"Silence in my classroom!"
Ms. Simian's voice rose above the cacophonous chatter of teenagers; in the second its intonation heightened with animosity, that chatter fell silent as snow. The kids settled in, she urged herself off her chair, taking her post behind her wooden podium positioned in the center of the classroom. God, I hate kids, was all she could think as she cracked her frown into a perfectly neutral expression. She surveyed the room as she spoke.
"You're getting your tests back today. Pick them up by my desk before you leave for second period. You know the drill, they're in alphabetical order." Pausing, she folded her arms as she narrowed her eyes. "Tomorrow, we'll start our new unit on Wuthering Heights. Class dismissed."
Idly chatting with Penny, Gumball finished zipping his work in his backpack. He was very much not looking forward to getting his test results. The entire unit on 1984 had been a drag; Anais's help had been the only reason he had been finishing his homework. He ultimately decided not to think about it, shoving his expecting disappointment down.
"No she was not hitting on me!" Penny said in a sharp whisper, almost giggling. Gumball stood by her desk, watching as she, very neatly, arranged her binders. Around them, the sound of shuffling feet and laughter passed them by as students grabbed their tests before exiting the building.
"Are you sureeeee?" He leaned into her, eliciting a laugh. "You know I think Masami leans both ways…"
"Shh!" Penny now rose to him, the pair joined together as they began to follow their classmates to Ms. Simian's desk. Leafing through the stack of tests, Penny found theirs, taking them and tucking them into her binder.
"Do not make me look right now," Gumball groaned as they turned to leave the room. Before they could make it to the door, Ms. Simian looked up from her computer, calling after Gumball as he walked.
"Watterson. You need to stay for a minute." Shit. Gumball turned his head to Penny as she shrugged.
"Good luck", Penny winced as she walked out of the room, leaving just Gumball and a handful of stragglers trapped in Ms. Simian's grasp. He shouldered off his backpack, setting it down at the foot of her desk as he rested his arms on the desk's surface.
"What's up?" He felt his stomach begin to knot as he spoke those words, his thumb now fidgeting in his palm.
"Take out your chapter reports," Ms. Simian simply stated, looking back at her computer and clicking her way through her files. Slightly stumbling, Gumball did so, unzipping his backpack and wading through his papers. His stomach continued to knot, the loops tightening as he found his homework, placing it on the desk.
"Do you have your test with you?" She said, now turning her chair to face him. Ms. Simian leaned forward, her jaw set, barely hiding the resentment beneath.
"Oh, no," Gumball inched back as he felt himself stop over his words. "Penny has mine."
A small, exasperated grunt escaped Ms. Simian's mouth as she turned back again to face her computer. Gumball sat there, feeling that sharpness grow in his gut as she pulled up his test results on her monitor.
"You need to explain to me exactly how it's possible for you to be getting As on your written chapter reports while failing your unit test." Her face almost scowling, Ms. Simian glowered at Gumball as she stared at him dead in his eyes. She was now facing him again, leaning forward, her shoulders set. His dumb look, in return, incited a further explanation. "The quality here does not match. Do you think I'm stupid?"
Gumball thought quickly, but for better or worse, his mouth thought quicker. "I swear, it's my work. Ms. Simian, on my soul, I've read the book."
Ms. Simian appeared to think for a second, gears turning in her head, before she dropped her scowl. She rested her face in a neutral demeanor. "I see. If that's true, then make it up with your essay. You're free to go."
An almost indescribable wave of relief crashed over Gumball. He felt utterly unknotted as he nodded goodbye, walking out the door.
In her classroom, now alone, Ms. Simian's frown returned. You're lucky I have no proof, Watterson.
"JESUS DUDE, I thought I was FUCKED. Ohhh my god," Gumball said, his face in his arms as he recounted the morning to Darwin. The lunch bell had rung minutes prior, and with Penny leaving school early, Darwin for the first time in a month had Gumball to himself at lunch.
"You know I don't say that shit but, Ms. Simian's lowkey a bitch." Darwin leaned back on the podium. Taking a seat next to his brother, he got his food out of his backpack. Gumball did the same, unwrapping his apple from a napkin.
They were sitting at their old spot; the edge of the eastern pavilion of Elmore High's cafeteria. Slightly away from the crowd, it had been left unoccupied most days. Gumball now ate lunch with Penny most of the time. Darwin, in turn, either hung out with Joe and his friends or with Carrie.
Gumball shifted, his head now lifted out of his arms. "Dude fuck that class, seriously."
"Highkey bruh, yea," Darwin said as he sighed. "I'm so glad we're graduating bruh. Ion wanna deal with this bullshit."
Gumball laughed. "Yea, hey by the way, whatchu think about me applying to UCLA?"
Darwin raised his eyebrows, sharply turning his head to face Gumball. "UCLA? I thought you were gonna jus' go to community college, transfer out?"
Gumball paused as he took a bite out of his apple. "Mmmm, yea I thought about it, but I have the grades for UCLA, I honestly might…"
Shrugging, Darwin put his hands in his pockets. "Well shit, I'm still goin to Elmore Community College. I can't wait bro, I needa get started on being an Ecologist."
"You wanna transfer to UCLA or what?" Gumball asked.
"Ion know yet," Darwin replied. "UCSB, UCLA, anywhere that isn't this bum ass high school." He thought for a second before his face turned inquisitive, now pointed with curiosity. "Hey, why you changin' your plans now anyways?"
"Whatchu mean?" Gumball rested his head on his arm, scooching forward.
"I mean why are you thinkin' bout UCLA now of all times?" Darwin leaned in very slightly, his eyes cast in suspicion. As Gumball paused to answer, however, a figure approaching them caught Darwin's eye.
"Ay shit! Is that who I think it is?" Darwin laughed, standing up and walking over to greet him. "Joe!"
"Ayy wassup brotha!" Short, pale, and blonde, Joe looked physically dwarfed by Darwin's tall and dark frame. They caught eachother in a handshake, pulling eachother in for greeting. Most of the space around them was empty, save for a handful of students walking through the eastern pavilion. By them, the pavilion's structure cast its shadow on the ground .
"Bro I missed you! Where you been since last week?" Darwin asked as Gumball came up beside him.
"I was outta town all last week man, I'm sorry," Joe smiled. "Bruh, don't tell me you weren't with Carrie when I was gone though." He then turned to Gumball, glinting with mockery. "You have no excuse, fuckin whipped!"
Gumball frowned. "Whatchu talkin' about?"
"You don't even fuckin see me anymore man, whenever I'm here, it's only Darwin comin up, you're off doin shit with your girlfriend." Joe shifted his weight on his foot. "But nah, whatever, who cares! I need a favor from you two."
Gumball and Darwin looked at eachother, then back at Joe. "What's up?" Gumball asked.
"You know I'm throwing Saturday, right? You two're going?"
Darwin paused. Joe may have been his friend, but he didn't particularly feel like going that night; Gumball was just gonna be all up with Penny anyways-
"Well yea," Gumball replied. So much for that, Darwin thought. Slightly annoyed, he nodded along.
"Okay cool cause I need alc for it and, you know my cousin usually gets us that shit but he can't this time," Joe reached up, putting his hand on Darwin's shoulder. "Darwin, bro, I need you to get me some with a fake please. You look old as fuck, PLEASE bro."
Darwin breathed in, his tone remorseful. "Bro, that's a big ask man I can't do that to my record man.."
"Bro I will give you the money, I will print you the fake today, please bruh." Joe clasped his hands together, making a praying motion as he looked up at Darwin.
Conflicted, Darwin took a second to think. He would be risking a lot… no, he couldn't do that. He didn't think he would pull it off anyways; his demeanor would give him away. And yet… he thought of Carrie, and of not bitching out, and he thought of what his kids would think of him not doing anything stupid and funny when he was a teenager. And with that, Darwin said, "Alright fuck it man I'm in."
Gumball, in sheer shock, swiveled his head to look at Darwin. "Dude what?"
Joe's smile was exuberant. "Bro yessir! I fuckin knew I could count on you, stop by my place after school I'll print that shit out today." He pulled Darwin in, slapping him on the back. "And I'll give you the money and a list too like I said, alright? Pull through!" With that, Joe walked off as the school bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.
Still dumbfounded, Gumball stared at Darwin. "Wow. I did not expect that I am not gonna lie."
Darwin turned to face Gumball as they started walking to class. "I don't know man, what the fuck am I gonna tell my kids if I have no dad lore?"
Gumball nodded. "Yea, good point. But you're not doing that shit alone."
Smiling, Darwin swung his backpack on his shoulders. They walked through the outdoor halls, passing classrooms and bustling students. "Getaway driver?"
"You know it," Gumball said, dapping his brother up as they reached their fifth period class.
In their meticulous planning, Gumball and Darwin had decided to drive quite far from Elmore for their acquisition of alcohol. Given that Larry Needlemeyer was seemingly omnipresent at basically every store in the city, and the risk of him or someone else recognizing them was too great to chance, that decision could be considered reasonable. What could not be considered reasonable, however, was how intense Darwin's paranoia in this was; so much so that the pair had driven an entire hour east of Elmore.
Gumball let the cooling afternoon air bake him; his hair tousled from the open windows of his Honda. Darwin, in the seat next to him, was staring at Joe's "expertly printed" fake ID. The sun was close to setting, and soon enough Nicole would have questions, and at that point they were fucked. The terrain was already unrecognizable; where Elmore lay in a valley and hillside dotted with pines, they were now passing through largely barren scrubland and desert.
"Does this fake look good to you?" Darwin turned over the laminated surface, looking at his headshot they had taken in Joe's basement.
Gumball checked to make sure the road ahead was clear before taking a quick peek. "Dude, I already told you it's fine."
"Nah this shit makes me look like some kinda serial killer." Darwin wrapped his arms around his stomach in anxiety, putting the fake back in his wallet. "Bruh, they're gonna know, they're gonna know-"
"Relax! For fucks sake!" Gumball chuckled. "Dude you're bitching out so much right now, Jesus. You'll be fine."
"That's fucking easy for you to say it ain't your bum ass on the line!" Darwin shouted, punching Gumball's arm.
"Stop fucking punching me on the road dipshit!" Gumball laughed hysterically in his seat, barely managing to keep his eyes focused on driving.
In another ten minutes, Darwin had gone over the list yet again; two large bottles of vodka, a few twenty-four packs of beer, some white claws, and some seltzers. The total came out to well over a hundred dollars, all of which was covered by Joe.
The evening sky was slowly dimming; the sun was just starting to dip below the horizon when Gumball decided to get off the next exit and find a liquor store. Out here, there couldn't have been anyone who would recognize them. Merging into the exit, he came to a stop sign at its end, pulling into a small town in the desert.
"Get out your phone," Gumball said, turning right onto the town's Main Street. "There's gotta be a liquor store here."
Darwin obliged, finding one in the town. "There's one a few streets away. Alright, go straight."
Doing so, Gumball took a second to look around the place. It looked like just about any medium sized valley or mountain town you'd see on the way to Los Angeles or Vegas; there were a handful of strip malls, in which one of them was the liquor store. "Turn right or left here?" He glanced at Darwin in the passenger seat.
"Left. Okay now go straight for two lights- no, wait, not at this light- shit." Darwin threw up his hands as Gumball committed to the straight, missing their turn. "Bruhhhh."
"Bro are you on crack? Read the directions or put it on Siri or some shit!" Gumball turned right twice, then left to make it back to their route.
"You coulda taken a shortcut- bruh." Darwin facepalmed. "Alright we're almost there, just turn right at the next light and pull into that strip mall."
"Which strip mall?" Gumball asked.
"Bro THAT one, first one on the right," Darwin laughed. "Bruh you have no navigational instincts."
"We fucking made it though!" Gumball shouted as he finally turned into the strip mall, the liquor store just down the parking lot.
"Ay don't celebrate yet, I still gotta buy everything," Darwin said. "Fuck bruh I'm scared I don't wanna do this no more."
"No you're not saying no after we drove an HOUR out of town," Gumball shouted as he parked the car. "Alright, you know the plan. Put in your airpods, I'll call you from the car. Just be natural dude you're like six two and built, you'll be fine."
Darwin sharply exhaled, steeling himself. "Alright, call my phone, I'm going in," he said as he climbed out of the car, walking into the liquor store.
Gumball sat in the car, watching the sunset cast a pink glow over the town. There was a slight breeze blowing through the car, coming in one window and escaping out the other. It was very pretty; he found himself thinking that Penny would appreciate it too.
And that brought Gumball's mind right back around to what he had been avoiding thinking about all day; the party. He knew Tobias would be there, and the thought of Penny dancing with him could make him sick. Gumball felt his gut sink, his stomach weighed and chained. Sticking his head out the window, he took a large, refreshing breath, trying to take his mind off of the inevitability of saturday. Now eager to distract himself, he pulled out his phone, turning to make sure the surrounding lot was empty as he called his brother.
Entering the liquor store, Darwin surveyed the isles in front of him. There was only one employee here that he could see, a forty something year old clerk posted at the checkout. He relaxed, focusing on the task at hand.
Putting his airpods in, he took Gumball's call. "I'm in."
"Alright good, keep an airpod in so I can keep tabs," Gumball said. "You need me to read the list?"
"Nah I remember it," Darwin replied, grabbing a basket at the front of the store and working his way through the isles. The store played some shitty 2000s pop song; it somehow matched the sterile, cold-white lighting illuminating the shelves. He moved briskly, finding and picking up every item off the list.
It came out to quite an amount of alcohol. Even with his long and broad arms, Darwin struggled to keep the unwieldy pile from tipping out of his grasp. With Gumball still patched in with his airpod, he started walking back to the front. "Alright I got everything, we locked in."
With every step towards the checkout counter, his nerves grew. It was one thing to talk about and anticipate this moment; living it out was another. Darwin found himself almost stopping dead in his tracks, trying his hardest to prevent a cold sweat from forming.
No bitching out now, Darwin forced himself to think. He swallowed down his fear, managing to bring himself to unload the alcohol onto the counter.
The clerk, with graying hair and an impassive stare, took one look at the alcohol before meeting Darwin's eyes. Remaining silent, his expression was almost incredulous. Darwin put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, pinching on the fabric, trying to ease the sickness in his stomach.
After another few seconds, the clerk spoke, lifting his eyebrow. "Alright, I'm gonna need to see some ID." Darwin stood there, looking down at the man, his eyes shifty and darting.
"Yea yea I gotchu," Darwin said, now searching for his wallet in his pockets. On the other end of the call, Gumball sighed, rubbing his temples. There was no way he was gonna pull it off. Pulling out the fake, he slid it over to the clerk, who narrowed his eyes as he read its contents.
Glancing at the photo on the ID, then up at Darwin, and then back at the ID again, he slid the card back, still expressionless. "Total's a hundred and eight, cash or credit."
Feeling the weight of the world lift off his shoulders, Darwin handed him the cash in his wallet before collecting the alcohol. It was over. An ocean of excitement and relief blanketed him; it took everything Darwin had to contain it. "Thanks man, have a good day."
"No problem." The clerk said as Darwin strolled out of the store. Once free from his sight, Darwin allowed his small grin to spread across his face, feeling ready to jump in the air.
Out in the parking lot, Gumball was cheering in the car. There was no one else in the lot. The sky increasingly darkening, the street lights had just turned on, leaving the area cast in a mix of warm lamplight and dimming red. Grinning madly at Darwin, he pumped his fist to the window.
"Dude we fucking got it let's go!" He said to Gumball, who now pulled up with the car by the sidewalk. Hanging up the call, Gumball rolled down the passenger window.
"Dude you're about to drop everything, chill! Fuck lemme help you," Gumball said as he reached over the car seats to open the passenger door. Pushing it open with his fingers, he held out his arms, letting Darwin unload the cases of alcohol into them. "This shit's heavy, god damn!"
"Bro it was wobbling all over I felt like I was gonna trip," Darwin grunted as he lowered the cases to meet Gumball's arms. He climbed into the passenger seat as Gumball stacked them in the back, closing the door behind him.
"GOOD SHIT!" Gumball laughed as he clasped his brother's hand. "Shit, now we gotta make it back…"
Still in the car, they buckled up, settling in their seats. Darwin double counted the alcohol before looking back at his brother, who was putting his phone back in his pocket.
"It's only an hour, we'll be fine," Darwin replied as Gumball let his foot off the brake, now driving out of the parking lot.
"Yea but I'm seeing Penny tonight," he said. "Wanna get back early. Sorry to cancel on you by the way, I know you wanted to celebrate after tonight."
Sitting there, Darwin stared at his brother as he drove through the town, making his way back onto the interstate. "Yea that's fine man"
"Alright good, I knew you'd get it." Gumball looked out the back of the opposite window, checking his blindspot as he merged onto another lane.
Darwin leaned back into his chair. The sun was set, the sky now darkened with stars dotting its expanse. Gumball, driving back into Elmore, was talking away on the phone to Penny. Sitting in that chair, about ready to fall asleep, Darwin took a deep breath of the cold air coming in through the window and sighed.
He felt like he hadn't hung out with his brother in ages. Literally every second of his day was spent with Penny, and if not that, then texting her or calling her. And even during one of the increasingly rationed moments he had to spend with Gumball, he was almost always talking about Penny.
It was a fun day, but he couldn't help but feel like the change was already set. More than anything, he just wanted his brother back.