Thank you all for the reviews. This is the final chapter. Honestly, I have a problem with the ending, it's so corny and I really rushed it, but I was working against a timeline and I just wanted it to be done, so here it is.
Don't forget to review, they're what keeps me writing.
"That was a great snack," Theodore said, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his belly. He let out a loud belch, covering his mouth and blushing with a muffled "excuse me".
"Snack?" Simon said, quirking an eyebrow, "Most people would call three slices of pizza, two soft pretzels, a medium popcorn and a chocolate shake a full course meal."
"Well I was hungry. Swimming always builds up my appetite," he said without apology.
"So, what do we go on next?" Alvin asked them, looking back and forth between his brothers.
"Maybe we should find Dave, we haven't seen him since we got here," Theodore suggested.
"We know where Dave is, he's relaxing over at Suntan Lagoon, like he always does. He'll find us when he's ready to head home," Simon said, pushing his glasses up on his nose, "We have to wait a little while before we can swim anymore, so maybe…." he started when Alvin cut him off.
"Since when is a water slide swimming?" Alvin asked, "Next up we're hitting The Royal Flush!"
"D-do we have to?" Theodore asked, looking worriedly over at the large slide.
"You know you don't have to ride it Theodore," Simon said.
"Come on Theo, you're gonna have to ride them one day, you can't just spend all your time in the kiddie pool, can you?" he asked his youngest brother skeptically.
"I dunno, the kiddie pools are pretty fun…." Theodore replied, looking over his shoulder at the nearest kid's area. Alvin grumbled under his breath, and was about to make a remark when an idea struck him. He grinned, which cause Simon to worry.
"Tell you what Theo, how about I make it worth it to you to ride The Royal Flush?"
"Worth it? What do you mean?" the chubby chipmunk asked, looking confused.
"If you ride The Royal Flush, then I'll pay for your lunches for the first week of the tour." Alvin said. Simon rolled his eyes.
"Alvin, the st…" Alvin clapped a hand over his mouth.
"So what do you say Theo, interested?" Alvin asked, his hand still firmly clamped over Simon's mouth. The spectacled chipmunk glared at Alvin and tried to pry his hand off his face. Theodore considered Alvin's offer, thinking of all the great places to eat in New York.
"Anywhere I want to go? Even that really expensive sushi restaurant?" Theodore asked.
"Anywhere your chubby little heart desires," Alvin said sweetly. He was still struggling to keep his hand over Simon's mouth, but he was about to lose his grip.
"Well….how about if I look at it, and then decide?" Theodore said, staring at the slide while rubbing his belly.
"Great idea Theodore, why don't you head over there," Alvin glanced at Simon, "We'll join you in a minute," he told his little brother, and dragged Simon away. Simon had finally had enough of Alvin's hand over his mouth and gave his finger a quick nip.
"Yow!" Alvin pulled his hand away and shook it before raising it to his lips to blow on it, "What was that for?!"
"For holding your hand over my mouth you clod! I have no idea where it's been lately," Simon quickly made a show of gagging and spitting.
"Well I wouldn't have had to do it if you hadn't tried to spoil my plan," Alvin said with a glare.
"Your plan is to lie to Theodore to get him to ride something?" Simon scoffed.
"I'm not lying, exactly. I won't personally pay for his lunches, but without me, there wouldn't be a tour, and the studio wouldn't be paying for it, which means they wouldn't be paying for meals," Alvin said with a cocky grin, "So it's not really a lie, is it?" Simon opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again with a thoughtful look.
"You know, technically, you're right," he said, rubbing his chin, "and maybe if we could get Theodore to get on one of them, he'd ride the others, and we wouldn't have to take turns watching him in the kiddie pool! Alvin, you're a lot smarter than I tell people you are," Simon told him, and walked after Theodore, eager to see if they could get him to ride The Royal Flush.
"Well, I….wait, what do is that supposed to mean?" Alvin said, running after Simon.
Theodore stood looking up at the slide. As water slides went, it wasn't very large, and the slide wasn't long, but the bowl part of it looked kind of scary to the little chipmunk. He gulped as he heard someone screaming as they slid around inside of it, and he felt his knees start to quiver.
"Ready to go?" Alvin asked, stepping up behind his little brother and putting a hand on his shoulder. Without waiting for an answer, he began to steer him towards the ladder leading to the slide's entrance.
"I-I dunno Alvin, it looks so t-tall….." Theodore stammered.
"Just think of all the great places you'll get to eat while we're on tour, and all you have to do is go on one little old slide," Alvin told him, and somehow got him to start climbing. Halfway up, his foot slipped on the rung.
"Ahhhhhhhh!" he screamed and began to scramble to get his footing. Alvin sighed, reached up and put his foot back onto the ladder.
"Theodore, we're six feet off the ground, you're acting like we're scaling the Empire State Building,"
"Well it scared me," he said, his lip quivering. Simon could see Theodore was ready to call it quits and called up to him.
"You're almost there Theodore, just remember all the restaurants!" he said, cupping his hands, even though Alvin and Theodore were only a few feet away, "Just a few more steps and you're there. I'll meet you at the exit, alright?" Simon moved around to the slide's exit, a small pool beneath the bowl. The slide was a simple one, you went into a tube slide and it dumped you into a large bowl that you would spin around until you fell through the hole in the center to the pool underneath it.
"Come on Theo, just a few more steps, you're almost there," Alvin encouraged him. Theodore gulped, nodded and finished climbing. He pulled himself on the slide platform and collapsed, breathing hard, still not sure if he was going to go through with it. Alvin climbed up after him.
"You got up here, now you just have to slide down," he told Theodore with a smile. He reached down and helped his little brother to his feet, and led him to the slides entrance. Theodore leaned down to look into in.
"It's dark in there," he said, just barely audible over the rushing water.
"It only lasts a second Theodore, promise," Alvin told him, "and I'll be right behind you, don't worry."
"You will be?" the chubby little chipmunk asked, looking over his shoulder at Alvin.
"Course I will. You don't think I'm gonna let you have all the fun, do you?" he asked with another of his trademark cocky grins. Theodore smiled, took a deep breath, and sat in front of the slides entrance, feeling the cold water coursing around his legs. He stared down the tunnel, and just before he thought he'd lose his nerve, he pushed himself forward into the darkness, screaming in terror. He screamed the whole way down the slide, he screamed as he slipped around the bowl, and didn't stop until he'd plunged into the pool. Simon was there to help him out as soon as he surfaced. He'd heard Theodore screaming the whole way down and was resigned to the fact that he'd probably be playing in the kiddie pool with Theodore for the rest of his life.
"It's okay Theodore," he told him sympathetically, "We'll head back over to the kids area until Dave comes to get us," Theodore tried to say something, but was still spitting water from his mouth, "What?"
"I-I said, I wanna do that again!" he practically screamed, and scrambled back up the ladder to slide down again. Simon felt his jaw drop open, but he quickly regained his composure and hurried after his brother.
"Wait for me!" he said as he hurried up the ladder. That was how the boys spent the rest of their day, running back and forth from slide to slide, Theodore leading the way.
"I think we've created a monster!" Simon told Alvin while they waited for Theodore to reach the bottom of yet another slide.
"Better than the kiddie pool though, right?" Alvin replied with a grin.
"Most definitely," Simon agreed as Theodore splashed down into another pool. He climbed out quickly and hurried over to his brothers.
"Now which one?" he asked excitedly.
"How about we….." he started when he was interrupted by Dave
"Boys, there you are," he said, "Have you been having fun?"
"Dave! I had the best time today!" Theodore cried excitedly, latching onto Dave's leg and giving him a hug, "I went on all the slides, and they weren't even scary or anything!"
"That's great Theodore!" Dave told him, rubbing the top of his head, "It's getting late, what do you boys say we head home?" he asked, looking at each of them.
"Aw, but Dave…." Theodore started, when he was cut off by a huge yawn, "I'm not ready to go,"
"That yawn says otherwise," his father replied with a chuckle, and knelt down to scoop the little chipmunk into his arms, "How about you two? Ready to go?" Theodore's yawn seemed to have spread to Alvin and Simon, because they suddenly let out yawns of their own and looked very sleepy.
"I think so," Simon said, stifling yet another yawn. Alvin suddenly looked ready to pass out, so Dave knelt down and picked them up as well. This was how it always went when they came here. By the time they left the boys were so exhausted that he had to carry them back to the car, not that he minded. He knew now that they would get a good night's rest so they could head out early tomorrow. He'd come out to the car a little while ago and spread several towels and blankets across the back seat so the boys could sleep on the way home. He got them settled and climbed into the driver's seat. He turned the car on and looked back over his should at the now sleeping chipmunks, huddled together in the middle of the seat.
"Alright boys, let's go home."