Satisfied by this, Brian handed Clayton the soda can, as the young clay quickly drank the entire concoction with one gulp. Soon, Clayton began to felt an unusual tingling sensation going all over his body, causing him to shiver, before it eventually ceased, much to his confusion.
"That was weird." Clayton commented. "And I don't mean 'funny weird'. Just weird."
'Here goes nothing.' Brian thought, before he started to talk to the young clay, as his friends from their table watched with eagerness. "So Clayton, how did you arrive late to class?"
"Oh, I just tripped on the way out of my house. Also, a dog got out of someone's yard and started chasing after me." the moment Clayton said those words; he was baffled what he just said. "Strange, that doesn't sound like me."
'Gee, I wonder why…' Brian couldn't help but chuckle, before turning his attention to Clayton. "Don't worry too much about it. I'm sure you'll be fine in no time."
With that, the purple fox made his way back to the table, noticing the look of amazement on both Mike and the Watterson siblings' faces.
"If the obituaries say anything about Clayton, we had nothing to do with it." said Mike, still not sure that was safe to drink. "Though at least he can pass on telling the truth.
"No kidding…" Gumball began. "Clayton actually said something genuine for a change."
"At least now he won't be lying on a daily basis." Darwin commented.
"I knew it was going to work, but I didn't expect it to be so soon." Anais admitted.
As the four continued on from what they had witnessed, Brian, meanwhile, couldn't help but feel proud of what he had done.
'There's no way this is going to end badly this time around!'
For the last few days at Elmore Junior High, Clayton was telling nothing but the honest truth every time he opened his mouth, leaving both students and teachers alike confused by his new behavior. On one occasion, he admitted to Miss Simian that he was unable to finish homework on time due to watching a new show on TV. Then, he ended up complimenting Teri's skills on the xylophone, leaving her quite speechless. Recently, when he was sent to Principal Brown's office for coming late to class, Clayton outright admitted that he slept late and ran to school on foot when the school bus left without him; the young clay's admission shocked the furry slug so much, he simply let him go with a warning, telling the young clay not to be late ever again.
Today was no different, as Brian, Mike and the Watterson siblings made their way to the young clay's locker, as he was putting his stuff away.
"Clayton, how are you feeling?" asked Brian.
"I'm doing pretty good, Brian. Thanks for asking."
"That's good to know. I see you've been staying out of trouble." Darwin pointed out, as Clayton realized what the two-legged fish meant by that.
"Hard to believe that it's only been five days." Anais commented.
"I have to admit, it does felt strange not getting into trouble." the young clay then looked down with disappointment, much to Gumball's curiosity.
"So why are you so down about it?"
"I don't know Gumball, a part of me should be happy about it, but the other part disagrees with me." Clayton admitted. "That or I'm just talking nonsense."
"I'm sure you'll get used to it." Darwin assured the young clay.
"Besides, be glad that you're telling the truth for a change." Mike stated. "Though there's another downside to honesty."
Just then, Molly showed up in the hallway, wearing a green dress, as she turned her attention to Clayton, with the five looking on with curiosity.
"Clayton, I need to ask you a favor…" the long neck began."Does this dress make me look fat?"
"Nope, you just have a really wide body. The dress looks fine though." Clayton's answer shocked not only Molly, but Brian and his friends as well. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to use the bathroom and not wash my hands."
The young clay then happily hopped his way to his destination, while a shocked and stunned Molly walked away, leaving only the five in the hallway, stunned by what had they have witnessed.
"Now see, that's what I meant." Mike finally said once Clayton was out of view, breaking the awkward silence.
"What do you mean?" Brian asked his friend.
"Honesty can be used to help as much as it can to hurt. We just saw that fact displayed in all its gruesome glory." Everyone was beginning to regret giving Clayton the soda.
"Alright then, so what do we do now?" Darwin stated the obvious.
"It's quite simple, Darwin…" Anais began. "I'll try to create a concoction to give Clayton back his ability to lie, but it might take a few hours. Until then, you four need to keep an eye out for Clayton and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble along the way."
"Don't worry Anais, we're on it." Brian assured the child prodigy.
"Hold on for just a moment! That's easier said than done, Anais. How are we supposed to shut him up without arousing suspicion?" Gumball pointed out.
"We'll just have to improvise, Gumball." Mike replied. "As long as we find a way to shut Clayton up, everything will be fine."
'I sure hope that's the case.' Brian thought, before everyone went their separate ways, praying that Anais can come up with a cure on time.
Normally for Brian and his friends, they would be focusing their attention on Miss Simian. Instead, they kept a close eye on Clayton, concerned that his newfound honesty would end up getting him into trouble and that was the last thing they wanted to happen to the young clay.
'So far, Clayton hasn't said a single thing.' Brian thought, as he continued to watch his every move, before the elderly baboon eventually spoke up.
"Alright class, does anyone have anything to say before I move on to the next lesson?"
As if by instinct, Clayton raised his arms, much to the boys' horror, as Miss Simian turned her attention to the young clay.
"Is there anything you want to say?"
"Actually, I do, Miss Simian…" Clayton began. "Did you know that I would always pick my nose whenever I-"
Before the young clay could finish his words, he found himself being splattered by a barrage of spitballs from both sides, prompting an annoyed Clayton, as well as the rest of the class, to turn his attention to both Gumball and Darwin, as they could only smile sheepishly.
"We were, um, trying to get some flies swarming around your head. Yeah, that's what we're doing."
"That's right, Gumball. A bunch of flies."
"Alright then." Clayton then picked up where he left off. "Anyway, I have to be honest with everyone in this room. You see, I honestly think that you are the worst-"
Suddenly, the young clay felt something hitting him hard on the head; irritated by this, Clayton turned around and saw Brian whistling, his eyes darting back and forth for some odd reason.
'This is becoming really annoying now!' Clayton thought, before speaking once more. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, did I ever mention that Tobias is a complete-"
But Clayton didn't get too far with his words, as a bar of soap was thrown into his mouth, gagging him in the process, as he hurriedly hopped out of his seat and into the hallway, just as Miss Simian turned her attention to Mike, much to her curiosity.
"Care to explain why you throw a bar of soap into his mouth, Mike?"
"Actually, I do…" the maroon badger began."Clayton was about to swear, so I threw the bar of soap into his mouth to prevent him from saying it."
"…I guess that makes sense then." the cantankerous teacher accepted Mike's answer. "But next time, don't do something like that ever again."
With that, Miss Simian resumed teaching, while Brian, Mike and the Watterson brothers looked at one another, certain that their day had only just begun.
As if preventing Clayton from opening his mouth and insulting others was bad enough, there was the occasional unnecessary talk of him doing some of the most disturbing things in his past time, from cleaning his ears with only his finger to keeping the toilet up, much to their disgust.
During PE, Clayton ended up insulting Masami by calling her a stuck up, spoiled brat, causing the cloud to lose her cool, before Gumball, Darwin, Brian and Mike intervened, barely calming her before she caused too much destruction in the school gym. In the music classroom, the boys had to clamp his mouth shut when he openly complained to Mr. Small about his lack of talents, prompting the four to make up an excuse to prevent the young clay from getting into further trouble. Recently, Clayton began to casually talk about how he doesn't brush his teeth often, as well as scratch in unmentionable places, among other disturbing facts, as Brian, Mike and the Watterson brothers tried to ignore it as best as they could.
Now they found themselves sitting right next to the young clay at his usual spot in the cafeteria, while everyone was looking at them, or rather Clayton, weary and bothered by what he would say next, while the young clay was happily chowing down on his meal, blissfully unaware of what was happening around him.
"What's taking Anais so long?" Gumball began to complain. "I don't know how much more I can take."
"Tell me about it, Gumball…" Mike began, agreeing with the blue feline. "Shutting him up was harder than I imagined."
"Not to mention that we have to hear some of his unmentionables." Darwin added, as he shivered in disgust.
"As soon as Anais shows up, everything will be alright." said Brian, trying his best to assure his friends. "I swear, this can't possibly get any worse than it already has."
All of a sudden, the four, along with Clayton, heard some loud stomping noises heading towards their direction, prompting them to turn around and see Tina staring right at them, much to their dismay.
"Hello boys, how's your day?" asked the t-rex.
Before Brian, Mike and the Watterson brothers could say anything; Clayton spoke up, much to their horror.
"We're actually doing good, but the same can't be said for you."
"What do you mean by that?" Tina demanded, feeling insulted by the young clay's words.
Clayton was about to open his mouth when he noticed that Brian and his friends were preparing to tackle him, much to his annoyance.
"You see Tina…" the young clay began, as he hopped from one spot after another, despite the four's best effort."You're fat, rude and you have a face only a mother could ever love. Also, you're so ugly, even the mole men want nothing to do with you!"
At this point, Brian, Mike and the Watterson brothers pinned him down before he could make further insults.
"Just shut up already!" the maroon badger shouted, before he pulled out a rag and shoved it in to Clayton's mouth.
But it was too late by then. Everyone in the cafeteria was shocked that Clayton, of all people, would dare to say such harmful comments to Tina, the toughest person in school. The carnivore herself was utterly shocked and for a while, was left speechless by this. But soon, the shock on Tina's face was replaced by sheer anger, as she snorted with tremendous fury, growling louder than usual and baring her sharp fangs at the terrified clay. How dare he would say something like that to her. There was no way she was going to let this one slide.
"Oh man, Clayton's a goner for sure!" Gumball stated the obvious.
"Not unless we can do something." said Brian, before he grabbed Clayton's arm. "C'mon Clayton, this way!"
With those words spoken, the five made a run for it, with Tina not far behind, determined to get rid of the young clay for his insolence.
Creating the antidote took much longer than she had imagined, but after being certain that the antidote was in good condition, Anais made her way to the school hallway, carrying the antidote in a soda can, intending to meet up with the boys at the school cafeteria.
'I really need to apologize to them for the delay.' the child prodigy thought, before she spotted five certain individuals heading towards her.
"Guys, what's going-" before Anais can finish her sentence, Darwin grabbed her paw, taking her with them. Fortunately for the child prodigy, she didn't let go of the antidote.
"Guys, what has gotten into you?!" Anais shouted, confused by their behavior.
"Long story short, Clayton insulted Tina and now she plans to kill him!" Darwin quickly replied.
Just then, the six heard a ferocious loud roar, prompting Anais to turn around and see the carnivore right behind them.
"Come back here and hand over that clay, so I can squash him to a pulp!" Tina demanded.
"How about no!" Mike bluntly responded, before he and his friends continued to run with all of their might, speeding around every corner, even going through one floor after another; after what felt like forever, the six ended up in a dead end, much to their displeasure.
"You cannot be serious!" Gumball whined. "Why do these things happen to us?!"
As if to answer his question, Tina soon caught up with them, and she made her presence known to them, with the six looking on with horror.
"You guys have nowhere to run now." the carnivore spoke rather darkly. "Your friend is going to pay the ultimate price for what he said. But before I go through with my punishment, is there anything you guys have to say?"
Brian and his friends looked at one another, not knowing how to answer the t-rex's question. But then, Anais suddenly dragged Clayton with her, all the while holding the antidote…wait a minute! Of course! That's how they'll get out of their dilemma!
"Actually, we do." the child prodigy replied, as she removed the rag from the young clay's mouth. "Clayton just needs a drink to quench his thirst, just so he can clear his throat and explain his unusual nature."
"Actually, I'm not-" was all Clayton could say, before the child prodigy forced the antidote into his mouth, as Clayton had no choice but to drink the entire concoction. Once that was over, the young clay felt his entire body racked with the same tingling sensation, causing him to shiver all over the place, before eventually ceasing.
"Wow, it's the same weird feeling I got again. But this time, it actually felt right." Clayton muttered.
"Enough of this already!" Tina suddenly spoke, focusing her attention to the young clay. "Tell me what it is so I can squash you on the spot."
Clayton felt his head sweating tremendously, as the young clay tried to come up with a quick solution to defuse the situation he found himself in. Eventually, an idea came to mind, prompting the young clay to smile and do what he always does best.
"Actually, I have an answer to that, Tina…" Clayton began. "You see, what I said back there…they were part of an upcoming play I have been practicing. Yeah, that's right. A play called 'The Lonesome Hearts'. What you thought were insults actually came from a line I was rehearsing and I accidentally used them to offend you."
Tina looked on, arching her eyebrow, while Brian and his friends did the same thing, uncertain whether this last-minute action was enough to get them out of this situation. Eventually, the carnivore spoke up, ready to give the young clay her answer.
"Alright Clayton, I guess it makes sense, one way or another. You're free to go now, but next time that happens, you won't be so lucky."
With that, the carnivore turned around and walked away from them, disappearing from around the corner, as the five sighed with relief now that a crisis had been averted.
"That was a close one." Gumball muttered.
"I thought for sure we were goners." Darwin commented.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm glad Clayton's lie saved the day." Brian noted.
"I guess this shows that even though lying can get one in a messy situation, it can also help them get out of one as well." Mike stated.
"For once, I agree with that statement." said Anais.
"Sorry to butt in, but what the flip is going on around here?" a confused Clayton asked the five.
Brian, Mike and the Watterson siblings looked at one another, hoping that one of them could give the young clay a good answer. Eventually, Brian finally spoke, having come up with something.
"Don't worry too much about it. Everything's fine, that's all."
Next time on The Newcomer
Chapter 65-The Invitation
Brian is shocked that Masami is hosting a party in her mansion and he is the only one not invited, making him determined to find out what the cloud is up to.
Tidbits
-It's been a long while, but I finally got to do a chapter featuring Clayton. It was a bit difficult, but it was worth it.
-I wanted to thank Sal for his help on this chapter as well.
I hope everyone enjoyed reading The Honesty and I'll see ya next chapter!