Munk Up Part One
4:
MunkUp!
Chapter 1
It is a beautiful morning in Los Angeles, California. The sun is just coming up, the doves have started singing, and all of the flowers are beginning their daily bloom. A fresh layer of morning dew gives each blade of grass a glossy, almost magical look.
As the sun slowly rises, it shines down on a small, yet delicately elegant home in a little bubble of houses that branch off the main road. The light peeps through a window and illuminates a room containing six sleeping little people. These kids are resting peacefully, having dreams too complicated for explanation; dreams that only the dreamers themselves can truly understand. A few of the small kids are even smiling in their sleep, hoping this silent night will never come to a close.
A squawking alarm clock disturbs the peace, and the room suddenly leaves its fantasy and brings itself back into reality. The kids…well, they really shouldn't be referred to as simply kids. These children have fur, ears, tails, and the tallest one is only about six inches tall, at the most.
These chipmunks…yes, that's more like it…snap out of their dreams, some more abruptly than others. Simon, for example, (the smartest of the famous 'Chipmunks' brothers) slowly cracks his eyes open, while Jeanette (most intelligent of the equally famous 'Chipettes' sisters) jumps up and smacks her head against the underside of Eleanor's bunk.
"Ack!" Jeanette exclaims as gravity pulls her back down to her bed. She rubs the top of her head with her paw, groaning at the small bump that has formed where she hit it. Jeanette looks over at Simon, her unbearably attractive counterpart, who is reaching for his small, jet-black rimmed glasses on a little bedside table.
"Is today really 'the day?'" Jeanette asks him, with a slight hint of disbelief in her tone.
Simon pulls out his calculator and pretends to punch numbers into it, making sure it is obvious to Jeanette that he's not. "Well, according to my calculations, I believe it is September 7th," Simon starts, then pauses and smiles secretly when he hears Jeanette giggle, "and that can only mean one thing…"
"The first day of school," Alvin finishes for him. The grumpy, red-clad chipmunk slowly climbs down the ladder from his bed, quietly passing a snoring Theodore, and finally bounces off Simon's neatly-made bed. He lands perfectly on two paws on the floor.
"Alvin, I just made that bed," Simon grunts, and narrows his eyes at his brother as he trudges back over to his bed to fix the few wrinkles that Alvin has made.
"Oh relax Si. No one but you is judging how neat your bed is," Alvin says, but Simon just rolls his eyes and ignores the little comment.
Simon still does not understand how he is related to Alvin. He loves Alvin, sure, but it scares Simon whenever he considers the fact that the two of them share the same gene pool. The fact that Alvin was five minutes older than Simon also boggles his mind.
The two have been especially vicious to each other lately. The summer has just ended, and the heat of the events during this three month period has not yet worn off. The whole 'chipwrecked' thing, followed by not only an amazing performance at the International Music Awards, but also taking home the 'Record of the Year' award, is still running through all of the chipmunks' heads. So with everyone still jittery about the summer, it was easy for someone to be 'pushed over the edge', so to speak.
Soon, everyone is properly dressed and eating toaster waffles in the kitchen with Dave Seville, whom Alvin, Simon, and Theodore called their dad. At this point, the boys have been living with Dave for nearly three years, and the girls have been staying with them for one of those years.
Although it seems that not much has changed about these six little superstars, it is in fact quite the opposite, especially since the past summer. The one who arguably has changed the most is Brittany, the lead singer of the Chipettes.
When the Chipmunks first met the girls in school in 'The Squeakquel', Brittany was the one to distance herself the most from her celebrity crush, Alvin. She believed Ian Hawke's lies about how the Chipmunks had betrayed him (certainly more than her sisters) and Brittany didn't want anything to do with Alvin. It turns out that Alvin really was selfish and conceded, but Brittany (and Theodore, in a separate case) helped turn him around.
Brittany, at the time, was quite an innocent girl. She wasn't rude or obnoxious or anything of that sort. All she cared about was her sisters and making sure that they were together in everything. This was an especially big help when the girls discovered that Brittany was the only Chipette that Ian really cared about.
When the chipmunks returned to school after their victory at the school talent show, Brittany was immediately surrounded by tons of fans, girls and boys alike. Since then, she has had a major group of friends that she never failed to sit at lunch with. There was never a time where one couldn't hear them, gossiping and giggling away like there was no tomorrow.
During the summer, however, the other five began to notice something different about Brittany. According to what Simon and Eleanor believe, Brittany had let the fame get to her head. Although she still clearly cared about her siblings, she was much more worried about herself, specifically her own appearance.
Throughout their time on the island, Brittany was heard saying things such as:
"Uh, I have a situation of my own to deal with Alvin…I'm talking about me! It's been two days since my last bath and I am a mess! I mean, I can't get rescued looking like THIS!"
Or
"I can't believe Jeanette's getting all the attention; I mean I'm the 'pretty one'! Jeanette's the 'smart one'. You don't see me running around trying to…be all smart, do you?"
This was definitely not the Brittany that everyone was used to.
And if that weren't bad enough, Brittany's attitude is getting noticeably worse almost daily. That morning, the chipmunks are almost late to their first day of school because Brittany is glued to the mirror, trying to figure out how she should style her hair. In the end, it doesn't matter, because Alvin drags her out of the house by her hair!
"Ow, ow, ow, OW!" Brittany squeals with each step Alvin takes as he pulls the pink-clad Chipette into the car. Once in her seat, Brittany wrenches Alvin's hand from her head. "Don't you EVER do that again!" she growls with an icy glare in her eyes. After that, no one else dares to speak until the car pulls up at West Eastman High.
"Well, we're here. Now I hope you will be on your best behavior; and by you I mean you, Alvin. This is your senior year. It's your last chance to make it count," Dave says, and Alvin groans when he hears his name.
"Well, off you go. Have a fun first day guys!" Dave says, and smiles encouragingly.
"Dave, it's school we're talking about. I don't believe 'fun' belongs in that sentence," Alvin says blankly as he unbuckles his seatbelt. The rest follow him. Now the only thing between them and the trampling high school students is the car door.
Alvin takes a deep breath. "Ok…here we go," and then, with the help of Simon, he pushes the door open.