The Gift: A TAWOG Story

Chapter 2: The Recap

It was 10:30 AM on a Saturday morning at the Watterson household. While Darwin and Anais usually got up early in the morning along with their father Richard, Gumball liked to sleep in late, and so did Nicole. They were both night owls, with Gumball usually staying up on his phone while Nicole stayed up watching TV in the family room, which was often the only time of day she had to herself. Richard had mastered the art of getting out of bed in the morning without waking Nicole, and the same with Darwin and Anais not waking Gumball.

Gumball woke up naturally to the sunlight drifting into his room. Nicole woke as well. The house was completely quiet, just the way they liked it. However, Gumball had an unsettling feeling within himself. He had a feeling that, somehow, somewhere, at sometime, he would have a run-in with his mother. He kept thinking about his nightmare, yet never worked up the courage to ask Nicole the question in real life, fearing for the supernaturally worst based on his nightmares.

Gumball got out of bed and came down the stairs in his plain white t-shirt and boxer shorts while Nicole emerged from her and Richard's room next to the front door in her pajamas.

"Morning, sweetie," Nicole said to Gumball. "Can I make you breakfast?" Gumball was not hungry.

"Uh, I think I'll have some cereal, Mom," he said nervously, "But thanks for the offer, though." He tried to be as polite as he could. He was determined to take every measure possible to not provoke his mother, despite her not feeling any tension at all.

"How was your sleep last night?" asked Nicole.

"Good," Gumball lied. He was too hesitant to even look at his mother.

"Hey Gumball, I almost forgot to tell you. You know how we've been having some flooding issues down in the basement? Well, someone's gonna come and look at our pipes, so I need everyone to stay out of the basement."

"Of course," Gumball said with the fullest sincerity as he pretended to fumble through the cereal boxes. Gumball thought of the time he, Darwin, and Anais flooded the house themselves, and Nicole appeared in front of a wall of fire when confronting them. He kept trying to convince himself his mother was no demon.

"By the way, I need you to return that DVD today or we'll get a fine." Gumball's heart sank.

"Yes, will do, Mom!" he said, rising out of his chair. He felt more tense. He thought back to the time Nicole chased him and his brother on a dog, seemingly trying to hunt them down. He felt traumatized by that experience.

"Awesome," said Nicole. Gumball proceeded to get out the bran flakes and pour some into a bowl. Realizing that his father and siblings haven't gotten home yet from the supermarket, he started reminiscing about one particular incident in the past, an incident that he often remembers as the incident, the big one, the queen mother of all the incidents with Nicole that not only got her banned from the place where it occurred, but defined to him who she is and what she is capable of. He thought back to that time in the supermarket when he felt like he was about to be literally murdered by his own mother. He thought back to... the Limi...

"Want some candy?" asked Nicole, who was mooching on some Hershey's kisses she kept in a bowl in the top shelf away from Richard.

"NO!!" blurted Gumball immediately, catching Nicole off guard. "I mean, I'm not that much in the mood for chocolate right now." He quickly ran back upstairs as Nicole watched him seem to flee.

"Huh," said Nicole perplexed. "Wonder what's gotten into him."

The front door swung open. Richard, Darwin, and Anais all entered, carrying groceries.

"Hi honey," said Richard. "We're back!"

"Did you get my iceberg lettuce?" Nicole asked.

"Well, Mrs. Mom," began Darwin, "We were gonna, but..." he started giggling and so did Anais.

"What?" Nicole said confused.

"But Dad thought the lettuce was supposed to be made from icebergs," said Anais.

"Oh, Richard!" Nicole said in a comic voice and began to laugh. "I really wish I could go back to that supermarket."

"The restraining order still has three weeks on it," said Anais. "But to our best judgement, he's been getting better at it."

"I am determined one day to master the art of grocery shopping," Richard said determined, which made everyone laugh.

Gumball, meanwhile, was upstairs in his room, sitting on his bed. His mind was roaming in circles over the supernatural forces he faced against his mother. So many questions arose inside of him about Nicole and all her supernatural capabilities. Was Nicole born that way? Did she make a deal with the devil? Is she really pure evil on the inside? Or is she really the devil himself?

Gumball's mind went crazy. He tried reminiscing about happy memories with his mother, even trying to look at old photos, like one of Gumball with Nicole at a family portrait studio at the mall, another with them in the park sliding down a slide.

"Would an evil demon make these memories with me?" He asked himself. It was so unnerving to him. The more he thought about his mother's anger capabilities, the more he thought of how much in danger he could be. Yet the thought his mother would never hurt him. Not intentionally, but accidentally, perhaps? He recalled the incident in the supermarket. One crucial factor of what happened that day struck him: Nicole's actions and behavior were strictly impulsive, not premeditated.

Still, did that mean it would not happen again? When would be the next time such an event occurs? Would Nicole end up actually hurting Gumball or Darwin or Anais or Richard? Or worse?

"Gumball!" shouted a voice that snapped Gumball out of his deep contemplation. It was Darwin. "Gumball, we're going to the mall!"

"Yeah," Gumball responded hesitantly. "I'm down." He expressed an awkward smile.