Chapter one
"Thank you, Chicago! You've been a wonderful audience!' Brittany shouted into the microphone hanging from her ear. The chipmunks were playing a charity concert in Chicago. All proceeds would go to the make a wish foundation and to the Chipmunk Charity, for various purposes. Dave, Vinny, and the kids had accompanied them. Miss Miller had stayed in Hollywood to watch little Max and Karen, and Xavier didn't come because he had some major company business to attend to. "Now, does anyone wanna hear an encore?" She asked. "I mean, we still got lots of energy to burn. So, I'll ask again. Do you wanna hear an encore?!" "Yeah!" The audience shouted back in a hurry. But then, a strange chant began to sweep out of the crowd. One the chipmunks hadn't expected. "New munks, new munks, new munks." The crowd called. "Oh, I see. You wanna hear an encore, but not from us. You want our kids. Well, hard to say I blame you. After all, they killed it, didn't they?" "Yeah!" The crowd cheered. The new munks had opened their parents show in Chicago. They had played and performed extremely well. When they walked off the stage at the end of their set, they walked off to a furious round of applause. "Well, I don't have a problem bowing out to them. What about you guys?" Alvin asked. The other munks shook their heads no. "Well, let's get them back out here! Come on, guys!" The kids ran back out on stage. "Say, Alvin." Simon said, an idea popping into his head. "Yes, Simon?" "Something just dawned on me." "What's that?" "Well, one day, these guys will succeed us as the chipmunks." "Right." "Well, judging from what I've read in magazines and online, I don't think enough people know their names." "Say, your right, Sy. And that's a real shame." 'Well, you know what we gotta do, don't you?" Cash asked. "Of course I do. We gotta do our duty as parents and introduce them to the world. So, let's get started." Alvin walked over to Eliza. "This little pink wearing wonder girl is one of my and Brittany's pride and joys. She's our little rock star princess. Give it up for Eliza!" Eliza waved vigorously to the crowd, for which she received a roar of applause. "Next up, we have colored real whiz kid. He's got an I.Q. of a hundred and ten, and he's not even ten. Make some noise for Tony!" Tony adjusted his glasses and smiled at the crowd. The crowd roared again and a few girls in the crowd whistled at Tony. "Next, we have the emerald siblings. Ones a blonde bombshell who can cook as well as she rocks, and the other, well, he has the taste buds of an iron chef and some serious skills on the mic to boot. Give it up for Olivia and Ben!" Ben waved and Olivia blew kisses. Once again, the crowd roared. "And last, but definitely not least, we've got the prince of the guitar and the princess of dance. He can shred the strings with the best of them, and she's light enough on her feet to give the lord of the dance a run for his money. Raise the roof for Tom and Helen!" The crowd exploded into applause. "There you have it folks. Now, the meet and greet is over. So, I give you, once again, the new munks!" The crowd roared once more. As the chipmunks began to walk off stage, Tom grabbed the nearest microphone and yelled "The chipmunks, everybody!" The crowd roared louder than it had before. Once the munks were off stage, Simon turned to Alvin. "Where in the world did you come up with those descriptions of the kids, Alvin?" "honestly, it just kinda came to me." "All of that 'just came to you'?" "Well, yeah. You know, just off the top of my head. But, it's not like I was very far off, right? I mean, Britt and I do see Liz as our princess and she's a rock star in her own right. Tony's definitely qualified to be called a genius. Ben and Olivia are awesome cooks. And Tom can seriously tear up some strings, and Nell's a good dancer, with a ton of moves." "Yes, that's true." "So what's the problem?" "Well, it was the way you said it. You made them sound larger than life. It was, you know, over the top." "Simon, after all these years, you seriously haven't figured out that that's the way Alvin does everything?" Cash asked. "Hmm, you have a good point, Cash. But, even so, I'm afraid that, with an introduction like that, their egos may get over-inflated and they'll get cocky. And, while this crowd may or may not see that cockiness, what about future crowds? You know one thing people don't like is a cocky celebrity and if the kids get cocky, that's what they'll get and then they'll…." "Sy, Sy, Sy! Breathe man. Your over analyzing this. I mean, you know the kids as well as I do. You know, they're not that kind of band. They've got egos, sure, but I know they're smart enough to keep them in check. We taught them to remember that ourselves. So, don't worry. They're not going to become hated by anyone. I promise you that. So, just chill, okay?" "Yeah, your right. Guess I over reacted." "Man, Sy, what got into you?" Alvin asked. 'It's probably my fault." Jeanette said. 'Simon and I watched a special on TV last night in our hotel room. It was a parenting special. I watched it because I was wondering if it could give me any advice or ideas I haven't thought of when it comes to raising Tony and Karen. Simon didn't really want to watch it at first, so I talked him into it. The program turned out to be very intense. Maybe a little overly intense for it's subject material. Anyway, that was the last thing that Simon and I watched on TV before we feel asleep. That program must've sunk deeply into Simon's mind over the course of the night. So much so that your introductions of the kids set him off the way you just saw. So, I'm sorry, Simon. I didn't mean for you to become this way when we watched the program. I'm sorry, honey." "It's okay, honey. It's not your fault. Like Cash said, I was over analyzing. And maybe I did absorb a little too much of that program, but that's not your fault. It's mine. So don't apologize anymore, okay?" "But.." "Hey, I got an idea.' Alvin said. "Why don't you both just forget about the whole thing? Cause after all, the program didn't do you any good any way. Because when it comes right down to it, only you can decide what's best for your kids. The only piece of advice, idea, whatever you wanna call it, that you need to keep in mind is 'don't be a jack ass and treat them badly'. We've all seen on TV and in newspapers and stuff what happens when parents mistreat their kids. So, just keep that one idea in mind and do whatever your parental instincts say is the right course of action, and you'll be good to go." "Wow." Was all Jeanette could say. 'Alvin, where did you get all that? No, wait, let me guess. Just off the top of your head?" "Well, pretty much, yeah. But, I do believe that. Just don't mistreat your kids and do what your heart tells you is right, and you should make a pretty good parent." "If only those people who mistreat their kids would do that." Cash said. "Yeah.' The rest of the munks agreed. Vinny, who was standing a little ways away from the munks, sighed and shifted around a little. "What's wrong, Vinny?" Dave, who was standing beside her, asked. "It's nothing." 'Come on now, Vinny. I know you better than that. I know something's bothering you, so tell me what it is." "Well, it's just that, seeing them talk about parenting like that made me think about my own parents." "Oh, I see." "Don't get me wrong, I love Xavier and my aunt Cheryl, my mother's sister who raised me. It's just that…" "I understand, Vinny. I wish we could find them for you." "I do too, Dave. I really do."