Starting New: Returning Home

Chapter 7: Growth and Decay

It was now Monday. The day before had been...awkward. Gumball had noticed Nicole had came home with dried tears after her walk. He felt concerned for her, but when he tried to talk and console her...she had pushed him away. He knew she needed her space, and to hopefully talk with him...but nevertheless, he felt worried. Something seemed so...different about her, but he couldn't put his tongue on it.

Last night he even slept in his old room, and in his bunk bed. Despite the nostalgia sleeping in the same room as his siblings...he still wanted to sleep with Nicole, but she had declined.

Surprisingly, he noticed, she slept in the same room as...him. Richard...

Richard...

Gumball shook his head. Maybe it was to simply blend in for a while...

Picking up his now filled backpack, Gumball followed his siblings out the door. Today was a school day. He...was back to school. So long had he been gone...

"Hey Gumball, I'm sure everyone at school is gonna be SO happy to see you back again." Darwin said to him, nudging his shoulder.

"You think?" Gumball asked.

"Of course dude! You are gonna be a micro-celebrity! You survived a kidnapping in Elmore. You were on the news and everything bro, for crying out loud!"

"Oh...yeah. I-...guess that makes sense." Gumball replied sheepishly before the bus pulled up in front of them.

As they got on, Anais sat up front as Darwin and Gumball sat near the back.

Everyone on the bus seemed to notice Gumball as he got on. He kept getting congratulated for his return. At first, Gumball had smiled and waved at them, but as it seemed to continue for half the bus ride as more and more people started to get on, he started to slump down in his seat.

Darwin, sitting next to him, started to notice this.

"Hey, don't worry bro, you will get used to it. Besides, after everything settles down, you will get less attention, and maybe even earn some 'cool points' at school. How cool would THAT be?! Anyways, after this, everything for you should go back to normal."

"Thanks Darwin..." Gumball replied, before resting his head on the glass window, gazing out.

He lowered his ears a bit. 'Normal'. What did that even mean at this point? His 'normal' was completely different from this for so long...and now he was living the life as a kid again.

This then reminded him of class. He hated class. He hated his teachers, especially Miss Simian. The homework...the math...tests, all of it was coming back to him. This was going to be so hard for him, especially being out of class for so long. Being out of school for the weekend was one thing, but to be gone for nearly two decades was a completely different story.

This...was going to be a nightmare.

———

Pulling up to the school, the line of buses started to unload kids into the front entrance of the school. As Gumball, Darwin and Anais got off the bus, a crowd of students started to flock towards them.

"Look! It's Gumball! He's back!"

"Wow! He...doesn't got any bruises on him. Heh, I wonder if he got any battle scars?"

"Look at the way he's holding his backpack! He's so cool~"

Gumball quickly was pulled away by Darwin as he dragged him quickly into the school, causing the huge crowd to follow.

As Darwin quickly led them to English class, he breathed a sigh of relief. As the crowd approached the doorway, they stopped just outside, peeking out and staring inside. Although they couldn't enter the dreaded room of Miss Simian without being in the class for the period(without risking detention), that didn't stop them from gazing dreamily at the new 'cool kid' of Elmore.