After another long tour of the nation, the Seville family found themselves preparing for a relaxing weekend campout. Naturally Dave had packed several bags, wanting to be prepared for almost anything. His four 8 year-old boys had packed one bag each, identified by their signature colors. Not surprisingly, the boys finished packing first and had to wait. Eventually, though, it was time to leave home.
Dave drove out to a nearby forest, taking a winding road to the campground where he'd reserved a site. After checking in, the Seville's pulled up to the site and piled out of the car. Before the boys could move another muscle, though, Dave reminded them that they had to set up camp before they could play. Letting out bored sighs, the four chipmunks listened to their father's instructions.
"Alvin, Austin, Simon, you'll share one tent; Theodore and I will share the other," Dave instructed, taking two tents out of the car, "Get pitching." Despite Alvin's objections, the boys had their tents up shortly. They followed up by inflating air mattresses and bringing in sleeping bags and pillows along with the belongings they'd packed. With camp set up, Dave allowed the boys to run off and play.
Austin, the smallest and youngest of the four, had a hard time keeping up. He stood a couple inches shorter than Alvin, and was thinner even than Simon. This hindered his athleticism, but he always strove to overcome it. Theodore wasn't much faster, though, standing even shorter and with extra weight. The two stuck together while Alvin and Simon pulled ahead, but would eventually reach the same destination.
Following a path from the campsite, the four chipmunks came upon a small, creek-like river. Naturally the boys began playing in the shallow water, losing track of time as they enjoyed the outdoors. Unfortunately, time wasn't alone in being forgotten. About an hour into their fun, the boys were stopped by the sound of whimpering. The older boys turned to see Austin standing with his legs crossed, a large wet stain on his shorts.
"Another accident? Man, you are such a baby!" Alvin remarked. This just worsened the situation, reducing Austin to tears.
"Shut up, Alvin; you know he has difficulty with this! I don't make fun of you for singing flat!" Simon retorted angrily.
"Boys, quiet down! What's all the fuss about?" Dave demanded, storming up to the river bank. Then he saw Austin's shorts, and his tone instantly changed.
"Again?" he remarked, sighing, "Come here..." Austin hurried over to his adopted father and was led back to the campsite to change. Simon looked over at Alvin, silently shaking his head. Turning on his heels, he followed his father's footsteps towards the campsite.
Stopping only to grab Austin's bag, Dave led his son to the campground showers. The building housing them consisted of many shower rooms with lockable doors. Each room contained one shower and one toilet, and acted like a family bathroom. The two Seville's entered a room, and Austin immediately made use of the shower. He then stepped over to his father, ready for some clean clothing.
Opening his son's bag, Dave first handed the young chipmunk an orange t-shirt, this one emblazoned with a Texas Longhorns logo. Austin slipped the shirt on quickly, the thin garment warming his damp body. Meanwhile, Dave lifted the stack of shorts inside the bag to reveal some white and light blue diapers.
"It's nice to know one of my sons follows directions," he remarked, pulling one out. Austin blushed, embarrassed to have packed such childish things. It was necessary, though, as his troublesome bladder was quite unpredictable. Dave put a hand on his son's shoulder, attempting to comfort the young boy. "It's just for a little while, okay? We can work on it again when we get back home," he promised.
"Okay..." Austin squeaked. It pained Dave to hear his son's quiet words, a sound not heard very often. Abandoned at an early age, Austin had quickly become a shy, introverted child who often looked to his brothers for support. How could he mature, though, if even they taunted him? Dave ran a hand through his coarse, black hair; sometimes it was hard to keep up hope.
After he was taped snuggly into his padding, Austin surprised his father with a small hug. Dave returned the gesture for a moment, but then moved to grab his son's bag. Austin clung to his father, however, so Dave reluctantly scooped the boy up and carried him. Bag on one arm and Austin in the other, Dave made his way back to the campsite.
Back at camp, the other three boys had gone their own ways; the recent incident dampening their moods. Simon sat at the picnic table reading a book, meanwhile Theodore searched for an afternoon snack. Alvin, on the other hand, had started playing around on some large rocks near the edge of the site.
Suddenly, a truck drove by with several teenagers in the back, all of whom appeared to be stereotypical jocks. The young men taunted Alvin and went so far as to chuck a couple small rocks at him. One of the stones struck Alvin in the head, reducing the arrogant chipmunk to tears. He sat down on one of the large rocks, hiding his face as he tried to stop crying.
"Those jerks..." he muttered. Suddenly it hit him like a freight train; this was exactly how Austin felt earlier. Alvin's heart sank; he was a jerk too. As he wiped away the last of his tears, a determined look appeared on the young chipmunk's face. He was going to fix this. As if on cue, Dave appeared in the distance, heading for the campsite with Austin riding along in his arms. Alvin stood and caught his father's attention as he came near.
"Dave, can I talk to Austin? Alone?" he asked. The chipmunks' adopted father paused for a moment; could he really trust Alvin after all he'd done to his brother? Something was off about Alvin, though; he could see it in the boy's eyes.
"I suppose, but if I hear of any funny business-!" Dave started.
"There won't be any, Dave," Alvin interrupted, "I promise."
"Alright," Dave conceded, a bit surprised. The tall man set his youngest son down, whispered a few words of encouragement and then headed into the campsite. Austin stood timidly in place, too nervous to approach his often mean older brother. Alvin stepped forward and gently placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, calming him down as they sat together on the rocks.
"...I'm sorry, for what I said earlier. That was wrong of me, and the same goes for everything else I've put you through," Alvin apologized, "I promise, I'll never make fun of you again." What happened next was a shock to the older boy; his brother hugged him!
"I forgive you," Austin replied quietly. Alvin hugged his brother back as new tears slid down his face. This time, however, they were out of joy. Words could not express how Alvin felt, but thankfully none were needed. Finally the two separated, ready to start their relationship anew. Alvin wrapped an arm around his brother as they walked together into the campsite, Austin sticking close to his side.
"Hot dogs are almost ready-" Dave started to say before catching sight of the new arrivals. "Who are you and what have you done with my sons?"
"Relax, Dave; we made up," Alvin explained. The chipmunks' adopted father could barely believe his ears; Alvin had willingly apologized? As crazy as it may have sounded, the smile on Austin's face proved it was true.
"Well, okay. By the way, the hot dogs are almost done," Dave announced, finishing his previous statement.
"They smell delicious," Alvin responded, taking in the scent of grilled meat. Dave smiled; with all four chipmunks gathered around the picnic table, things were looking bright once more. The hot dogs were ready a few minutes later, and all five Seville's partook in a delicious meal. Once everyone had eaten, Dave began preparing for an afternoon of trout fishing at the nearby lake.
The whole family set up on a short stretch of shore, casting their lines out and waiting for a bite. Simon helped his youngest brother, teaching Austin how to tie his line among other things. The Seville's fished for over two hours, everyone catching fish except Austin. As the other boys packed up their poles, the small boy waited just a little longer to reel in his line. Suddenly, there was a hard tug on the line.
"I think I got something!" Austin cried. He jumped up and began reeling in the line, but clearly needed help. Running over, Simon began helping his brother pull in his line, meanwhile Alvin grabbed the net. With Simon's help Austin beached a monster of a trout; Alvin securing the slippery catch while Dave rushed over. After removing the hook, it was determined that Austin had caught a 5 pound, 22 inch behemoth of a fish.
"Nice catch, Austin!" Simon congratulated his brother.
"Yeah, that's a beautiful fish," Dave added, grabbing his camera, "Hold it up so I can get a photo!" Austin blushed, flustered from all the attention.
"Thanks guys," he responded, holding up the giant trout. Dave snapped a picture, getting a cute shot of the fish held by a padded angler only twice its size. Afterwards, the gargantuan fish was put with the other trout the boys had caught. With the final catch tended to, the fishing gear was packed up and the Seville's headed back to camp. Upon arriving, Dave quickly began working on dinner.
Soon, the last meal of the day was ready, the boys joining their father at the picnic table. Dave served several of the trout that had been caught, now grilled and stripped of skin and bones. Even Alvin complemented his father's cooking, enjoying the delicious fish. Once everyone had eaten, the family cleaned up the table and gathered around the campfire to sing songs, tell stories and make jokes.
The boys sang a couple of songs first, during which time Austin remained silent. Even though he was starting to open up, singing was something the young chipmunk still wouldn't do. Once the latter of the songs ended, Simon broke into one of his unusually long ghost stories. Not interested in the boring tale, Alvin used the opportunity to take his youngest brother aside.
"Why don't you ever sing?" he asked. Austin looked down at his feet, a blush spreading across his face.
"...I'm really nervous about my voice..." he spoke shyly. Alvin smiled warmly.
"Come on, sing something," he urged, "I bet it's not as bad as you think." Austin shook his head, turning away.
"No..." he argued. Alvin put his hands on his brother's shoulders, looking him in the eye.
"I'm not going to laugh or make fun of you. I promised you that," he insisted. Austin sighed and, blushing brightly, sang a verse of the boys' most popular song.
"That was pretty good, Aus; you just have a lot of potential," Alvin remarked, "We can work on it back home."
"Okay," Austin replied. Their little chat concluded, Austin and Alvin returned to the campfire, sitting down alongside Simon. The youngest of the brothers returned to his silent routine, but still laughed at a few jokes. After being around the fire for well over an hour, Dave decided decided it was time for his boys to go to bed. After a family trip to the showers, Dave forced everyone into their tents for the night.
Entering their shelter for the night, Alvin, Austin and Simon stripped down to just t-shirts and their undergarments. The three tired chipmunks were now ready for bed, but found themselves faced with an unexpected problem.
"We've got one full size air mattress and three sleeping bags; that doesn't add up," Simon observed.
"Yeah, someone's gotta sleep on the floor..." Alvin added. Suddenly, Austin began fiddling with the sleeping bags. His brothers watched curiously as he unzipped his and Simon's sleeping bags and then zipped them together into one, massive bag.
"Now we can sleep together," he explained softly.
"Well, let's get some sleep, then, shall we?" Alvin remarked, smiling. The three chipmunks did just that, climbing into the super-sized sleeping bag together. Being small as they were, there was still plenty of space even with all three of them inside. Austin lay down on his right side and snuggled up to Simon. Despite his recent closeness to Alvin, the young chipmunk had always found comfort in the arms of his bespectacled brother.
Acknowledging his youngest sibling, Simon wrapped his arms around the small, padded chipmunk and held him close. Alvin followed up by nestling his larger frame against Austin's short, thin backside. For a moment, no one spoke; the three boys silently enjoying each other's presence. Then, the quietest of the three spoke up, his small voice heard clearly in the night.
"I love you guys," he whispered.
"Love you too, Austin. You too, Alvin," Simon responded.
"I love you guys too," Alvin replied. Falling silent, the boys closed their eyes and drifted to sleep together.