Also, before anyone askes, they are eight again in this story.
Enjoy.
A Night at the Hardknock Hotel - Chapter One "Like Sand From the Hour Glass..."
The chipmunks were heading home from the frozen yogurt shop. Simon and Theodore were in their usual frame of mind, but for some reason, Alvin seemed a bit sluggish today.
"Hey, Alvin," Theodore called back at his oldest brother, "what are you walking so slow for?"
"The slower I walk," Alvin began, "the longest it'll take me to get home."
"Don't tell me," Simon responded, "let me guess... you don't want to face Dave when he find out you failed you math test?"
"Pssh! Who cares about the math test?" Alvin asked. "I just don't want to go home is all!"
"Aw, but Alvin, home is where your head is!" Theodore said.
"I believe you mean home is where your heart is." Simon corrected him.
"I don't think so, but I do know that home is where my stomach wants to be!" Theodore replied.
"Because Dave is fixing lasagna tonight?" Simon asked, with a chuckle.
"That, and because I suddenly have a craving for cheddar cheese popcorn!"
"Ugh... first it was salt... then it was butter... now cheddar cheese... what more could they possibly put in popcorn for flavor? Garlic?"
"Haven't you ever tried garlic popcorn?"
"No, I haven't. So anyway, Alvin, why are you so dreading going home today?"
"Why?" Alvin responded, now even dragging further behind his brothers. "I'll tell you why, because I'm sick of home! Everyday, it's the same thing... we get up... we go to school... we come home... it's like clockwork! It's like those really boring movies they keep repeating on TV over, and over, and over again!"
"So, in other words," Simon said, "you feel your life is monotonous?"
"No," Alvin replied, "I just think it's getting boring and repetitive."
"At least you cleared that up." Simon said, sarcastically.
"But Alvin," Theodore began, "what else can we do?"
"I don't know about you fellas," Alvin responded, "but I need something to break the routine, otherwise, I think I'll go crazy!"
"So what else is new?" Simon asked.
"I don't know about you fellas," Alvin repeated, "but I need something to break the routine, otherwise, I think I'll go crazier than usual!"
"Oh my," Simon said, again with sarcasm, "not good..."
"You know," Theodore said, "maybe Alvin's right... life has been pretty uneventful lately... I mean, it's been a long time since our last concert, and Dave doesn't want us to start touring again until the school year is over..."
"That's it!" Alvin exclaimed. "No wonder I've been feeling so bored lately... it's been a long time since we've had a break from school!"
"Well," Simon said, "spring break is next week..."
"Exactly!" Alvin squealed. "We need to have a munk-to-man talk with Dave and tell him we need a vacation!"
"Absolutely not!" Dave said, as the chipmunks stood in his bedroom, asking for a vacation.
"But, Dave..." Alvin began.
"We can't, Alvin," Dave responded, "did you boys forget I have business to attend to next week? I'll be out of town pretty much the entire week, this just isn't a very convenient time for a vacation."
"Aw phooey, Dave!" Alvin barked.
"Now, Alvin, you know I'd love to go on a vacation as much as you boys, but you know what they say, business before pleasure, and at the moment, business is pretty much standing in the way of pleasure."
"Then what are we supposed to do for the entire week? Pester each other? Watch reruns on TV? Read books?!?!"
"Perhaps you boys can spend some time with the girls, you're going to stay with Miss Miller while I'm gone."
Alvin pretended to fall sick. He fell to the floor, and faked a cough. "Oh, Dave..." he moaned, "is this what you want for your dying son?"
"Alvin..."
"To spend his last days in the care of some smelly old lady?"
"Alvin..."
Alvin faked another cough. "The light... I can see the light..."
"Alvin..."
Alvin clutched his heart, and faked yet another cough. "Roooooooooooooooooosebuuuuuuuuuuud..."
"Alvin!!!"
"What?!"
"It's not going to wash with me, Alvin!"
"Aw nuts!"
"That performance lacked sincerity, and was completely unrealistic, Alvin," Simon critiqued, "quit now, while you're ahead."
"Aw, shut up!" Alvin mumbled.
"Don't talk to your brother like that, Alvin!" Dave barked. "Why don't you go to your room, and cool off for a bit?"
"Maybe I will!" Alvin said, as he arose from the floor, and trudged out of Dave's bedroom, while Dave shook his head.
"That boy, I swear..." Dave mumbled quietly.
"Well," Theodore said, "maybe spending a week with Miss Miller and the chipettes will break Alvin's manatee?"
"His what?" Dave asked, in confusion.
"I believe Theodore meant to say that spending a week with Miss Miller and the chipettes will break the monotony Alvin seems to be experiencing in his life right now."
"I realize life's been a bit monotonous as of late," Dave admitted, "but Alvin will just have to learn how to grin and bear it... oh, uh, dinner will be a little late tonight, so you boys can grab a snack from the kitchen to hold you over in the meantime."
"Thanks, Dave!" Theodore squealed, as he ran out of the room.
"Need any help, Dave?" Simon offered.
"No," Dave replied, "I'm just going through some paperwork here..."
"Okay." Simon said, as he walked out of Dave's room, and down the stairs, when he heard the doorbell ring.
"Hey, Simon," Brittany greeted him on behalf of her, and her sisters, when he answered the door, "where's Alvin?"
"Up in his room, sulking". Simon said.
"Maybe I can cheer him up..." Brittany said, shaking her hips before entering the house.
"And Theodore's in the kitchen." Simon told Eleanor, before she could ask.
"I think I might have left some of my books in your lab, Simon." Jeanette spoke up.
"Let's go!" Simon said, taking Jeanette's hand, escorting her to the basement.
Up in his room, Dave answered the phone, when is started ringing. "Hello?" He answered. "Yes, this is David Seville... what's that? The trip is being postponed? How come? Uh-huh? Oh, I see... when it is being postponed? In two weeks? No, that's not a problem..." Dave started smiling. "That's not a problem at all..."
"I am not!" Brittany barked.
"You are too!" Alvin barked back.
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"How dare you call me a mangy harlot!" Brittany screamed.
"Well, you are!" Alvin said.
"Kids?" Dave said, poking his head in the bedroom door.
"Yes, David?" Alvin and Brittany said, innocently.
"So then I told her 'that's not Hamlet, that's MacBeth'..." Jeanette told Simon.
"It seems to me that sometimes teachers are no brighter than the pupils they teach." Simon responded.
"Simon? Jeanette?" Dave said, looking down the basement staircase.
"Do you think we should use four, or five spoonfuls of chocolate?" Eleanor asked Theodore.
"Definitely five!" Theodore squealed. "The more the better!"
"Let us not forget, that in some cases, less is more." Eleanor added.
"Come on you two," Dave said, walking into the kitchen, "I've got great news!"
So, when the kids met Dave in the den, they were in for quite a surprise.
"Kids, my business trip has been postponed... you know what that means?"
"A big harvest?" Theodore asked.
"Uh... no... it means we'll be able to go on a vacation next week!" Dave exclaimed.
That perked the kids up.
"All of us!" Dave said.
"Us too?" Brittany asked.
"Sure... that is, if Miss Miller doesn't mind."
"Aw, I don't want Brittany hogging my vacation!" Alvin muttered.
"Watch it, twerp!" Brittany barked.
"Now, now, kids, let's not get into little spats here, let's concentrate on our vacation... where would you like to go?"
"The beach!" Brittany squealed.
"No way, the mountains!" Alvin cried out.
"Beach!"
"Mountains!"
"Beach!"
"Mountains!"
"Hold it, hold it!" Dave shouted. "We can settle this in a more mature, and civilized ballot... now, you kids all think long and hard about the two choices, and tomorrow, we'll put it to a vote."
"Um, Dave?" Simon asked.
"Yes, Simon?" Dave responded.
"Suppose it's a tie?" Simon asked. "Shouldn't we have an emergency tie-breaker?"
"Hmm, you're right... I'll think about that... in the meantime, you kids think about the two choices."
They did think, long and hard about it. Each one. Alvin was set on the mountains, Brittany was set on the beach. The others, however, thought long and hard about it. Both were nice places to take a vacation, but which of the two sounded the most appealing? When the next day rolled around, and the kids gathered in Dave's den...
"I'm so glad Miss Miller said it was okay for us to go!" Brittany said with excitment.
"It's too bad she doesn't want to come with us." Jeanette said, sadly.
"Don't worry, Jeanette," Eleanor reassured her, "she's been around."
"Alright then," Dave said, as he walked into the den, "let's put it to a vote... who wants to go to the beach?"
Besides Brittany, Simon, and Eleanor raised their hands. Both Simon and Eleanor's reasonings were that the beach sounded more like the ideal vacation spot.
"... And, the mountains?" Dave asked.
Besides Alvin, Jeanette, and Theodore raised their hands. They had similar feelings, living in Los Angeles, the mountains would actually offer a change of scenery in more ways than one. Theodore, mostly, liked the idea of roasting marshmellows and hot dogs over an open camp fire, meanwhile, Jeanette had a craving for the beauty of a mountain landscape.
"I was afraid of this... a tie..." Dave said.
"So, what kind of tie-breaker did you have in mind, Dave?" Simon asked.
Out in the back yard, Alvin, Jeanette, and Theodore were on one end of a rope, while Brittany, Simon, and Eleanor were on the other.
"Now, you kids know what to do, right?" Dave asked.
"Right!" The kids responded.
"The first time to either lose their grip on the rope, fall to the ground loses, or steps over the line is out... ready?"
The kids braced themselve.
"Go!" Dave called out.
The kids began their tug of war. The competition was really heated. Both teams had strong, energetic members in Alvin and Eleanor, but they each had their liabilities as well. Jeanette struggled a lot, as did Theodore, who tied the end of the rope around his body, and tried to walk backwards. Simon, being the indoors kind of kid that he is, had little-to-no muscle mass whatsoever, and nearly gave in, meanwhile Brittany barely did a thing, afraid she would break a nail. Both teams made sure not to get too close to the line, but Alvin's strength, and Theodore's belly paid off, as one good pull, and Brittany and Simon fell forward.
"Well, that settles it," Dave said, "looks like we're going to the mountains!"
Alvin, Jeanette, and Theodore cheered. Simon shrugged it off, knowing that a vacation in the mountains isn't so bad. Eleanor didn't mind at all either, but Brittany was being a sore loser.
"Wait a minute!" Brittany cried out. "I want a do-over!"
"Fat chance!" Alvin gloated. "We're goin' to the mountains, and that's all there is to it!"
Brittany pouted.
"Oh, come on Brittany," Dave said, kneeling down beside her, "just think, you can still go swimming... there'll be a lake, and everything."
Brittany rolled her eyes.
"I mean, you don't have to go if you don't want to, but it sure wouldn't be the same without you."
"Yeah, you're right," Brittany agreed, "I mean, somebody has to look after my sisters, and that somebody is me!"
Jeanette and Eleanor eyeballed each other, before rolling their eyes as well.
The next afternoon, Dave had rented a mini-van for the week, when the chipettes arrived, each of them had one suitcase, Eleanor also had a gym bag, Jeanette had a duffle bag, Brittany had her backpack, a bookbag, a big pocket book, a rolling case, and a small cardboard box.
"Brittany?" Eleanor asked. "I believe the idea was for you to bring only your bare necessities..."
"Please!" Brittany scoffed. "These are my barest necessities!"
"Meanwhile," Jeanette whispered to Eleanor, "her side of the room is the barest back home!"
Eleanor giggled.
"Hi, girls!" Dave said, walking out of the garage with some long rope.
"Hi, Dave!" The girls called back.
"Excited about our trip?" He asked.
"Sure are!" Jeanette squealed. "I made sure I brought my camera, I wouldn't want to miss any opportunity to take pictures of the majestic mountain ecosystem!"
Brittany snapped a picture of Jeanette. "There," she said, "there's a start... a picture of a wild chipmunk!"
"Brittany..." Jeanette mumbled.
"Okay, fellas!" Dave called out, as Alvin, Simon, and Theodore carried a large suitcase out to the van.
Basically, it was filled assorted changes of clothes, underwear, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and the like, while Alvin, Simon, and Theodore each were carrying their backpacks. Dave took the suitcase, rested it on top of the van, and began to secure it down with the rope, as it wouldn't fit in the back of the van.
"You kids go ahead, and start loading your things up in the back, while I tie this on tightly..." Dave said, so the kids obeyed.
"Dang, Brittany," Alvin said, noticing all of her luggage, "what'd you bring? Everything, including the kitchen sink?"
"Aw, pipe down, buttface!" Brittany said, as she placed her things in the back of the van, as did the others.
Dave finished tying the suitcase to the roof of the van. "Now that that's taken care of, how are you kids doing?"
"We'd be doing better, if Brittany's junk alone didn't take up half of the wayback!" Alvin said.
Brittany fumed.
"Well..." Dave began, "so... well, is everything all set?"
"Yep!" The kids squealed.
"Anybody need to use the bathroom before we leave?" He asked.
Everyone ran back into the house after that. Moments later, everyone was in the van, as it pulled out of Dave's driveway, and into the street.
"What say we get some breakfast before we begin?" Dave asked, as the kids cheered. "Does IHOP sound good to everyone?"
"Oh boy!" Theodore squealed. "Pancakes!"