The signature
Gumball and Darwin went to the "Alpha Studios". They called Lâne by telephone but his secretary replied.
"See you at six o'clock!" said the secretary.
They arrived on time. The "Alpha studios" building looked huge outside.
"You arrived on time!" said an anthropomorphic doe outside the building, she had to be the same person at telephone, she had the same voice. She looked like she was waiting for the two kids.
"Who are you?" asked Darwin.
"I'm Jenny Brocket, James's secretary! You must be Gumball and Darwin Watterson right?"
They nodded.
"Nice to meet you!" said the doe.
"Nice to meet you too!" said the two kids.
"Please come inside!"
Inside, the studio had a warm and welcoming look. Many people were running around carrying huge piles of papers. Most of the others were sitting on chairs intent to draw something on sheets of papers.
"What are they?" asked Darwin.
"They are our draftsmen, they draw brand new characters for the newest TV commercials!" answered Jenny.
They were before an elevator.
"Let's go upstairs! James can't wait to see you!"
Inside the elevator, Jenny pushed the number 3 button. The elevator's doors closed and a catchy music started to play.
"Darwin!" said the blue cat making his brother hold his desire to dance.
When they reached the third floor, they arrived in front of a closed door. The words: "Principal James Jeremiah Lâne" were written on.
Jenny knocked at the door.
"Yes, come here please!" said a voice from the other side.
Jenny opened the door and ushered the two boys.
"They are here sir!" said closing the door and leaving the two boys alone.
Lâne's office was surrounded by shelfs. Each shelf was plenty of little golden statues. They all were prizes. Darwin counted fourteen of them before the donkey started to talk.
"Oh, the Wattersons. I'm happy to see that you have accepted my invitation!"
"Are all these prizes yours?" asked Darwin.
"Yes, I won all these awards thanks to my genius!" answered James pleased about that.
"So? Do you want to share your work with me? You won't regret!"
"How?" asked Gumball.
"It's simple. All you have to do is to sign here!" said James showing a sheet of paper.
The sheet of paper was full of many legal terms. Gumball read the paper many times but he didn't understand a thing, also Darwin.
"What's the meaning of this piece of paper?" asked the blue cat.
"It's simple…." said James.
"…..as you sign that contract I'll become your manager and publisher. I'll share 50% of the profits with you and, also, 50% of your copyright!"
"Copyright?" said Gumball, it was an all-new word to him.
"It means that I'll be able to make changes in your comics both graphically and in terms of script if it is necessary!"
"What do you think Darwin?" said Gumball.
"I don't know, it sounds fair to me!"
Unlike Darwin, Gumball was unsure.
"You said that our comic book will sell millions!"
"That's right!"
"But how can you guarantee that?"
"Your skepticism is justifiable!" answered James rising from his chair.
"Come with me!"
They followed the donkey down to the second floor.
"This is our printing room!" said James.
There were multiple printing machines at work.
"We also publish magazines, illustrated books and comic books!"
James took a comic book from a desk.
"This is your comic book right?" said showing the first issue of "The greatest adventures of Billy Bunny #1".
"Yes!" said the blue cat.
"As you can see your comic book in enjoyable but it has a big flaw: the graphic!"
"Well, I'm not so skilled in drawings!" said Gumball.
"With the help of my draftsmen I can fix this flaw…Jack!"
A brawny anthropomorphic dog arrived.
"Show to these kids our last work!"
The dog opened a drawer and came back with a comic book.
It was the first issue of "The greatest adventures of Billy Bunny" but it was different. The graphic looked much better. The drawings were perfect in every cartoon. It was also beautifully colored, making the comic book a pleasure for the eyes.
"My….this is great!" said Darwin shocked.
"Yup, it's beautifully illustrated!" agreed Gumball.
"See. With the graphic fixed, your comic book will sell millions of copies and, trust me, people love comics with great graphics!" said James.
Gumball closed the comic book.
"Where should I sign?" asked.
"Here!"
James took a folder with the contract and a pen linked above.
Darwin signed, also Gumball.
"Well, your career has just begun!" said James grinning.