Chapter 1
"Unbelievable," Simon grumbled as he stormed into the Seville household. "God!" He threw off his jacket onto the floor and kicked it away, only turning back to face his brothers and father when the oldest spoke.
"Look, Simon, I–"
The eldest of the Seville brothers was cut off in mid-sentence as Simon held up his hand to silence him. He didn't want to hear it. "Alvin, just . . . just don't even talk to me right now, all right? Just leave me alone." With that, he stormed up the stairs.
Alvin turned to glance at his youngest brother. "What's with him?"
Theodore groaned in annoyance, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He thrust his jacket into Alvin's chest, having removed it as he'd entered the abode, and went up the stairs after his brother.
Alvin finally turned to glance up at his father. The man said nothing to him, but only turned and headed towards the kitchen to prepare their dinner. The oldest chipmunk let out a sigh. Once he'd placed his jacket on the coat rack, along with Simon's and Theodore's, he headed towards the living room, picking up the remote and switching on the television.
The house was relatively quiet throughout the rest of the afternoon. The only noise that could be heard was either the noise from the television or the noise of Dave cooking dinner in the kitchen. The mood that had fallen over the Seville household was quite gloomy, to say the least, and needless to say, Alvin didn't particularly like it.
"Guys, come on," Dave called. "Dinner."
Shutting off the television, Alvin approached the kitchen just as his brothers were coming down the stairs. Without a word to each other, they sat down and began eating. The atmosphere surrounding the table wasn't as cheerful as it usually was. Dave didn't even ask them how their day had gone. They each kept their eyes down, not so much as casting a glance at each other. Alvin was the first finished, wanting to get up and be excused as possible.
A hot shower would do him some good. Hopefully, it would relieve him of the saddened state his mind had been brought into. For the longest time, he simply stayed in the shower for a little longer than he was supposed to, allowing the hot water to hit his face. It felt good. It was relieving him off the stranglehold that his depression had taken over him and his body.
He was surprised about running into Simon as he exited the bathroom, clothed in his bedtime attire. He took a couple of steps back, lowering his hand that held his dirty clothes and his towel.
"Look," Simon said sternly, scowling, "until this whole thing blows over, I think it'd be best if . . . well, we all need a break from you."
Alvin frowned and he looked down at his feet. How was that supposed to make him feel any better? If Simon was trying to make him feel worse than he already did, then the bespectacled chipmunk was having a good amount of success. He finally looked back at Simon. "Don't worry. This whole thing will be blown over within the next couple of weeks."
Simon smirked. "For your sake, I hope you're right. I sure wouldn't want to be you right now. Mind yourself at school, when you get the chance to go back. You don't want to piss anyone off any more than you already have." His expression became serious. "You understand what I'm saying to you, don't you?"
Alvin nodded his head. "Yeah."
"Good." He patted Alvin's cheek. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I have to use the bathroom."
"Sure." He stepped aside to let Simon enter the bathroom, then continued on his way towards their bedroom.
"Brittany–" Alvin greeted cheerfully.
"Don't talk to me," Brittany interrupted him, storming past him without a second glance at him.
Alvin watched her go before turning back to his brothers. "What's up her ass?"
Simon glared at him. "You, Alvin. Always. You." He sighed. "The principal would like to see you in her office–now!"
Alvin sighed himself, walking past his brother towards the principal's office. He knocked timidly on her door, peeking into her office. She motioned for him to enter and close the door behind him so that they could talk privately. He approached her desk and set his backpack down by her desk. "You wanted to see me?"
She nodded. "Yes. You have some work to catch up on. You've fallen behind on your studies. You're behind by at least one semester."
He blinked. "But it's going to take me forever to get caught up. I'm not going to get the chance to graduate with my brothers or friends."
"That's not my problem."
"I didn't do anything wrong this time, okay?"
She sneered at him as she stood up to her full height. "A student is dead as a direct result of your bullying!"
He faltered and took a step back away from her.
"I don't care if it takes you the rest of the school year to get caught up on your classes," she went on in that same cold tone. "You deserve what you get for what you did to Erik Matthews. Maybe it'll give you some time to reflect how you should treat others. You will make up your work while in school suspension. You will be monitored at all times by a teacher. You will not be allowed to leave the classroom unless otherwise authorized by your teacher. Is that understood?"
Alvin nodded his head. "Yes, ma'am."
"You are to report to 11th Street Alternative School, room 369 at eight o' clock sharp. You may ride the bus there, bus number 2408. It leaves at seven thirty. If you prefer, you may have your parent or guardian drive you. Class is dismissed at three o' clock. You are expected to stay outside the main entrance where you can be seen. You will not leave the premises unless otherwise permitted to do so by a teacher or another supervisor. You are to remain on school grounds until the bus or your parent or guardian comes to pick you up. Is that clear?"
He nodded yet again. "Yes, ma'am."
"You will also be attending counseling sessions here at schools once you return. Your father has signed you up for anger management classes, as well as sensitivity training, at the local college. Your brother Theodore has suggested that you join a youth group at the local church to get in touch with your spiritual side. It was also suggested to me by one of the victim's friends that you and your family start attending church every Sunday from now."
He held up his hands. "May I interject here?"
She nodded. "Certainly."
"Isn't this a bit much? I mean, anger management classes? Bible study? Sensitivity training?"
She glared. "You did this to yourself, Mr. Seville."
"You are aware that my brother Simon is an atheist, right?"
"Yes, and he has voiced his concerns regarding Theodore's suggestions towards me. He doesn't seem to think that getting in touch with your spiritual side will do any good, but he is willing to allow you to practice it to see if any such good is produced. As a family, you will go to the abode of the victim's family and apologize to them, as well as give a public apology and speech about why your actions were wrong to the school."
"Jesus, do I get a vote in this?"
"None whatsoever, Mr. Seville."
"And what about the others who participated in the bullying? What happens to them?"
"They have been thoroughly punished, just as you have been, not that that's any of your business."
Sighing, he removed his cap and wrung it in his hands. With his cap still in his hand, he ran his fingers through his hair, combing it back, his chest heaving in and out as he breathed heavily. He put his cap back on his head. He looked down as she pushed a contract towards him.
"Sign it." It wasn't a question. She set a pen down on the document and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms.
Groaning, Alvin picked up the contract and read over it carefully and thoroughly to make sure he fully understood what was expected of him. It basically listed all of the objectives that she had just rambled off and how he would abide by them and that he would not break any of the rules and regulations that had been set for him, that he understood that to do so would be going against the contract and that he understood that such actions had severe consequences. Considering all of the crap that he would have to put up with for the following months, not to mention the fact that he'd been out of school for a whole semester, he wasn't about to take his chances on going against the contract. Picking up the pen, he scribbled his name in cursive and then turned it around and pushed it towards her.
She picked it up and nodded her head accordingly upon discovering his signature. "Very good, Mr. Seville. Seeing as school has already started, you may be permitted to attend your regular classes. You will be escorted to and from each class by a teacher while here at the school and also while you are at 11th Street. Have a nice day."
"This is horse shit," Alvin ranted in his bedroom to his brothers. Despite the fact that neither one of them looked particularly interested, he continued to rant and rave. "This is inhumane! They can't do this! This is cruel and unusual punishment!"
Simon snorted. "You have no one to blame but yourself, Alvin. You knew what you were doing was wrong."
Alvin glared at him. "I was just having some fun, okay? Nothing wrong with that."
Simon gritted his teeth and glowered at his older brother. He hopped off his bed and approached his brother, causing the latter to take a few cautious steps back. "Just because you're popular doesn't give you the right to look down on others as if they were meager peasants!" He folded his arms while he continued to glare at Alvin.
Alvin chuckled. "Oh, now you care? You know, it's funny how when you're dead, people start listening."
"I've always cared," Theodore said quietly, causing both brothers to look at him. He was just as affected by Erik's passing as the victim's family, being that he was one of Erik's best friends. He went back to doing his homework.
"I was busy the whole time," Simon replied, turning back to Alvin. "I had homework to worry about, projects to get done, clubs meetings to attend–"
Alvin snorted. "And yet you never took the time to help him."
If possible, Simon's expression hardened. "I shouldn't have had to protect him from the likes of you. You should have known better."
"He was nobody. He had nobody. No one cares about Erik Matthews."
Theodore was in Alvin's face in a flash, a furious look on his face. "I do," he said simply. The tone and tranquility with which he'd said these two words made his expression at the more terrifying. He hawked and spat in Alvin's face, the spittle landing between Alvin's eyes. Without another word to his older brother, he gathered his things and pulled on Simon's arm. The two of them left the room to finish their homework in the peaceful atmosphere of the kitchen.
Alvin's life didn't improve within the following weeks. If anything, he was miserable. As part of his contract, he had to do all of the activities that the principal had listed off. This included going to church every Sunday and hear the pastor drone on and on about matters that didn't apply to him, much less ones that he didn't care about. Like his younger brother Simon, he felt that religion was mainly for idiots who didn't want to think for themselves and for gullible people. Therefore, he found himself falling asleep quite often in church, only to be jerked out of his sound slumber by either Theodore smacking him in the head or Dave shaking him awake. Apparently to them, religion was serious business.
School wasn't any better, but at the very least it provided him with something to do other than being confined in a small room listening to someone ramble on and on about spiritual matters. Even still, he didn't care about school any more than he did religion. Oddly enough, the school day seemed to go by faster than a two-hour sermon, probably because he was keeping himself busy by doing schoolwork. As he had missed a semester of school, he had over nineteen hours of schoolwork to get through. Needless to say, he would be at 11th Street Alternative School for a good long while. To provide him with some light reading, Theodore had sneaked a Bible into Alvin's backpack when he wasn't looking. He had to chuckle at this. Light reading. Yeah, right. Sixty-six books that, when combined, were over seven hundred thousand words wasn't light reading at all. It at least provided him with something to do when he wasn't working on schoolwork. He'd attempted reading the other books that the school provided, but none of them piqued his interest. Interestingly enough, he found the Bible that Theodore had given him far more compelling when it came to reading than anything the school provided for him. When he considered this, he wondered if whether or not God was working on his heart. Or, probably more likely, he was so bored with reading that he'd read anything.
Probably the only thing was going over well for him was the anger management classes. He found himself getting less and less angry as the classes progressed, and anytime he did find himself getting pissed off, he found himself using the techniques he'd learned within the class to cool himself down. Because of this, his relationship with Simon seemed to be going a lot smoother to the point where they weren't arguing as much. Naturally, as a result of this, they were getting a long a lot more. They could finally be kept confined in a room for more than five minutes without anyone having to worry about them ripping each other's throats out.
Unfortunately, it shortly became too much for Alvin. The stress was getting to him as the days went by and he fount it hard finding someone to vent his frustrations to.
The oldest chipmunk barged into the Seville household in a huff, breathing heavily. He threw his backpack down on the table, causing Simon to cease from making his sandwich and look at him.
"What's with you?" Simon went back to making his sandwich, adding a thick layer of peanut butter to a naked piece of bread.
"This," Alvin growled. He dug around in his backpack until he pulled out a sheet of paper and showed it to him.
"Ah." Simon nodded his head in understanding. "Algebraic equations."
Alvin growled once again, slamming the piece of paper down on the table. "I am so sick of this."
"Like I've told you before, Alvin, you have no one to blame but yourself. Quite honestly, I'm getting sick of hearing you bitch and moan."
"I just think it's so unfair, that's all."
There was a loud clang as the knife abruptly hit the counter once Simon had dropped it down in an angry huff. He turned towards his brother, glaring. "Then why don't you just leave?! That would be best for everyone involved!" His glare remaining, he turned back to his sandwich. He was in such a fuss that he barely heard Alvin leave the room.
Hours later, Alvin lay in bed thinking over what Simon had said earlier. When he thought about it, he thought that maybe it would be best if he left. Even though the tragic event had happened several weeks ago, people were still pissed at him. His inbox for his email was flooded with messages from friends and family members of the victim, all of them saying how much they despised people like him. None of them spoke a kind word to him. Obviously, none of this helped to improve his mood or his attitude towards his new situation that he found himself in. Perhaps it would be best if he went out on his own. As Simon said, to do so would probably be in everyone's best interest.
With his mind made up, Alvin got out of bed and began packing his things. He cringed at every little squeak and creak, afraid that the excessive noise would wake up the other members of the household. Thankfully, the noise didn't do any such thing and he was able to successfully make it outside with his luggage without anyone catching him.
As he stood outside in the cool night air, a thought stroke him. He recalled what the principal had told him a few weeks ago: "As a family, you will go to the abode of the victim's family and apologize to them . . ." He realized that he had yet to do this, as well as fulfill the other obligations that he was expected to fulfill. He figured that this task would probably be the easiest, and it would be a good way of leaving town and venturing out on his own. With that, he made his way down the porch steps and started down the sidewalk.
Alvin stared down at the debit card he held in his hands. He'd managed to swipe it from Dave's wallet back at the house before he'd went downstairs. Now as he stood before an active ATM, he wondered if maybe he should go through with his plan or simply try to make the money on his own. He supposed that he could borrow some money now and then find a job wherever he ended up going. That way, if by some chance Dave managed to find him, he could pay back the money he owed.
He'd seen Dave use his debit card so many times that he'd memorized the pin number. It was the date in which Dave had discovered him and his brothers on his doorstep, the day he had taken them in as his own. He had to stop momentarily and wipe some fresh tears from his eyes. The fact that his adoptive father had used the date as his pin number for his debit card was touching to him.
He withdrew at least five hundred dollars from the ATM, at least enough to buy him a plane ticket. The only question was, where would he go? He blamed the Matthews for the answer that he came up with, seeing as how they had planted the idea in his head to begin with. It didn't take him no longer than three seconds to come up with his destination: Vancouver, British Columbia.
He was surprised that there was still an active airport at this hour of the night. Once he had bought his plane ticket, he had his luggage scanned and loaded onto the plane that would take him to his destination. He sat in the lobby of the airport, waiting for his plane to be announced. He spotted a few other people within the lobby; he assumed that most of them were writers, boarding planes that would take them to their next destination on their book tour or their next interview and whatnot. He kept his eyes off them and only concentrated on the vending machines and the various workers within the airport.
In the back of his mind, he actually wished that Dave would barge into the lobby and come stop him from running off to Vancouver, but no such thing occurred. He was all alone. No one was going to come to talk him out of it. No one was going to come to stop him. Realizing this, he stood up and boarded his plane when it was announced
