School was the same as it had always been. The hallway lights still flickered with that nostalgic hum, the lockers still had mysterious sticky patches no one dared touch, and the scent of sour milk mixed with industrial floor cleaner still clung to the air like an invisible warning. It was as if time had simply shrugged and decided to loop the same Tuesday for the rest of eternity. Gumball adjusted his hoodie, tugged it casually over his messy hair, and blinked at the crowd of students shuffling through the halls. "Is it just me, or did everyone hit the pause button on puberty?" he muttered, glancing sideways at Darwin. Darwin—his hair slightly longer now, clothes crisp and colorful, eyes wide with that usual innocent sparkle—just smiled. “Maybe they just missed us so much, they all agreed to stay exactly the same until we came back.” Gumball gave a snort. “Well, that was stupid of them.” Despite the sarcasm, his grin was genuine. They passed by Penny, who waved like she had just seen them yesterday. Tobias shouted across the hallway like nothing had happened. Banana Joe threw a banana peel and slipped on it—classic. Even Principal Brown waddled by, muttering something about overdue math tests and psychic fungus. No one said a word about the missing years. No one asked where they’d been. Seven years. Gone. Just like that. And yet, nothing was different. The world hadn’t aged. The school hadn’t changed. Their friends were still in the same classes, wearing the same clothes, laughing at the same jokes. Like time had tripped over its own shoelaces and face-planted, leaving them to wake up in the middle of a dream that refused to admit it was over. But for now… the Watterson brothers were just happy to be back. Gumball threw his arm around Darwin’s shoulder as they walked down the hallway like they owned the place. They laughed. They high-fived. They talked about everything and nothing. It felt good. Too good. Because underneath the buzzing lights and frozen smiles, something was off. Something invisible had shifted. And though they didn’t know it yet, something had happened during those seven years—something that would change everything they thought they knew about Elmore. But for now? For now, they were just two brothers back at school. Laughing. Living. Blissfully unaware.