I do not own the Chipmunks, Chipettes, Miss Miller or David Seville. Bagdasarian Productions does.

The Chipmunks & Chipettes Go to France

Chapter 1

"Brittany! Wake up!"

"Go away, Eleanor," Brittany moaned and put her pillow over her head. "I need my beauty sleep."

"But, Brittany-" She cut Eleanor's pleading off with a grunt.

"Fine. Stay here while we go to France. That's fine with me. At least we won't have to hear your snoring. I'll send you a postcard."

Brittany jumped out of bed and ran to her mirror to brush her hair.

"I forgot! Today is the day we go to France! Oh, I'm so excited!!" She abruptly stopped brushing her hair. "I do NOT snore!"

"Sorry, Brittany," she giggled, "but you do."

"I do NOT, Eleanor! Take it back!"

"Brittany," Jeanette interrupted them, "Miss Miller says that if you don't get in the shower now, you might not be able to take one before we leave."

Jeanette had been in a fuzzy yellow bathrobe with her hair up in her towel. The towel was crooked, and some of her hair was sticking out and dripping onto the floor.

"Alright, I'm going, but this isn't over, Eleanor!"

"Okay!" she called. Eleanor muttered once Brittany was out of earshot, "But you still snore."

"I just can't wait to get to France!" Brittany thought as she washed her hair. "The perfume, the clothes! Maybe I can see a fashion show! Let's see, I'll want to go shopping, see the Eiffel Tower, oh, and have a real train ride. That would be so romantic. And we'll be there for Valentine's Day! Tiffany is going to be so jealous."

For the next half hour, everyone in the Miller and Seville households was double-checking suitcases and taking care of things they needed to do before they had to go. Brittany changed her mind several times, packing and repacking last minute things in her suitcases. Jeanette was giving Einstein treats and all the love and attention she could before they had to put her in the pet carrier. Einstein was oblivious to her impending confinement and rolled on her back, purring like a car motor. Eleanor double-checked that she had enough snacks for the plane. Those dinky peanuts were a poor excuse for a snack. Then, she helped Miss Miller drag all the suitcases out to the curb.

Dave came over to their house twenty minutes before they had to go to load the luggage into his van. He had bought the van last year. It came in handy when he had to take the Chipmunks and their friends somewhere or carry their instruments to in-state concerts. The suitcases were heavy, and he nearly threw out his back on a large pink heart-designed suitcase, but he managed to get everything in.

Simon was ready for an adventure, with his laptop bag in one hand and a French map and tour guide book in the other. Theodore was struggling to put on his knapsack.

"Theodore, I suggest that you take some things out of your knapsack, or you will likely fall backwards from the weight of it."

"Alright, Simon," he sighed.

Theodore searched through his bag and pulled out several Ziploc bags filled with homemade trail mix. These were shoved in his pockets. Then he pulled out a Ziploc bag carrying three chocolate chip cookies in it, also homemade. He opened the bag and shoved the cookies one by one into his mouth. He chewed a little bit, but most of the cookies went into his cheek pockets. He looked like he had a bumpy tennis ball in each cheek. Then Theodore pulled out a package of Nutty Bars. This he opened up and started to eat too.

Theodore said, with his mouth full, "There. That should help."

Alvin was leaning on a suitcase of his Dave hadn't gotten to yet. One earbud was in his ear, and he wore a broad smile.

"I love taking trips! Of course, they're only worthwhile when it involves seeing hundreds of girls screaming my name, waving signs around, and begging just to touch me."

Dave gently took the last suitcase out from underneath Alvin and said, "Alvin, tell the Chipettes it's time to go."

"Oh, alright. Time to go!"

"I could have done that, Alvin," Dave grunted as he heaved the suitcase into the air.

"Not with a voice like mine."

"Alvin!" Simon called. "Help me get Rodney in the cage."

"Oh yeah. I forgot we had to put him in a crate. I'm coming."

"I guess I'll tell the Chipettes myself," mumbled Dave.

"Come here, Rodney!" Alvin called, "It's time for our trip now."

Rodney came obediently, wagging his tail but stopped in his tracks when he saw the open crate. The crate made him nervous, and he walked back a couple steps.

"Alvin, you go behind Rodney," Simon and instructed, "and I'll get him from the front."

On the count of three, Alvin and Simon jumped towards Rodney simultaneously. Rodney ran away, and the Chipmunks knocked heads together.

"Ouch!," Simon uttered, rubbing his head.

"Ow! Nice plan, genius."

"That's it, Rodney. Right in the cage. Good boy!" Theodore locked the cage. "It's just for a little while."

He kissed his hand and transferred the kiss to Rodney's head. Then he walked over to his brothers.

"You just need the right persuasion."

Theodore held up a bag of dog treats. Alvin and Simon groaned.

"You guys never were good at catching your dog," Brittany commented as she walked over to them.

"Yeah, the last time was when you were giving him his bath!" Eleanor added with a giggle.

"I see you're wearing the outfit I picked out," Alvin said to Brittany smugly.

"The outfit you picked out with Tiffany. Without her, you would have gotten something hideous."

Jeanette had followed behind Brittany, carrying the cat cage. Einstein was moaning and meowing uncontrollably.

"It sounds like the cat is drowning!"

"Very funny, Alvin. She's scared, the poor thing. There was nothing I could do to calm her down; I had to give her a sedative. It should take into effect in a few more minutes."

Dave was about to tell everyone to get into the van, but he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"Oh, David, I just can't wait to get to Paris! The last time I went was when I was 35, or was I 53? I hope it won't be too cold in France. I brought coats, gloves, and my muff, but do you think I'll need my fur coat? I'm so glad it's such a beautiful day. I would hate for it to be cloudy or windy; we'd have a rough takeoff. I love takeoffs, don't you, David? It just gets the blood pumping and makes you feel alive! Let's see, the last time I flew on a plane was when-"

"Miss Miller!!!!"

"You don't need to shout. I'm right here."

"It's time to go."

"Oh, alright. Children! It's time to go!"

Simon crawled in first, followed by Jeanette and Eleanor. Alvin, Brittany, and Theodore sat in the middle row of seats. Since it was early in the morning, there wasn't much traffic. They arrived at the airport in plenty of time. One of Dave's coworkers was there to drive the van back home. He helped Dave unload the van while everyone else started filling out nametags. Dave was worried that some suitcases would be over the weight limit, but Simon and Jeanette had shrewdly weighed them all last night. After all luggage and pets were checked in, they made their way to the x-rays and metal detectors.

"The line is so long!" Brittany complained.

"At least it's moving at a good pace," reasoned Jeanette.

"Sir," an employee said harshly to Alvin, "please take off your shoes and put your backpack and shoes in one of these trays."

"Do I have to? My feet are so comfortable right now."

"If you want to board a plane," she sneered.

"Alvin," Dave instructed, "you know what to do by now. Take your shoes off."

"But, Dave-"

A stern look silenced him, and he reluctantly took off his shoes. A wad of money could be seen in the bottom of the left shoe. Alvin tried to take it out, but Dave saw it first.

"Where did you get that money?"

"I've been saving it."

"You don't have hundred dollar bills. Give it to me."

Alvin handed it over. "I thought I deserved some extra spending money."

"I agree, but not $387."

Alvin flashed a smile and hurried through the line.

"Our gate is on the other side of the airport," Simon commented after they were through with the x-rays. " We'll need to take a floor escalator."

"It sort of looks like the belt that the grocery store has at the check-outs where you put your food."

"That's right. We're all giant candy bars," Alvin replied to Theodore.

There was another floor escalator to the right of them that was traveling in the opposite direction. Mostly, people on business trips were on the escalators. They were in suits and carried laptops and briefcases. Some were in a hurry; others relaxed as they talked on their cell phones. All of them were only concerned with getting to their destinations.

Very few children were in the airport, as it was so early in the morning. However, a certain red-haired girl of eight was standing on the escalator opposite them. She was staring dismally at the escalator opposite her when she picked her head up. She pointed at the Chipmunks and shouted, "Look, look, Mommy!!!! It's the Chipmunks right over there!!!" Other people looked up and became excited. It surprised one teen girl so much that she didn't realize that she was at the end of the escalator until she tripped and fell. She wasn't hurt but tried to follow the Chipmunks.

"Come on, children. Let's go!" Miss Miller prodded as they avoided the crowd following them. They made it to their gate just as their seats were being called.

"Hey, look," laughed Alvin. "They had to get security to drag away that one girl that fell off the escalator."

"It's rude to stare."

Alvin ignored Dave and waved at his fans.

"Next!" called the woman at the gate. Alvin woke up from his daze and continued.

The plane trip went as well as any plane trip could. Dave was able to get a non-stop flight; it was a relief not to have any layovers. The first three hours were spent with everyone doing their own thing. Alvin and Brittany listened to their music, Simon and Jeanette read, Theodore and Eleanor watched a couple DVDs together, Dave watched the movie the airline was showing and read his paper, and Miss Miller knitted and socialized with the poor unfortunate gentleman next to her.

The rest of the trip was spent with everyone napping, eating, and talking. By the end of their 10 and a half hour flight, they were more than ready to leave.

"I don't know how much more I could have stood that utter boredom!"

"I don't know, Alvin, I had a lovely time talking with that nice Mr. Hampton sitting next to me. He was a little odd though. Every now and then, he kept hitting his face against the window. He told me it was a relaxation technique, but I'm not sure I believe him."

"The seats were so uncomfortable!" whined Brittany.

"And they don't give you nearly enough room," added Eleanor.

"My neck is stiff," Dave commented as he rubbed it.

"At least I finished my book."

"I'm so hungry!!!"

"I hope Einstein made the trip alright, " Jeanette said.

With those remarks made, the group went to get their pets and luggage. Rodney was more than happy to see his owners. He couldn't wait to get out of his cage. Einstein seemed to hold a grudge against Jeanette and backed up every time she tried to pet her.

"She's mad at me," Jeanette fretted.

"Don't worry. She'll get over it," Eleanor reassured.

Dave looked at the airport clock. "It doesn't feel like it's two in the morning!" He looked at his watch. "No wonder. It's still only 5 in the afternoon in Los Angeles. Once we check in at the hotel, we should try to get some sleep."

Despite that fact that it was still early for them, everyone was able to fall asleep fairly fast.