A chubby little chipmunk in a green hooded jacket and light colored fur laid on his belly and watched as meerkats rushed across the T.V. screen. His small furry paws cradled his heavy head from falling. His green eyes watched closely. He wished he could be part of a meerkat family. Being the youngest, he loved hugs and to snuggle. But there was no one to share his feelings with.
Then a thought occurred to him. His blonde friend, Eleanor, might feel the same way. Then again, maybe not. She was beautiful, with green eyes and a good sense of fashion. If only he could talk to her better, but she was just…different from all the other girls. One: She was a chipmunk like him. Two: She wasn't five feet tall, more like 5 inches. Three: She was much prettier, much more like him.
Being stranded on an island makes you get to know a person better. Eleanor was more adventurous than him. He loved the way she danced to the beat at concerts, how elegant she moved. The way she talked and sang. And the way she looked like a sweet, green gumdrop. He wanted to talk to her, he felt like he needed to talk to her.
He turned off the T.V. and walked to the bedroom. It was a Friday night but he didn't care. He didn't feel like staying up anyway. And the faster he went to sleep, the faster breakfast seemed to come. He put his pajamas on, brushed his teeth and crawled into his green blanketed bed. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Hi, Theodore," a familiar voice woke him up.
He opened his eye and saw Eleanor staring down at him. She looked caringly at him and folded her hands behind her back.
"Uh, h-hi, Eleanor, what are you doing here?" Theodore asked.
"Well, I…saw you in here by yourself when Meerkat Manor was still on and thought something was wrong. That's when I decided to check it out, but if you want me to leave I'll…" She said gesturing out the door.
"Oh, no, don't leave!" Theodore blurted out awkwardly.
Eleanor paused and they stared at each other with Theodore now sitting up with his hand out.
"Well, actually, w-would you like to watch it with me?" Theodore asked.
"Of course!" Eleanor giggled.
Theodore got out of his bed and walked with Eleanor to the living room. They were happy as could be walking along the hallway, then ending up on soft carpet. Eleanor jumped onto the couch first then Theodore, but Theo struggled to get on and Eleanor grabbed his hand. Green eyes met and they smiled. Eleanor was so distracted she lost grip and dropped poor little Theodore! He landed on the carpet with a thud.
"Oh no, Theo, are you alright?" Eleanor called.
"Well, I guess so, the carpet cushioned the fall." He stared up and tried again, this time Eleanor got him on the couch safely.
"Oh! Look!" Theodore pointed to the T.V. where the 'Whiskers' snuggled with their pups. Theodore watched with longing, and then looked at Eleanor. She smiled and waved. He turned his head again, and then said, "How about some popcorn?"
"Oh, that sounds wonderful." Eleanor said hungrily.
Theodore walked into the kitchen and stared at the high microwave. He devised a plan to get up there, jumping from the chair to the table, the launching himself from the table to the counter with the large table spoon Dave had left out. He put his plan into action, making it to the microwave but struggling.
The smooth counter felt cold under his paws, but he ignored it. His objective now was to grab the popcorn bag, prepare it, put it in the microwave and push the right buttons. He jumped for it, reaching higher and higher as he went. Finally paws met plastic and he brought it down to the cold countertop with him.
Theodore pressed the button on the microwave that opened it and hit him in the process. In fear he grabbed the first thing that came to his tiny furry hands. The edge of the microwave door. He hung on tightly, looking down at the floor that seemed so far away. He dared not to let go. If he did, he was sure he would go splat against the linoleum. Was this really the way he was going to go? He thought about how he'd never told Eleanor how he felt. Eleanor. She was counting on him to bring her that popcorn. He couldn't let her down! Not when she was counting on him!
The fright in Theo's green eyes turned to determination as he swung his little feet back and forth until the door brought him back to the counter. He stood on the counter, happy to be on solid ground again. He lifted up the sides of the popcorn bag, feeling the hard cornels inside. He put the bag inside the microwave having to drag it in there, being a chipmunk of course.
Theodore hopped out of the microwave and cautiously shut the door, avoiding being shut in. He pushed the 'Popcorn' button that made the microwave hum to life and spun the popcorn in a slow circle. He sat down, slightly exhausted. He watched closely as the popcorn bag spun. Soon, the popcorn popped and startled Theodore. He jumped up and hid behind a chip bag before realizing it was just the microwave.
He breathed a sigh of relief and returned to watching the popcorn. He could already taste the salty, buttery goodness of the popcorn. He sat there and reminisced until the bell rang that said that the popcorn was ready to eat. He happily opened the door and grabbed the bag of popcorn and dragged it to the couch where Eleanor waited patiently.
Eleanor sat on the middle couch cushion and watched Theodore drag the popcorn. She hung over the edge of the seat with her paw out for the popcorn.
"Pass it up!" Eleanor said.
Theodore did, tossing the popcorn with all of his might, pushing Eleanor backwards on the couch and covering her up.
"Uh-oh!" Theodore charged onto the couch to Eleanor's side. "Eleanor! Are you okay? I'm sorry!"
Theodore pushed at the bag, trying to move it, when Eleanor pushed it off and took a huge breath. She smiled and giggled.
"I'm alright." She said.
They sat on the couch together and watched Meerkat Manor, eating the popcorn rather rapidly. Theodore looked at Eleanor when she wasn't looking at him and she did the same. He went for a piece of popcorn and so did she, and their hands met. They looked at each other and blushed under their fur.
"Y-you know, this is sort of a picnic." Theodore said.
"Yeah…a picnic for two." Eleanor added.
They held hands and leaned their heads against each other. Theodore had what he wanted, someone to snuggle with.