by Gumball
Title Page
The Debt
CHAPTER 1: The Promise
CHAPTER 2: The Preparations
CHAPTER 3: The Show
The Car
CHAPTER 1: The Dare
CHAPTER 2: The Game
CHAPTER 3: The Arrest
Copyright Page
hat do you want to do today, Gumball?’ Darwin asked.
The Watterson kids sat in front of the house that belonged to their neighbours, the Robinsons.
‘I’m waiting right here for Mum to drive me to the Elmore Senior Talent Show,’ Gumball said excitedly.
‘Mr Robinson’s headlining.’
Gumball held up a flyer. It featured Mr Robinson prominently. It also clearly said ‘Strictly no Gumball’ at the bottom of the flyer.
‘But you’re not invited,’ Darwin noted with a frown.
‘I don’t care,’ Gumball replied. ‘Tonight’s the biggest night of Mr Robinson’s life and I have to be there.’
‘Aahh! Tonight’s the night, Margaret,’ Mr Robinson said to his wife. ‘This town’s finally going to see the REAL Gaylord Robinson!’ he promised.
‘Tut, huh,’ Mrs Robinson scoffed.
‘Why can’t you ever be happy for me?’ Mr Robinson complained as he drove up to their house.
Mr Robinson put the car in reverse to back into his driveway. Gumball, who was sitting right in his parking spot, started shrieking.
‘Save yourselves! It’s too late for me,’ he cried to Darwin.
‘Just get over here on the footpath, dude,’ Darwin said, trying to calm his best friend and big brother.
‘Please remember me, guys, so I’ll always be alive in your heart,’ Gumball droned on.
‘Huh? Oh, for crying out loud!’ Mr Robinson said when he spotted Gumball. He honked his horn.
‘My whole life is flashing before my eyes,’ Gumball continued. ‘And it’s boring. Aagghh!’
‘Darned kids,’ Mr Robinson said.
He stopped the car. Suddenly Gumball appeared flattened against the windscreen.
‘You saved my life, Mr Robinson!’ Gumball gushed at his hero.
‘I didn’t save your life. I just didn’t run you over!’ Mr Robinson protested.
‘Now get outta my way!’
‘No way! I’m not leaving your side until I’ve saved your life in return,’ Gumball promised.
‘Get off my car! Don’t make me shout at you!’ Mr Robinson shouted.
‘I gotta save my voice for tonight.’
Mrs Robinson released the bonnet. It sprang open and launched Gumball skyward. He flew into space.
‘Oh, dear universe above me, thank you for the gift of Mr Robinson,’ Gumball said with heart. ‘I swear on my life that I WILL repay this debt.’
umball fell back down to Earth. Minutes later, he heard Mr Robinson doing voice exercises in his house. His voice sounded a bit strained and rasping.
‘Mee, mee, mee, meeeeeeeeee!’ Mr Robinson sang. ‘Well, Margaret, since you won’t take care of my precious instrument, I’ll go buy some cough drops myself!’
Mr Robinson walked out the front door, tripped right over Gumball and tumbled to the ground.
‘Urgh! What are you doing here?’ Mr Robinson sighed.
‘I’m here to save your life,’ Gumball answered happily.
‘Just get away from me, kid!’ Mr Robinson growled. ‘I mean it!’
Mr Robinson took off to the pharmacy. Inside, down the cough drop aisle, he stood next to a yellow hazard sign that sat in a puddle of water.
‘Here they are. Antiseptic action…’ Mr Robinson read from the label on a cough drop box.
Gumball had followed Mr Robinson to the pharmacy.
‘What’s this hazardous object doing in the middle of the floor? Mr Robinson could trip over it!’ Gumball announced with alarm.
He quickly removed the sign. Mr Robinson turned and his feet flew out from under him. He tumbled to the ground…again.
‘He’s out cold!’ Gumball said. ‘Now’s my chance to save him!’
A blue man in blue underpants appeared in the aisle.
‘Step aside,’ the man said. ‘I know how to do CPR.’
The man opened his wide blue mouth and bent his big head over Mr Robinson. He forced a lungful of air into Mr Robinson, who sputtered and coughed.
‘No, no, no, no, no!’ Mr Robinson shrieked furiously.
Gumball watched in shock as the man saved Mr Robinson’s life right in front of his eyes. (Not that Mr Robinson was happy about it.)
‘Ah-hem, errhah! I sure hope that hasn’t affected my vocal cords,’ Mr Robinson said.
He rushed out of the pharmacy.
‘A healthy glow will make me look my best for tonight,’ Mr Robinson, back in his car, said to himself.
He drove to a tanning salon and entered one of the tanning rooms. Then he hooked up his music player and lay down on the bed, closing the light-emitting cover.
Gumball scampered in and gasped. Mr Robinson’s arm hung lifelessly from the tanning bed!
‘Mr Robinson! Mr Robinson! Oh, no, I’m too late,’ Gumball cried.
‘Why wasn’t I here to save you? WHY? No, no, I refuse to let you go!’ Gumball said in despair.
Gumball raised the top of the tanning bed.
‘He looks so peaceful,’ Gumball sighed glumly.
Thinking quickly, Gumball grabbed a pair of heart-starting paddles. He rubbed them together and then placed them on Mr Robinson’s chest.
The current surged through the paddles and Mr Robinson’s body jumped wildly.
‘Ouch, what? Gumball! What do you think you’re doing?’ Mr Robinson shouted angrily.
‘I’m bringing you back to life,’ Gumball replied.
‘But I was alive!’ Mr Robinson said.
‘Better safe than sorry!’ Gumball added happily.
He placed the paddles back on Mr Robinson’s chest.
‘No! No! No!’ Mr Robinson shouted in pain. Fortunately for Mr Robinson, the paddles blew the salon’s circuits, and all the electricity went out.
Mr Robinson raced home. He had to protect his instrument, his voice, for the big show. He walked up to his front door. His worst fear was sitting on the porch waiting.
‘Welcome home, Mr Robinson!’ Gumball said. ‘I booby trapped your front door to protect you from intruders. All they have to do is ring the doorbell,’ Gumball added proudly, pressing the doorbell.
‘Wait, why would an intruder ring the…’ Mr Robinson started to say. Suddenly a bowling bowl slammed into him, knocking him off his porch.
‘Ugghh,’ Mr Robinson groaned.
‘Are you okay?’ Gumball asked.
‘Listen, kid. This is the most important night of my life,’ Mr Robinson pleaded. ‘I’m gonna shine like a star, and I don’t want YOU around to ruin it.’
‘But I’ve gotta be there to save your life!’ Gumball protested, desperate to repay Mr Robinson.
‘Just leave me alone, kid!’ Mr Robinson sobbed openly.
‘Just leave me alone.’
Mr Robinson hobbled into his house and closed the door behind him. Gumball sat on the front steps with his head in his hands. He felt like a failure.
‘I’ll never repay my debt to Mr Robinson,’ Gumball said glumly. ‘I’ve failed you, universe.’
Anais and Darwin watched from behind the fence.
‘Poor Gumball,’ Anais whispered. ‘What can we do to help him?’
Darwin asked.
‘I’ve got an idea!’ Anais said.
Seconds later, Darwin popped up over the fence and threw a brick at Gumball. It hit him square in the back. The brick had a note attached to it.
‘I said, “throw it near him”, not at him!�
� Anais screamed.
‘Ohhh, that’s so painful! Man, that hurts!’ Gumball cried as he rubbed his back. Then he looked at the brick.
‘Ooo! There’s a note tied to it!’ he happily observed. He untied the note and read it aloud.
‘Mr Robinson will be assassinated at the talent show,’ Gumball read.
‘This is terrible! No, wait. This is what I’ve been waiting for!’
Gumball knocked on the door and Mr Robinson walked out onto the front porch.
‘Mr Robinson! You can’t go to the talent show tonight. You’re going to be assassinated!’ Gumball warned his hero as he stood on the porch.
‘Well, Margaret,’ Mr Robinson said, ignoring Gumball completely, ‘it’s nice that you finally decided to show your support for me tonight.’
Mrs Robinson scowled and the Robinsons walked right past Gumball.
‘But, Mr Robinson, you’re going to be assassinated,’ Gumball said again, holding the threatening note out for Mr Robinson to see.
But the Robinsons simply got into their car and set off for the Elmore Senior Talent Show.
‘He’s so brave,’ Gumball said proudly as the car pulled away.
he Elmore Senior Talent Show was underway. On stage, four seniors tap danced to a nearly empty theatre. Mrs Robinson scowled from her seat.
Anais and Darwin looked down from a platform high over the stage.
‘Okay, Darwin. Here’s the plan,’ Anais said. ‘We drop heavy sandbags near Mr Robinson. Gumball will notice and push them out of the way. Got it?’
‘Got it,’ Darwin replied. ‘We drop these heavy sandbags onto Mr Robinson’s head.’
‘No! We don’t actually hit Mr Robinson! Oh, just do what I do,’ Anais said with a shrug.
At last, it was Mr Robinson’s turn to take to the stage. Mr Robinson’s son Rocky walked to the podium.
‘Ladies and gentlemen! Please welcome to the stage our second and final act, Mr Gaylord Robinson!’ Rocky announced excitedly.
‘Good luck, Dad,’ he whispered.
Mr Robinson strode onto the stage and began to sing.
‘There’s something deep inside of me that always wanted to be free,’ Mr Robinson sang. ‘And now the time is right to show you what I mean!’
Suddenly Mr Robinson pulled off his everyday suit and revealed a skimpy yellow costume with pink socks and leg warmers.
‘I wanna sing! I wanna dance! I wanna touch the sky with my own two hands!’ Mr Robinson crooned.
Anais and Darwin began dropping heavy sandbags all around the stage. Mr Robinson just sang and danced around them.
Gumball didn’t notice. He was busy trying to find the assassins who wanted to harm Mr Robinson.
‘Show yourself, assassin,’ Gumball said. ‘And fight like a man.’
Anais was stumped. Somehow they had to make Gumball believe that Mr Robinson was in danger.
‘Let’s try the special effects,’ Anais said quickly.
Mr Robinson danced and sang his heart out, seemingly unaware of the smoke and laser lights that suddenly engulfed the stage.
Then Mr Robinson hit a really loud high note and held it. The note could be heard all over Elmore. Every glass object within earshot shattered.
A stage light broke free overhead. The hot, heavy metal came crashing down towards Mr Robinson.
‘No! No! Mr Robinson!’ Gumball yelled to his hero.
He tackled Mr Robinson, forcing him out of the way, just before the light crashed onto the stage.
‘Urrgh!’ Mr Robinson said. He stood up and rubbed his temples.
‘Oh, my gosh, you really did save my life,’ Mr Robinson said. He paused.
‘But that doesn’t excuse you from ruining my performance!’
The audience erupted in wild applause and loud cheers.
‘Awesome, Mr Robinson,’ Anais shouted as she clapped.
‘Way to go, Dad!’ Rocky yelled proudly to his father on stage.
‘Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much,’ Mr Robinson gushed as he shoved Gumball off the stage.
‘I don’t deserve this. Thank you. I love ya. Your love truly means so much to me,’ Mr Robinson added with a flourish.
Gumball watched Mr Robinson proudly from the sidelines.
‘Thank you, infinite universe,’ Gumball said with awe and affection. ‘Thank you for sending us our very own star, Mr Robinson!’
nais woke up with a start. This was going to be a great day! She ran into her mum’s bedroom.
‘It’s Daisy the Donkey on Ice day!’ Anais announced. ‘You promised to take me!’
Daisy the Donkey was Anais’s favourite doll.
‘Oh, honey, I’m sorry,’ her mum, still half asleep, yawned. ‘Mummy worked really late last night.’
Anais took out her recorder and pressed PLAY. She had prepared for this moment.
‘What sort of a horrible mother wouldn’t take her daughter to her favourite show?’ her mother’s loving, recorded voice said.
‘Oh, Anais, I know what I said but…’ her mum groaned, struggling to open her eyes.
Anais pressed the recorder’s PLAY button again and again.
‘Horrible mother…horrible mother… horrible mother,’ the recording of her mother repeated.
‘Okay, okay,’ Nicole conceded with a sigh.
Anais dragged her mum into the living room. Her dad, Richard, was hooking up his new Electrofat machine. It was guaranteed to get him fit…while he watched TV.
‘Daisy the Donkey, Daisy the Donkey, Daisy the Donkey,’ Anais repeated excitedly.
‘Where are Gumball and Darwin?’ Nicole asked.
‘In the backyard, playing their madeup game,’ Richard yawned.
‘Well, keep an eye on them,’ Nicole said. ‘Every time they play that game, it’s a mess.’
Outside, Gumball and Darwin were busy playing.
‘Dodge or Dare? Dodge or Dare?’ they sang in unison. ‘Roll the dice. Take a card!’
Darwin drew the top card from the pile.
‘Dare! You have to throw the ball onto the Moon, using only objects from the rubbish,’ Darwin read.
‘Ha!’ Gumball said. ‘Just watch and learn, little brother.’
In a flash, Gumball created a strange contraption in their yard. The boys stood back and admired it.
Then Gumball blew on a small marble at the top of the heap. The marble rolled and set off a chain reaction that sent a bowling ball onto a launcher.
‘Aaaah!’ Gumball and Darwin gasped. The launcher tilted towards the two brothers.
The bowling ball fired and slammed right into Gumball. It bounced up and over the fence. In the next-door neighbour’s yard, the Robinsons sat in their garden.
‘I told you, Margaret, it’s not a midlife crisis, it’s just a new car,’ Mr Robinson explained while admiring his new automobile.
Suddenly the bowling ball bounced right onto Mrs Robinson’s head and her hair flew off. Mr Robinson laughed hysterically as the boys peered over the fence.
‘Mr Robinson – he’s such a funny guy,’ Gumball said about his hero.
‘Mrs Robinson is one lucky lady,’ Darwin added.
Mrs Robinson picked up her wig and placed it back on her head. The boys rushed over to retrieve their ball.
‘Your ball caused my wife’s hair to fall off,’ Mr Robinson scolded them. ‘Therefore, as a punishment, I’ll teach you a new game called “learning the consequences of your actions”!’ Mr Robinson declared.
‘A game Mr Robinson invented for us? Yay!’ Gumball and Darwin cheered together.
r Robinson explained his game to the boys.
‘You start by cleaning the garden,’ Mr Robinson said. ‘And don’t forget to cut the grass. But wait! You gotta use nail clippers.’
‘Yay!’ the brothers cheered for each terrible chore that Mr Robinson invented for them.
They cleared the garden of fallen leaves, placing them in neat piles. They cut the grass with nail clippers. They were having a grea
t time.
‘All right, goons, come here and paint this fence blue,’ Mr Robinson said, getting annoyed.
‘Yay!’ the boys cheered again.
Minutes later, the fence was painted pale blue.
‘Grrrgh, now make it green,’ Mr Robinson said.
The boys painted the fence green in a flash.
‘I mean orange with purple stripes!’ Mr Robinson said. ‘Yellow with black dots! Pink! Red! Black! Yellow!’
Each time Mr Robinson called out a colour, Gumball and Darwin quickly repainted the fence just as he asked.
‘Aaaargh!’ Mr Robinson growled.
‘Mr Robinson, since you love painting so much,’ Darwin said, ‘I made this bird especially for you!’
Darwin showed Mr Robinson his drawing, but Mr Robinson threw it away and retreated into his house.
‘I’m sure Mr Robinson needs more help,’ Gumball said to Darwin as they stood in the front yard.
‘Maybe he’s too shy to ask us,’ Darwin offered.
‘Go away!’ Mr Robinson shouted from inside.
‘He hides it well,’ Gumball said, ‘but I think he really needs us.’
‘Go away! Go away! GO AWAY!’ Mr Robinson continued to shout from every window.
‘Now that is a cry for help,’ Gumball concluded.
And help they did. They clipped Mr Robinson’s toenails. They cleaned his glasses. They cooked him dinner. No matter how hard Mr Robinson tried to get rid of them, the boys just wouldn’t go away.
‘Listen, kids,’ Mr Robinson finally sighed. ‘Why are you trying so hard to help me?’
‘Because we love you, Mr Robinson,’ Gumball said to his hero.