Hi, everyone. This is my very first fanfiction story. This story takes place in the Alvinnn! and the Chipmunks universe. Chronologically, it occurs between the episodes Wacky Wednesday and Attack of The Zombies. You can probably catch the multiple hints at previous season 1 and 2 episodes. I hope you guys enjoy it.

ALVIN'S POV

Darkness. Complete darkness. A few lone stars were twinkling in the sky above, but other than that I was in complete darkness. I grabbed my extremely small flashlight from my utility belt and turned it on. Not that I'm not a big fan of working in the shadows, but I prefer having my surroundings at least moderately visible. With the flashlight on, I could tell I was in an alley. What caught my attention was the graffiti on the wall. It appeared to be the letter B surrounded by a wild array of colors. That could mean only one thing, SHE had been here.

I knew very little about B. The most I could piece together was that she had something to do with all the robberies that had been happening around town. I had seen her leaving the scene of one of the crimes. She painted graffiti on every place she robbed. That was her calling card, but what stumped me was the graffiti in the alley. The building with the graffiti on it was empty. It had been empty for years. Why would she paint graffiti on a place she hadn't robbed? Before I had time to think of an answer, I heard a familiar voice call out to me. "Well, well, well, Dark Shadow, it seems we meet again."

I turned to face her, illuminating her with the beam of the flash light.

"Who are you?," I asked.

"The name's B. That's all you need to know."

She was a true beauty. Strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, that pink jumpsuit with a black B on it…..No! No! I couldn't fall for her! She was the enemy! She was using her mind manipulation powers to trick me. Then again, maybe I could change her. I could teach her to be a hero instead of a villain. Yes! That's what I would do. Having made my decision, I cautiously approached the woman.

"You have truly amazing powers, Miss B," I said politely.

"I know that," she retorted.

"It's a shame you don't use them the way they are meant to be used."

It was a mouthful to say….and probably not grammatically correct either, but the words were already out of my mouth.

"You mean use them to help people?"

She sounded angry. Perhaps, this was my cue to run, but I ignored my fear and kept talking.

"Yes. I can teach you how. I've got experience."

"NO! THANKS!"

She grabbed my arm and flipped me onto the ground. I quickly picked myself up and prepared to use my own powers. Concentrating hard, I began to lift the angry girl into the air using nothing more than the sheer awesomeness of my mind…..and then everything went dark.

"Alvin!? ALVIN!?"

In addition to the sound of my deeper voiced brother, the even more irritating sound of an alarm clock was ringing in my ear. I opened my eyes and looked around, then closed them again. Time to face the facts, I was no longer a superhero known as The Dark Shadow, I was Alvin Seville the ordinary singing chipmunk. The previous events had taken place inside my wild imagination. Sometimes, I think it's too wild for its own good. Other times, I think that maybe The Dark Shadow is the real me and Alvin Seville is the illusion. That's probably not true, and frighteningly The Dark Shadow isn't the only alter ego I have.

"Alvin? Alvin? Earth to Alvin. We have school today."

My brother Simon loves school. I, on the other hand, hate it! I loathe it! I despise it! I can't stand sitting in a classroom all day listening to a boring old lady drone on and on about things I don't really care about. Everything I need to know I learned in nursery school, which by the way, I excelled at. I was top of the class. Sadly, I later learned that was due to the fact that chipmunks mature differently than human kids. Now, I'm in highschool and I'm….well…..let's just say I'm no longer top of the class.

"Alvin, for the last time, get up!"

Simon sounded very impatient.

"Alright. Alright. I'm coming," I replied sleepily.

I mustered all my energy and practically flew out of bed. Then, I brushed my teeth, ran a comb through my wild auburn hair, and changed out of my pajamas and into my favorite casual outfit. As a finishing touch, I shoved my favorite red and green baseball cap on my head.

I met my brothers in the kitchen for breakfast and climbed on top of the stack of books that acted as a booster seat. Height is a huge downside to being a chipmunk. Especially, when you're a chipmunk who is trying to function in a human world like an average human kid. I'm a chipmunk, my brothers Simon and Theodore are both chipmunks, and our three friends who live in a treehouse next door are also chipmunks. Pretty much everyone else in my life is human including my adoptive father Dave. My brothers and I showed up on Dave's doorstep and refused to leave until he took us in. That's how we became a family. I'm thankful for it every day because I hated living in the wild and foraging for food. Dave's a bit overprotective…..okay a lot overprotective at times and he's not great with technology, but he's the best dad a guy like me could ask for.

Speaking of Dave, he was in our kitchen making breakfast. I guess I didn't notice him before. To be honest, I don't notice a lot of things. I will probably never win any awards for paying attention.

"How did you sleep, Alvin?" Dave asked me.

I guess he knew I was prone to having nightmares. Simon must have snitched on me. He's the guy I usually wake up when I can't sleep….and I don't plan to stop anytime soon.

"Oh, you know, the usual," I replied.

"You shouldn't watch monster movies before you go to sleep," Simon the know it all commented.

"For your information, I didn't have a nightmare last night!"

That was true. I hadn't. It had taken me a long time to fall asleep though, so I was hardly well rested. I also wasn't in the mood for Simon's dumb advice.

Simon looked surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry. When you said "the usual" I assumed…"

"Well, you assumed wrong!" Why was I so angry at him? I didn't know….I couldn't focus on that at the moment.

Theodore, being the little sweetheart he is, made an attempt to diffuse the tension.

"So, um, these pancakes are really good, aren't they?"

I glared at Simon. "They're great."

"Scrumptious," Simon glared back at me.

Scrumptious? Does Simon realize Theodore isn't gonna understand that? As dumb as I am….or at least act, Theodore is even dumber. I hate saying it, but it's true. He makes up for it by being sweet and innocent though.

The rest of breakfast continued as usual and I pretty much tuned out the conversation my brothers and Dave were having. As I jumped into my seat in Dave's super old fashioned car, dozens of thoughts were swarming through my head like angry bees. I won't go into a lot of detail, but I had thoughts like, I wonder how many girls will notice me today. Is Miss. Smith gonna assign another pop quiz? What's my locker combination again? Drat. I'm gonna need that when I get to school.

Then, suddenly, I was standing outside the entrance to the school. Theodore and Simon were there with me. Without giving it much thought, I went inside. As I walked down the seemingly endless hallway to enter the uncomfortable prison known as Miss Smith's classroom, I couldn't help but stare up at every girl who walked past... I was interrupted by my brother Simon. I didn't catch most of what he said, but I think it was something along the lines of "how immature are you?" How immature am I? Well, not as immature as Theodore, that's for sure. He still has a teddy bear! He watches a baby show! I'm tons more mature than that!

"Sorry, Simon. Can you say that again?"

"That's my point exactly. You didn't hear me because you were too busy ogling those girls," Simon said matter of factly.

No clue what ogling meant. Not the foggiest idea. From the context, I assumed it meant staring.

"I like girls. Is that a problem, Simon?"

"No, but the way you go about it is….Remember the whole fiasco with the principal?"

I fumed. He needed to stop holding that over my head.

"Well, how was I supposed to know she was married?" I answered trying to keep my temper in check.

It was true. She had let me kiss her hand and the hand I kissed didn't have a wedding ring. You'd think she would realize I loved her and would have told me she was married before I made a complete fool out of myself.

"You never pay attention." Simon was clearly losing his patience with me.

We entered the classroom and I was greeted by our three friends from the treehouse next door. Their names are Brittany, Jeanette, and…..hold on….I know it…..it's on the tip of my tongue…..Eleanor! Yes! That's it! Brittany is a bratty girl with a heart of gold, Jeanette is a gentle soul who sadly has been classified as a class weirdo, and Eleanor is…..sporty. That's really all I know about her. Oh, and she loves to cook.

"Hey, it's good to see you on time for once, Alvin." Brittany teased.

I'm a well known latecomer and not exactly an expert at telling time.

"Yeah, I decided I wanted to surprise everyone," I replied.

The last thing I want to be is predictable. I'm spontaneous, adventurous, and dare I say it….probably a little nuts.

"The bell's going to ring soon, so you probably should get in your seat," Jeanette advised.

"Thanks," I smiled at her. What was that? Did I sense jealousy on Brittany's face? Eh, it was probably nothing.

I took my seat and took out the homework I had started last night. It was only half completed. I was going to finish it, but something else more fun had grabbed my attention. Videogames trump homework any day. As long as I do well enough to pass and move up to the next grade with my brothers, I'm fine. That means C-s and Ds are good enough. Sometimes, I secretly wonder how good I could do in school if I gave it more effort, but I get exhausted just thinking about it.

"What was that?" Brittany whispered to me.

Okay, she was clearly bothered that I listened to Jeanette when I hardly ever listen to her. Brittany was bothered…..that filled me with joy. She loves to bother me, I love to bother her. It's our thing. It didn't start that way. I used to bother her because I didn't know any better, but it's more than that now. I don't know why I love getting under her skin so much, I just do.

"That was a little something called following directions. You should try it sometime."

Yes, I'm aware how ironic that sounds coming from a guy like me.

"I follow directions. The principal's assistant has to follow directions."

Not a day goes by when she doesn't bring up her job as the principal's assistant. I volunteered for the position once when she was injured, but the Principal didn't even give me a chance. Guess she still must have been mad about what happened when I first met her. I was about to say something back to Brittany when Miss. Smith, aka the worst teacher EVER, entered the classroom. I decided Brittany would get the last word this time and started working on my unfinished homework.

Squinting at the math problems, I tried to figure in my head. Wait…..was that a 1 or a 7? Was that an 8 or a 3? Geez, those things were tiny and hard to read. How am I supposed to get the right answer if I can't see the questions clearly?

"Alvin, can you give us the answer to number 5?"

Miss. Smith's voice sure was annoying…..wait, did she call on me?

"Alvin, I know you can hear me. Answer number 5!"

I gulped. Counting down from the top of the page, I put my finger on question number five and squinted at the answer.

"167x?" I said with a forced smile.

"That's completely wrong." Miss. Smith glared at me. Her eyes like two daggers slicing into my soul. "Did you even do the assignment?"

"I did it!" I protested…."Well, I did most of it."

She still wasn't buying it. Time to come clean.

"I did…..half of it."

"Well, you can do the other half in detention today."

I groaned. Not another detention. That was the third detention this week. Or was it the fourth? I might as well just change the name of the detention room to "Alvin's Munkcave."

After my initial confrontation with The Smithster, I zoned out again. I didn't feel like doing any work. What's the point? Clearly Miss. Smith would hate me no matter what. This time, my imagination took me into outer space. I was traveling in a spaceship with aliens who wanted to hook me up to this strange machine. They said they thought I was a gifted individual with a lot to offer, but I was "squandering my talents due to the lack of an adequate attention span." Their words, not mine. This machine they wanted to use on me would hopefully increase my attention span and maybe even my intelligence and common courtesy. As much as I wanted to try the machine out, I found myself running from it as the aliens tried to chase me. I looked back and noticed one of the aliens wore dorky round glasses similar to Simon's…

The school bell rang, cutting my daydream short. It was time for a five minute break before second period began. Second period went almost the same as first period, although I don't remember what I was daydreaming about in that class. Third period wasn't exciting either, so I decided to draw a comic strip at my desk. I drew my alter ego The Dark Shadow and then I drew Theodore as The Cackler and Simon as Munk Man. Most uncreative name ever in my opinion. All he did was copy Batman, Superman, and Meta Man. Miss. Smith confiscated my comic before I could finish it. I was upset. I had the perfect ending planned too!

Finally, the lunch bell rang. I bolted out of my desk and ran to my locker as fast as my little legs could carry me. It was no picnic dodging the legs of all the human students. I recognized a few of them by their shoes. There was Kevin, and Annie, and Vanessa…..I love those leg warmers she wears. They are out of style, I know, but on her they work.

Suddenly, I was stopped in by all too familiar looking crimson and white tennis shoes. I felt a strong hand on the back of my hooded sweater and I was lifted into the air. I was face to face with Derek Smalls, the worst bully in the whole school. Now, I know his dad abuses him and that's why he abuses others, but why does he have to pick on me? I'm cool! Too cool for school! To cool and popular and awesome to deserve this kind of treatment! He picks on my brothers a lot too and I have stood up to him many times, but today….I didn't feel like it. I was starving and I wanted to go to lunch.

"So sorry, Derek. I'm fresh out of lunch money today," I squeaked with my usual good humor. "Now, can you put me down before we make a scene? I've already filled my trouble quota for the day."

He looked confused. That was a good sign.

"I don't want lunch money. I want to know how you managed to knock me out last week."

"I don't remember," I answered honestly. What had happened last week? Wait, could he be referring to last Wednesday?

"Really? You were talking with Jeanette, then I tried to fight you and you knocked me out."

Yep. He was totally talking about last Wednesday. An experience I was trying to wipe from my mind. Simon dubbed it "Wacky Wednesday" a la the movie "Freaky Friday." What had happened was I swapped bodies with Jeanette. Then later, for no more than a minute, I swapped bodies with Derek. He thought I knocked him out and now he wanted to know how I did it. What was I gonna tell him?

"Dude, you must have dreamed that."

Well, it's what Simon says when he wants me to believe something never happened. Would the bully take the bait?

"It felt so real."

"Yeah, they always do."

While he was distracted, I worked diligently with my fingers to pry the hood of my sweatshirt from his grasp and free myself. I succeeded. Then, I continued my race to my locker.

"And that's how you outsmart a bully, folks."

Simon was at his own locker next to mine. I didn't see Theodore, so he must have been in the cafeteria already.

"You know I can hear you, right?" Simon questioned.

Uh oh…..I had said that out loud? I decided to remedy the situation with some humor Simon was sure to appreciate.

"It's a silkiquey! Back off!" Whoops. I meant soliloquy, but once again my tongue had mangled my words. If only Simon knew how sophisticated I sound in my head.

"I believe you mean, soliloquy."

He couldn't stop correcting me if he tried.

"I know what I meant to mean."

Sheesh, why was I talking like that? I sounded ridiculous. No wonder nobody takes me seriously. "Can we forget what I said and go eat lunch?"

Simon nodded and we put our books in our locker and walked to the lunch room. Well, Simon walked, and I sort of jogged. Walking is too slow for my taste.

When I arrived, I jumped onto the counter and the lunch lady plopped a heap of spaghetti on my plate. Wow….it was sorta heavier than I expected. Still spaghetti is much better than all those salads Dave makes us at home. I swear he's a picky eater who tries to make his kids picky eaters too. How else can you explain all the salad and broccoli? Of course, we might also have so much salad because the Chipettes sneak into our house and steal all the good tasting food. It's only a theory, but I'm sure I'll prove it someday.

Anyway, I summoned all my strength and carried the plate of spaghetti to the table where I usually sat. After running back to get a couple more things, an orange and a small carton of apple juice, I was ready to eat. I started to peel my orange and then Brittany hollered out,

"Ow! Alvin! You squirted juice in my eye!"

It was an accident. I'm sure it didn't hurt too much. She was just being a drama queen like always. I told her that. She was not happy.

"Yeah, well I'd rather be a drama queen than a jerk!"

Ouch! The J word. Not the first time I've heard it, but still. I long for the day that I'll be able to eat my lunch without being called a jerk.

Jeanette and Eleanor looked disappointed in me. Simon and Theodore too. Couldn't I do anything right?

Instead of yelling some scathing comment back at Brittany, I decided to finish eating my lunch. I had at least eleven good ones locked and loaded, but Brittany wouldn't get to hear them.

As I ate my lunch, I thought more about Brittany. I discovered that if you take the letters in her name and rearrange them, you can make a hilariously true description of her. I decided I would use that on her the next time she insulted me. Fortunately, I wouldn't have to wait long.

"That's strange," Brittany murmured under her breath.

"What?" asked Eleanor.

"He didn't say he's not a jerk. I guess he must know I'm right."

That's it. She deserved this.

"Yeah. I'm a jerk and you're a tiny brat."

"I'm what?"

I smirked and let her have it.

"Did you know tiny brat is an anagram of Brittany?"

She was furious. I was loving this.

I spoke again. "And my name is an anagram for anvil and vinal."

Simon chuckled. "Only if you spell vinyl wrong."

Oops. He was right, as usual.

"Nobody asked you," I said through gritted teeth, determined to get the last word this time.

That did the trick, Simon and Brittany stopped bothering me and ate their lunches. Surprisingly, I sort of missed the arguing.

I made it to fourth period before the bell rang. Yes! That was progress. Then, I remembered I hadn't read the first few chapters of "Lord Of The Flies." That was the book we were currently reading as a class. Although, The Smithster assigns an awful lot of chapters as homework. Since I had some extra time, I decided to try and read at least chapter one. It was easier said than done. The blurry type made it almost impossible. Man, it was such an old book, the print must have been messed up. It seemed better the further I held it from my face, but I still had to squint. The first chapter was incredibly boring. All it did was describe the scenery, but it did it in such a confusing way. I swear I knew less about the scenery after reading the book than before I read it.

As I was struggling to read "Lord Please Kill Me Now"…..I mean, "Lord Of The Flies", I noticed Jeanette come into the classroom and take her seat. I put down the book and looked at her with a pained expression.

"This book is going to be the death of me," I whined.

Jeanette came over to Simon's desk and sat down.

"I know it's hard, but you can do it. I believe in you."

She believed in me. Let me tell you, when you're feeling down on your luck and like the world's biggest screw up, it sure is nice to know someone still believes in you.

I started on the second chapter, feeling much more confident. I finished the first sentence. Then, Jeanette's voice broke my concentration.

"Why are you squinting?"

What was I supposed to say to that? I always read by squinting. The bookmaker people bring it on themselves by making all the words blurry.

"Because I can't see the words clearly if I don't."

I also can barely see them clearly if I do, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

She looked concerned. "Alvin, I hate to say it, but I think you might need glasses."

Glasses? There was no way I was going to wear glasses. Never in a million years. Glasses are for nerds and I am no nerd. I couldn't even imagine what I would look like in glasses.

"My eyes are fine, Jeanette. Reading makes me tired and that's what makes my eyes all squinty," I explained.

That made sense, didn't it? I guess it did because she didn't say anything else. Or maybe she did, but I didn't hear her.

Fourth period was even more boring than the first half of the day. I did learn something about "Lord Of The Flies." For a story about kids trapped on an island, it sure isn't very adventurous. Maybe it will get more adventurous at the end, but I doubt it. As Miss Smith read the story aloud, my mind wandered again. I was flying through the air on one of Simon's jetpacks that he never lets me borrow. I wish he would because I think they are really cool. I landed the jetpack on an island. Don't ask me which island because I'm not great at geometry….I mean geography. Which one is the one that deals with maps again? Anyway, I was on an island and then my jetpack died, so I roamed around the island taking in the scenery.

I'm not sure how long I roamed, but eventually I met up with two chipmunks who looked a lot like Simon and Theodore. Not exactly like them though, since the tall one who looked like Simon had scraggly black hair and wasn't wearing glasses and the one who resembled Theodore was wearing tiny wire glasses. I talked with them for a while and they mentioned something about a conch shell. Then, black haired Simon showed me how to convert coconut oil into fuel and put it in my jetpack.

I thanked them, and just as I was about to leave the island, the one who looked like Theodore said, "I think he's sleeping again."

The Simon one replied, "With his eyes open?"

I found myself back in reality and realized Theodore and Simon were standing in front of my desk. Simon's arms were crossed and Theodore looked confused. I concluded that I should probably say something to them and let them know I was awake.

"It's called daydreaming," I grinned.

"What was it about this time?" Simon questioned. "Was it robots? Vampires? Zombies playing paintball?"

As we walked out of the classroom, I explained it to them.

"I was stranded on an island."

"That's just like in Lord Of The Flies!" Theodore said excitedly.

"See? I was half paying attention," I felt pretty proud of myself, but it didn't last long.

"Then perhaps you can tell us what you think of Jack. I think he's bad news." Simon sure wasn't making it easy on me.

"Jack the Reaper?" I asked.

Simon rolled his eyes.

I had answered incorrectly. Jack the Reaper must have been from a different book. Curse my mixed up mind!

"Read the book, Alvin," I could tell Simon's patience was wearing thin.

"Fine," I reluctantly agreed. I really would if it weren't so unbearably bo-ring!

I took a bathroom break and made my way through the hall to reach my next destination. Again, dodging the legs of other students as I ran. It was going to be fifth period soon. The part of the day that almost made going to this lousy school worthwhile. It was time for Physical Education. Street name, Gym class.

I arrived in the gym and said hello to Coach Dopkins. Not to be confused with Mr. Dobson who was my drama teacher last semester. Man, they have similar names. My excitement about gym class turned to terror when I realized what our class might be doing today. There were some balance beams set up in the gym. Was Coach Dopkins going to make us do gymnastics or something? I have a horrible time trying to balance and the slower I move, the harder it becomes. If he wanted to me to race across the balance beam, that wouldn't be a problem, but moving slowly and putting one foot in front of the other, I was bound to slip and fall. Then, the whole class would probably laugh at me.

"Hey, Coach," I said loudly. "What are the balance beams for?"

Coach Dobkins looked down at me. "They're for the girls' gymnastics class."

Yes! Not for us!

Simon and Theodore arrived and Coach Dopkins gave everyone time to change into their gym clothes. Then, we went outside to the soccer field.

As I played soccer, I pretended I was a professional athlete in the playoffs. Wait, does soccer have playoffs or is that a football thing only? Eh, it doesn't matter. I was Speedy Seville the soccer superstar! Nobody could catch me. Not even Derek! I dove under his legs and scored a goal. I did the same thing to Ray Ray and Cheesy, but that was less impressive in my opinion. When Coach Dopkins blew his whistle signaling class was over, I picked up the soccer ball and spun it around on my finger.

"Good game, Derek," I taunted.

"I'm gonna get you, rat!"

No, he wasn't. I was much too fast for him.

I ran back into the locker room, took a short cold shower, and changed back into my usual clothes. It was time to face the last class of the day. Then I was home free….except of course for the detention.

The last class was science, I tried to pay attention to the best of my ability. Maybe if I acted good enough Miss. Smith would forget all about the detention. It was worth a try, wasn't it? Miss. Smith talked about something called Avogadro's Constant. I don't know what that means, but I'm sure Simon does. Theodore mispronounced it as Avacodo's Constant and the whole class cracked up. Theodore laughed too. He's such a good sport when it comes to getting teased. That might be because he doesn't know when he's being teased. Then again, it's entirely possible Theodore knows more than he lets on. I've never really questioned him about it.

Miss. Smith called on me to answer a question. I had been busy thinking about Simon and all the science stuff in our basement, so I had no clue what she asked.

"What was that, Miss. Smith?"

"Can you tell us the parts of the electromagnetic spectrum?"

Oookay? We were talking about that Avacadro guy. How did we go from that to the...electromagnet...thing? Hold on, I knew the electromagnet thing. Even though I wasn't sure how to pronounce that long title.

"Radio waves, then microwaves, the red stuff snakes use, the light that makes the rainbow, the light that causes sunburn, x Rays, and the stuff that created the Incredible Hulk." I crossed my fingers and hoped I was right.

Miss. Smith looked surprised. "Sort of the long way to get there, but I'll give it to you. You better learn the names of all the waves before the test!"

"I will do my best," I replied. That was a lie. A total lie. However, I had to act like a, dare I say it, teacher's pet if I wanted to avoid detention.

I acted like I was enjoying science class the rest of the hour. It was weird, the more I pretended, the less of an act it became. At some point, I think I actually was enjoying science. No! That wasn't possible, was it? If I liked science, that meant I was a nerd….like Simon. The bell rang and I shook the thoughts out of my head. I got out of my desk and tried to leave the classroom, but I ran into one of Miss Smith's knees.

"Did you forget about your detention?"

"That's still happening?" I asked, with genuine surprise. I had thought paying attention and answering questions would have cancelled it out.

"Alvin, don't play games with me," Miss Smith snapped.

I wasn't trying to play a game with her. Why did she always assume I was? It was no use arguing though. I gave a defeated sigh.

"I'll see you in detention," I told her.

As boring as my usual classes are, detention is boring times 100! There's nothing to do! Miss. Smith makes me sit alone and work on my work. I'm not even allowed to speak! Fortunately, I have a secret weapon for times like this. Miss. Smith could take away my phone, but she couldn't take away the music catalogue inside my mind. I listened to some hits from The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, Dolly Parton, Redfoo, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Billy Joel, Beach Boys, and Blondie. I knew the music and the lyrics by heart. They were all stored in my mind, just like the TV shows I loved to watch. Simon may be a genius, but I bet even he wouldn't be able to do this with hundreds of songs and movies.

When I got tired of listening to human singers, I turned to the catalogue of my own music. Unfortunately, over the years this one had gotten pretty messed up. I knew a lot of the more recent songs, but some of the classics had lyrics missing. I made a mental note to ask Dave how to sing the chorus of "Witch Doctor" I wondered why I could remember songs that weren't written by Dave easier than songs that were. Logically, the opposite would be true. Then again, my mind doesn't really operate logically. At least, Simon says it doesn't. Detention was over before I knew it. I still hadn't done any homework, but there would be time for that later.

Dave came to pick us up from school today instead of letting us walk home. I was a little disappointed because I enjoy the walk….err run home, but this would get me home faster. Soon, I would be playing my favorite videogames and eating cheeseballs. The dreadful school day would be completely behind me.

As it turns out, I was wrong. As soon as we got home, Dave quickly threw together a salad (I told you he makes too many salads) and we all had dinner. I ate my dinner as quickly as possible hoping to maximize my free time for gaming. Dave took notice and asked me why I was eating so fast.

"I'm really hungry," I replied.

"So, did anything interesting happen at school today?" Dave asked us.

"We read some more chapters of "Lord Of The Files"" Theodore answered.

Why Theodore was interested in a book like that, I'll never understand.

"And Alvin answered a question correctly in science class." Simon added.

Was he impressed? He isn't as open with his feelings as the others, but he sure sounded impressed.

"Really? What was the question about?" Dave sounded impressed too.

I smiled a genuine smile. Not a smirky smile, an actual smile.

Uh oh. He wanted me to answer the question. Something told me that "electromagma thingie" wasn't gonna cut it.

I needed to concentrate. Really really concentrate. What was that long name? Electromagma….Electro-magnet…..Spectrometer? Time to hit it with my best shot….like Pat Benatar.

"Election-magnet-spectacles," I fumbled out.

That wasn't even close to what I wanted to say. I knew it.

Simon no longer looked impressed.

I finished shoving my dinner into my cheeks while Simon and Dave discussed whether I had a learning disorderbillity or not. Theodore stayed out of the conversation too. Of course, he doesn't usually talk when there's food in front of him.

"Can I go now?" I asked with my mouth full.

"I think you have to swallow first," Simon laughed.

"You can go now, Alvin," Dave told me. "But I expect you to have your homework finished by bedtime."

"Already did it in detention," I lied. Pretty sure that would come back to haunt me later, but at the moment all I cared about was turning on our huge TV and setting up Raceramma. It was my favorite car racing game.

As soon as I gripped the controls and clicked play, I was no longer playing the game…..I was INSIDE the game! I was driving down the highway at over 200 miles per hour! I decided to put the top of the convertible down. Then, I could feel the wind in my hair. I felt every bug that hit my face. I felt absolutely positively AWESOME! I passed all the other cars and looked down at my score on the dashboard. Yes! I was about to beat my high score! This was amazing! So close to victory. So close…..

Instantly, I was out of the game and sitting on the couch staring at a black screen. Dave was standing by the TV holding a plug in his hand. He had unplugged my game! I was furious.

"Hey! What's the big idea!?"

Dave also looked furious. "Miss. Smith called me. She told me you didn't do any of your homework in detention!"

"Um…Miss. Smith is a liar."

Big mistake, but at the moment I didn't see a better way out.

"Go to your room and work on your homework."

"But Dave, I..."

"GO!"

"But...but...but…"

"ALVINNN!" He yelled. It was his signature yell. The one that echoed through my mind over and over. It's even woken me up from my sleep a few times.

I stopped arguing with my adoptive father and ran up the stairs to my room. Simon and Theodore were there. Obviously, I would need Simon's help with my homework.

I started to formulate several plans I could use to get out of the situation. My mind does that a lot. It can come up with so many plans at once, that it sometimes overwhelms me. When that happens, I usually choose the wrong plan. It's hard to think clearly when you think about so much at one time. I wish I knew how to slow down the constant barrage of information. It's as if my head is information grand central station….and also imagination grand central station. What plan should I use? Zip line over to the girls' treehouse? No. Get Simon and Theodore to distract Dave while I climb out the window and run away? No. Do the homework and complain as I do it. The logical choice, but no. Ask Simon to use an invention to help me do my homework? Hmmm. That might work.

I sat down at the miniature desk in the corner of the room and opened my big history book. Well, by human standard, it's big, but to a chipmunk it's enormous. I squinted at the words and started to whine.

"I just don't understand it, Simon!"

He came over. Theodore followed him.

"We'll help you, Alvin. Don't worry," Theodore said sweetly.

He was so sweet…..it almost made me feel like a jerk for taking advantage of his innocence…..almost.

"So what are you having trouble with?"

I turned to look at Simon. He was my guide, my mentor, my conscience. If anyone could help me, it was him.

"All of it," I answered. No more lies. It was time to "suck it up."

"Let's start at the beginning of the chapter." Simon spoke gently.

"Do you think you could use one of your inventions to make me smarter?" I asked. "Not turn me into a total geek-nerd like you, but make me smart enough to pass?"

"Ignoring your inappropriate comment, yes," Simon replied.

Yes! He actually said yes!

Simon spoke again. "I call it the study buddy."

He handed me a sheet of paper with a grid drawn on it.

"Is that like the no-buddy?" Theodore asked.

"No. It's a way to organize your notes as you read. A six column grid system I invented," Simon replied matter of factly.

I was sad. "So no super cool helmet that enhances my brainwaves?"

"I'm afraid not."

I crossed my arms and gave Simon my best pouty face.

"You can become smart enough to pass on your own." Simon explained. "All it takes is hard work, dedication, and studying. Lots and lots of studying."

I cringed. Studying was my worst nightmare. Even worse than the nightmares about werewolves, gremlins, and mummies. As much as I hated studying, I decided to take Simon's help.

I won't bore you with the details of our session, but I learned a little more than I thought I would. As I was getting ready for bed, Simon walked over to me holding a few papers that were stapled together.

"What's this?" He inquired. I like that word a lot more than questioned. Can't say it correctly, but I like it.

"It's a story I'm writing," I replied.

He laughed. I felt hurt. He didn't think I could write a story?

He must have noticed my face, because the next thing he said was.

"Wait, you're serious?"

I nodded.

"What's it about?" Simon sure was a curious guy. I guess he and I have that in common.

"It's a story about my life. It'll give anyone who reads it a look inside my head. It's not finished yet though. Sort of a work-in-progress. I'm stuck on the ending. You know, wrapping things up has never been my specialty. I would talk non-stop if I didn't have to take breaks to breathe." I told him.

He laughed again. "I'd like to read it sometime."

"You can," I said. "As soon as I figure out how to end it."

He climbed into his bed. I hopped onto mine.

Theodore's voice rang out behind me.

"Can I read your story too?" He asked.

"Sure," They were interested in what I wrote. It filled me with a warm tingly feeling. I realized I knew the perfect ending for my story. I would write it tonight after they had both fallen asleep.

"Do you have a title for it?" my baby brother inquired. Again, I really love that word.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I answered him with a sly smile.

"I'm going to call it, "Alvin Explains It All."

THE END