Chapter One

POV of Chipettes

Brittney twisted her ponytail around her finger as she tried to make sense of her math homework. It was almost dinner time and she had been working on this one problem since she had gotten home at three (okay, so there had been the break for a snack and then she had an argument with Jeanette about computer hours—Jeanette needed it for some out of school research and Brittney just wanted to get on Facebook—so it had been more like 4:30 when Brittney finally got to work). She was sprawled across her bed the book on her pillow, pressing the eraser of her pencil into her chin.

Brittney squirmed around, her jeans were digging into her legs and she had an itch on her back below her thin, deep pink sweater and white tank top. Brittney groaned and dropped her head onto the textbook. She did not know how to find the equation of a parabola! She didn't even know what a parabola was! Maybe you would if you had paid attention to Mrs. Wheeler! And maybe you wouldn't have failed that test you took on Wednesday! A small voice inside her head scolded. The voice sounded a little like Jeanette. Brittney pushed the voice away and stared down at the indecipherable words and numbers on the page. It was true she probably had failed the test on Wednesday. She definitely needed extra help in math.

Maybe I should just ask Jeanette, Brittney thought, NO! I'm not going to Jeanette for help, not after she won the computer from me! Brittney's eyes fluttered and she didn't fight to keep them open. She had been staying up late doing her homework and getting up early for school. With so few hours of sleep it was no wonder she couldn't concentrate in class.

A banging on her door woke Brittney from her stupor. She shouted something into her book and fell onto the floor. Her math book bounced off her head and she snarled angrily.

"What!" she shouted at Eleanor who had poked her head around the door. Eleanor bit her lip.

"It's dinner time," she said in her soft voice and then fled from Brittney's anger. Brittney rubbed her head and got up. She shouldn't have snapped at Eleanor, but then again, Eleanor shouldn't have banged on her door like there was some sort of emergency.

Brittney marched from her room and down the stairs. Her paws were curled into little fists and she felt the fur on her cheeks growing hot. She strode into the kitchen and took the seat at the head of the table across from her guardian, Ms. Miller. Jeanette looked up from the spaghetti she was twisting around her fork and sighed quietly. Eleanor had just taken her sit across from Jeanette and was serving herself a plate of spaghetti.

"So, girls, how has the ninth grade been for you?" asked Mrs. Miller, "Is the work load too much to manage?"

"Yes," Brittney said to her plate just as Jeanette said, "No." Jeanette rolled her eyes at her older sister. "Well, for those who know how to manage their time and pay attention it's not." Brittney glared at her sister then down at her plate. She filled it with Mrs. Miller's meatballs and spaghetti and then speared a meatball on the end of her fork. She nibbled it delicately, making sure no sauce dripped into her lap.

"I like it a lot," Eleanor was saying, "It's such a nice school and we're all in the same classes. Gym is the best." Brittney looked over at her youngest sister. Though the chubbiness might make one think otherwise, Eleanor was the most athletic of the three Chipettes and had made the girls' soccer team. Brittney looked back at her meatball like it had offended her. Sometimes she liked being in the same grade as her sisters but other times it was downright awful. What was even worst was that they shared the same classes as the Chipmunks. Someone must have thought it would be funny to put all of them together. If I get my paws on the one responsible for putting the Three Musketeers in all of my classes I will strangle the idiot! Brittney snarled to herself. She finished her meatball and put her fork down. She wasn't hungry anymore.

"I'm going upstairs to finish my math," Brittney muttered. She pushed her chair out and got up. Jeanette followed, after clearing her place as well as Brittney's and thanking Mrs. Miller for dinner.

Brittney went to her room and picked up the math book. She flipped to the page that she had been working on and fell back onto her bed. "I could help you if you'd like," Jeanette said from the doorway. Brittney looked up and felt her cheeks heat up. Did she really look that confused?

"Um…" Brittney didn't want to say no and she didn't want to admit that she couldn't do it. Jeanette didn't wait for an answer. She crossed to Brittney's bed and sat next to her. Brittney made room and put the book between them. Jeanette began rattling away and Brittney tried—she really did—to understand what her sister was saying. Jeanette solved several of the problems in the book as examples.

"Do you get it now?" Jeanette asked after twenty minutes of lecturing. Brittney stared down at the book.

"Sort of," she admitted after a minute.

"Try one," Jeanette prodded, handing her the pencil. Brittney took it and tried to use Jeanette's examples as a guide. It took three tries for Brittney to get it right but after that she could work with parabolas well enough that she wouldn't get a zero.

Jeanette left when Brittney was done. Brittney stuffed the textbook into her backpack and pulled out the English assigned reading. A 619 page dull as ditch water book, The Grapes of Wrath, was the last thing Brittney wanted to read. Brittney stared at the black font on white pages and began to read. She hadn't finished one paragraph before her mind started to wander. She continuously pulled her eyes away from her cell phone and her thoughts away from what might be on TV and who might be on Facebook. She wanted to turn on her Ipod, but she knew how Ms. Miller felt about listening to music while doing homework. Also Brittney might start singing along if she didn't watch out.

The sun slowly dipped below the horizon and soon the moon had risen. Brittney had already flipped on the light on her bedside table and was staring at the blurring letters on the page. She had almost finished with the twenty assigned pages when there was a soft knock on her door.

"Are you asleep?" Eleanor whispered. Brittney looked over at the door as her blonde sister tiptoed in. Brittney frowned. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Almost nine," Eleanor replied as she sat on the edge of Brittney's bed. Brittney yawned. Wow, she was a slow reader—especially when the book was boring.

"I…was wondering if you were coming to my soccer game tomorrow," Eleanor said looking up at her sister. Brittney blinked. Tomorrow! She had thought Eleanor's first game was much farther away than that. Brittney's dance class had been canceled so Brittney had planned to spend her Friday afternoon at the mall with her sisters—though she had not voiced the thought with either of them yet.

Eleanor looked down at her feet. "I mean, you don't have to, but—" Brittney cut her off.

"I'm going Eleanor! I just didn't know it was tomorrow, that's all." Eleanor brightened at once.

"It's right after school," she said as she got up, still smiling. "I'm going to bed. 'Night." Eleanor skipped from the room and closed the door quietly behind her.

"'Night," Brittney murmured and then looked back down at the book in her hands. Only a page left, she encouraged herself. Brittney finished the chapter and threw the book in the general direction of her backpack.

As she got ready for bed, Brittney examined her schedule. She had math first then double history (what a way to wake up). She then had to go to music, which was her favorite class. Next was lunch and the day ended with double English and Biology. Brittney sighed and dropped her schedule onto her backpack. She crawled into bed and shut off the light.

Brittney had almost slid into sleep when she came wide awaken with the terrible realization that she still had history and biology homework to do. It was going to be a long night.

POV of Chipmunks

Alvin sat at his desk, bobbing his head to music playing through his ear buds. It was one of his songs—naturally—and Alvin was singing along, tapping his foot on the desktop. The clock on his desk showed that it was 4:30 PM—around the time when Brittney was struggling with her math homework. Alvin on the other hand was not even trying to comprehend parabolas. He hadn't even opened his backpack yet.

The ear buds were yanked sharply from Alvin's ears and he pitched forward in shock, out of his chair and onto the floor. "What the!" he shouted rolling over and staring up at his bespectacled brother.

"Simon! I was listening to that," Alvin snapped, pushing himself to his feet. Simon rolled his eyes at his brother and handed the Ipod back.

"Alvin, you should be doing your homework. No wonder you're failing." Simon picked up Alvin's backpack and put it on the table.

"I'll finish my homework by tomorrow," Alvin said, sitting back down on his chair and sweeping the backpack off the table with his foot. Simon caught it before it fell.

"That doesn't mean any of it is right," Simon muttered, "Let's see how well you did on that Math test." Simon called over his shoulder as he left Alvin's room, leaving the backpack on the desk. Alvin didn't hear him as he put his ear buds back in his ears. He slid the backpack in front of him and put his feet up onto it. After he was comfortable he closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the back of his chair.

"!!!" Dave's voice jerked Alvin awake and he fell out of his chair again. He pulled the ear buds out of his ears, twisting around to see what was the matter.

"Dinner's ready," Theodore said from the doorway. "It has been for about ten minutes—you must not have heard him the first time." Alvin pushed himself to his feet and threw the paused Ipod onto his backpack. Theodore turned away and hurried downstairs. Alvin followed him down.

Simon and Dave sat at the dinner table. Simon was finishing his hamburger and Dave was starting his.

"There you are Alvin," Dave said as his two foster sons sat down at the table. Theodore started his second burger and Alvin smiled cheekily at Dave as he bit into his.

"Here I am Dave. Sorry to keep you waiting," he said in his squeaky voice. Dave muttered something and turned back to his hamburger.

"Alvin," Theodore began, turning to his older brother. Alvin looked over at his younger brother. "Are you going to Eleanor's soccer game tomorrow? Simon and I are." Alvin swallowed his food before answering.

"Sure, why not. There's not much else to do." The family lapsed into silence after that. Alvin's nonchalant answer was at odds with the thoughts buzzing in his head. Eleanor's soccer game? He had known that she had made the team but he hadn't realized any games were coming up. It was true that he had nothing else to do but he did have better things to do than watch Brittney's sister play soccer. Alvin had nothing against Eleanor it was Brittney he wasn't on the best terms with…ever.

Alvin finished his burger and went back upstairs. He stared at his backpack and then at his Ipod and comfortable bed. Finally he pulled out the math book and began his work, the ear buds loud in his ears.

Alvin gave up on math and turned to English but that too was soon thrown to the side. Alvin began History and Biology but didn't get far. Soon he was sound asleep at his desk with one last thought: High school stinks.