Title: Chipmunk Politics

Written by: Somnion

Disclaimer: I do not own Alvin and the Chipmunks. They belong to Bagdasarian Productions.

So sorry for the late update. I've been real busy, not to mention I've had rewrite a lot of areas on this story so I could keep the Chipmunks and Chipettes in character. I hope I did alright. I'll update the story 'I do' as soon as I can. I already have a great idea for an Alvin and Brittany proposition for that one and I'll upload the story as soon as I can.

Chapter 4: The Date: Part Two

Simon and Jeanette gazed in wonder as they walked through the many exhibits; fish and sea animals of all shapes, sizes and colour swam around them for the aquarium was built so that the exhibit tanks lined the walls and ceilings in order to give visitors the feeling as though they were walking under water with the fish swimming to their sides and above them. While the two bespectacled chipmunks admired the diversity of ocean fauna within the exhibits, their siblings followed behind. Given that the aquarium offered no place to hide, it was difficult to sneak too close so Alvin had been having trouble in giving Simon instructions.

"Geez, if only there were more places to hide. I can't get anywhere near them," Alvin murmured.

Alvin turned around and looked at his accomplices, who, by the way, were too busy watching the fish than to really bother about playing matchmakers for their middle siblings. It was irritating, to say the least, when you're the only one who's actually serious about a plan, especially when the plan is so critical that it could very well determine your victory in the school elections. Well, that's what Alvin thought at least.

"Will you three get your heads out of the water and back on earth where it belongs?" Alvin asked sarcastically. "We've got a mission here."

"Well, somebody obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Brittany remarked snidely, a little put-off with Alvin's behaviour.

"We can't get too close to them, Alvin," Theodore explained. "They'll see us if we do."

"So since we really can't do anything," Eleanor reasoned, "let's just take some time to enjoy the aquarium while we're here."

Alvin let out a defeated sigh; the three of them did have a point. He reached for his wire and started relaying a message to Simon.

"Alright, Simon, you're on your own from here," he said. "Just make sure you don't forget about Operation Dolphin."

"Alright," Simon whispered on the wire. "I'll remember."

Brittany, Eleanor and Theodore then looked to Alvin, the same question running through their minds. What was this 'Operation Dolphin'?

Simon looked at his watch and saw that the hands upon the face of the watch showed that it was half past two and he knew that he'd only have half an hour to put Alvin's plan into effect. He was pleasantly surprised that Alvin had decided to leave the two of them alone for a little while; it was becoming extremely bothersome with Alvin's voice constantly ringing in his ears all the time. Jeanette was busy watching the clownfish exhibit; it was a very nice exhibit complete with coral and anemones that gave the tank a very authentic look. Simon, however, was watching something else other than just the fish. Since Jeanette had shown up for their date, he found that he could barely keep his eyes of her. Her outfit suited her well and looked wonderful and her neat French braid was so different than the usual messy bun she always wore.

"Is something wrong, Simon?" asked Jeanette as she noticed Simon standing around not watching the fish.

"Oh, it's nothing," he replied. However, as soon as he said that he recalled that he still hadn't given her a proper compliment about her appearance; the kingfisher compliment was a close save but still wasn't a compliment. His head now in a better state than it was before; he found that he could actually mouth the right words this time around.

"I...I like what you did with your hair. It's very nice," he said, although with a bit of awkwardness in his voice.

"Oh, uh...umm...thank you," replied Jeanette shyly, her cheeks blushing pink from the sudden compliment. "Brittany did it for me. She said I would look nice in a French braid."

"You...you do," Simon responded bashfully.

There was a moment of silence between the two chipmunks. It was awkward but nice at the same time and neither of them could stop smiling, even though both of them were actually smiling at their feet given that neither of them could look the other in the eyes. During their silence, Simon thought deeply on the situation he was in. Alvin had set him up with a date with Jeanette simply as a means to win the election and he followed through with his brother's plan partially because he was blackmailed and also because he, despite their constant arguments, loved his brother and knew how much the victory would mean to him. However, after all that had happened, he found now that he couldn't bring himself to deceive Jeanette anymore. He looked to his watch; it was fifteen minutes till 'Operation Dolphin' was to take off. He felt his hand reach into his pocket, his fingers brushing against the tickets. Alvin would throw a fit if he didn't pull off the operation but Simon didn't want to deceive the green eyed Chipette he was dating any further. So he decided that he'd undergo 'Operation Dolphin', not for Alvin's sake but for Jeanette's, so that she'd have a good time and a memorable date.

"Come on, Jeanette," he said. "There's still one more place to go."

Jeanette wondered where or what this last attraction was going to be for Simon insisted on it being a surprise. It was a surprise indeed when they came to the counter and Simon produced two tickets for a new attraction called 'Dolphins up close'. The two of them then followed one of the dolphin trainers to a special area where they met four dolphins. The trainer then showed both Simon and Jeanette how the dolphins were fed and then handed over the food to the excited chipmunks and asked them to give it a try. Simon fed the dolphins, taking the time to pet the ones that came close yet he stayed close to Jeanette, making sure she watched her footing for he was aware of her clumsiness. However, no such accident happened and Jeanette thoroughly enjoyed the ten minutes they had with the dolphins, feeding them and petting them. They left the aquarium at three and Jeanette was beaming like sunshine as she had a blast at the aquarium.

"Thanks for the great time today, Simon," she said as they left the aquarium. "I had a lot of fun."

"It was no problem," he said nervously. "I mean...I had fun too."

Just when Simon had thought he was going to have another moment with Jeanette, Alvin's voice cracked across the wire, ruining any possibility of a tender moment between the two chipmunks.

"Okay, now we're going to bring this whole thing home, Simon," Alvin whispered over the wire. "Take Jeanette to the zoo. We're gonna put 'Operation Panda' into full gear."

Why Alvin would come up with such unoriginal names for his hair-brained schemes was beyond Simon. The oddly named 'Operation Panda' was basically just taking Jeanette to see the pandas at the zoo. Simon had by this time made up his mind that he wasn't going to deceive Jeanette any further and the logical Chipmunk was planning to tell his brother that he was not going to have any part of it and was about to go home but reconsidered, when he realised that Jeanette might be interested in seeing the pandas at the zoo. He asked her if she was interested and when she answered him with an enthusiastic 'yes', the couple made their way to the zoo, followed by their siblings who kept themselves hidden at all times. Alvin and Brittany were leading the way while Theodore and Eleanor lagged behind slowly. Theodore walked slowly, his mind a swirling whirlpool of regret, guilt and doubt. He knew what he was doing was wrong, Jeanette was their friend and deceiving her and her sisters would be a blow to the trust they shared amongst each other. Suddenly, Eleanor took his arm and held it, surprising the plump, little Chipmunk and pulling him away from his thoughts.

"I'm glad," she said when she saw Theodore turn his head to acknowledge her.

"Glad for what?" asked the confused Chipmunk nervously.

"Jeanette looks very happy," she answered. "She really does like Simon and it's thanks to both you and Alvin that Simon is actually out on a date with her. So, thank you for that, Theodore."

With that, while Alvin and Brittany were still looking away, Eleanor leaned up and placed a soft kiss on Theodore's chubby cheek, a sign of how grateful she was for her sister's happiness. Theodore gulped and gave Eleanor an awkward smile, blushing the entire time. As they walked hand in hand, Theodore realised that he wasn't going to go through with this crazy plan anymore. Eleanor trusted him and his brothers and he wasn't planning on breaking that trust any further. When he got the chance he'd wire Simon and tell him to call this plan off. Theodore knew that Simon would listen, he just knew he would.

They arrived at the zoo and found Simon and Jeanette buying tickets. Theodore knew that this was his chance. Taking his chance to slip away from the group, he got onto his wire and whispered his message.

"Simon, it's me, Theodore," he whispered softly. "We have to stop this. I...I don't want to lie to the Chipettes anymore."

"Don't worry, Theodore," assured Simon over the wire. "I'm not going through with Alvin's plan either."

"What'll we say to Alvin then?" asked Theodore nervously.

"I'll think of something. Trust me."

Simon thought hard. He wished he knew a way to get Alvin to see how wrong this deception was. 'Operation Panda' was the agreed operation where Simon was supposed to convince Jeanette into voting for Alvin and the blue-clad Chipmunk knew he was running out of time. Then it dawned on him and as he planned the scheme in his head, laying out all the details of the elaborate ruse in his mind, did he realise just how good he was at planning schemes, probably as good as Alvin. The plan was fool-proof. Quickly, he wired his younger brother.

"Alright, Theodore. I've got a plan."

"What is it?" asked Theodore.

"No time to explain," answered the bespectacled Chipmunk. "But I'll need you to do two things for me. First try to contact Louie and Michael and see if you can get them to come to the zoo, secondly, try to find the zookeeper. I'll stall Alvin as long as I can."

"Okay, I'll do my best."

Chapter 4 Ends

Hope you guys enjoyed this. It's a little short but I hope it was alright. Besides, I always get worried that if I write too much, people might get bored and lose interest. Anyway, any reviews from readers will be greatly appreciated. Just press the little green button and type away...You know you want tooooo...