Author's Note: So, lunch was pretty much a bust for Theodore. He still didn't ask her. Is he going to this time? Read and find out! This chapter was inspired by a scene from one of my favorite TV shows called The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. If any of you watch the show, you might recognize the scene. Remember my disclaimer. Enjoy!
The school day was slowly but surely coming to an end. Eleanor sat in her Biology class doodling on her notebook. She couldn't focus on the teacher's lecture on heredity and genes. There was only one thing on her mind, or more specifically, one person.
Eleanor looked down that the doodle she had drawn and took in a deep breath. Theodore's name was all over the page, written in very neat, cursive handwriting. She just couldn't get Theodore out of her mind. She thought about how brave he was when he stood up to Jason. She couldn't believe he would actually do something like that for her. The thought made Eleanor smile even wider.
She looked up at the clock hanging over the door of her Biology class. Every tick that went by made her anxious to get to her last class, Home Economics. Though she loved cooking and baking, what she loved most about the class was she got to spend time with Theodore. Every moment she spent with him was the happiest she has ever been.
Come on, she thought. Hurry up.
Finally, the bell rang and all the students got out of their seats and nearly ran out of the room. Eleanor stayed behind so she wouldn't have to fight her way down the hallways. Once she was sure the hallways were clear, she made her way to her Home Economics class, smiling the whole way there. She knew Theodore would be there to greet her.
Theodore walked into his Home Economics class and took his usual seat at the table near the front of the class. As he placed his back pack under the table, his heart began to thump harder at the thought of seeing Eleanor again. He knew this was his last chance to ask her out on a date, and he was determined, no matter how nervous or afraid he was, to ask her.
Just as Theodore turned his head towards the door, Eleanor walked into the classroom with a huge smile on her face. Her brilliantly white teeth knocked the breath right out of him. Her hair bounced lightly as she made her way towards him. Theodore could feel his heart beat even faster, and it seemed almost difficult for him to breathe.
Wow, he thought. She has the most beautiful smile I've ever seen.
When Eleanor saw Theodore, she couldn't have been happier. Theodore always made her happy, and she was more than glad to have him in her life. She never wanted to lose him.
Eleanor took her seat beside Theodore, and Theodore struggled to catch his breath before Eleanor noticed.
"Hey, Theodore," Eleanor said as she continued to smile as she placed her bag under the table.
"Hi, Ellie," Theodore said once he found his voice.
"So, I heard we're going to be baking cakes today," she giggled, "I'm so excited."
"Yeah, me, too," he unenthusiastically said.
It's not that he didn't like baking. He loved it. It's just that his nerves were starting to get the better of him. He knew he needed to ask her now before he lost his courage again.
"Ellie," he said.
"Yes, Theodore?" she asked.
"Remember earlier when I wanted to ask you something?"
"Oh, yes. What did you want to ask me?"
Theodore tried not to look into her eyes. He knew once he looked into them, he would lose his courage as well as his voice.
"Well, um, uh," he stuttered. "I was w-w-wondering, um, w-w-would you…"
At that moment, Mrs. King, the Home Economics teacher, came into the room and shut the door behind her. All conversations stopped at once as she made her way to the front of the classroom.
Ugh! Theodore thought. Not again!
"Alright, class," Mrs. King announced. "Go on into the kitchen, grab your aprons, and begin measuring out your ingredients. Your recipes are on your tables so you and your partner may start as soon as you get into the kitchen."
Theodore and Eleanor noticed the piece of paper on their table. Theodore picked up the recipe to see what they were making.
"Looks like we're making chocolate cake," he stated.
"Awesome!" Eleanor exclaimed. "I love chocolate cake."
All the students got out of their seats, walked into the small kitchen area, and put on their aprons. Once Theodore and Eleanor had their aprons on, Theodore began to read the recipe.
"So, we need flour, eggs, sugar, and some other things," he said.
"I'll get the flour and eggs," Eleanor said as she opened a cabinet door. "Do you think you can get the rest?"
"Sure."
Theodore and Eleanor collected all of their necessary ingredients and placed them on the counter. Eleanor began measuring out the flour, and Theodore couldn't help but watch her. She looked so concentrated when she measured out ingredients. He noticed her brow was furrowed slightly.
She looks so cute when she does that, he thought.
Once Eleanor finished measuring off the flour, she turned to look at Theodore. She felt a blush come to her cheeks when she saw he was staring at her.
"What are you looking at?" she asked him.
That's when Theodore realized he was still gazing at her.
"Oh, u-um, nothing," he stuttered as he began to measure off the rest of the ingredients.
Just then, Mrs. King came into the kitchen.
"Class," she announced. "I'm going to the office for a little while. I'll be right back."
With that said, Mrs. King left the room, and some students began taking their cell phones out to text. Of course, Theodore and Eleanor would never text while preparing a dish. Theodore finished measuring all the ingredients and took out a large mixing bowl. Then, he took the measured out cup of flour in his hand. He was about to pour it into the mixing bowl, but just as the cup of flour was over the bowl, he felt something grab his wrist. Eleanor had stopped him from going any further as she pulled the cup towards herself.
"Wait, Theodore," she said. "Don't do anything yet. Let's make sure we have everything."
"Ellie," he said as he moved the cup back over the bowl. "We do have everything."
"Well, it can't hurt to double check."
"Ellie, you're being ridiculous."
"No, I'm being accurate. Theodore, just let me check."
As the conversation went on, the cup of flour was pulled back and forth. Theodore tried his best to convince Eleanor they had all the ingredients, but he knew how stubborn she was when it came to following a recipe.
"Ellie!" he started to yell. "It's fine! Let go of the cup!"
"No, it's not!" she shouted. "Let me check!"
They both began to get irritated with each other, and the cup continued back and forth between them as they continued to argue. All of a sudden, Theodore jerked his wrist out of Eleanor's grasp. This caused the entire cup of flour to spill all over Theodore's face and apron. Theodore began to spit out the flour that managed to get inside his mouth as everyone in the room turned to see what the commotion was. When they saw Theodore's face covered in flour, they started to laugh. Even Eleanor couldn't help but giggle.
Theodore started blushing from embarrassment. He never liked it when people laughed at him. Then, he got an idea, and he turned to look at Eleanor, who was still giggling, and smiled evilly.
How about we have a little fun? He thought.
"Do you just make me throw flour on myself?" he asked Eleanor.
Eleanor tried to calm herself as she answered him.
"Maybe I did," she said between giggles. "Maybe I didn't."
Theodore knew she would say that.
"Well," he began as he took his now empty cup and stuck in a bag of flour. "Maybe I threw some at you!"
Without warning, Theodore threw the cup of flour right at Eleanor. She screamed loudly as flour covered her face and apron. She too began to spit out the flour in her mouth as a new round of laughter started from everyone in the room. When she looked back at Theodore, he was smirking. She knew what he was doing.
"And maybe I didn't," he said.
She too gave him a diabolical smile.
Oh, so he wants to play games? She thought.
"Oh, no," she said feigning sweetness. "You couldn't have done that, Theodore."
She looked at the counter and grabbed an egg out of the carton they had gotten out of the refrigerator.
"Because then," she said as she walked towards him. "I would have done this!"
She took the egg and smashed it right on top of Theodore's head. Theodore shuddered as gooey egg whites began to drip down his face. Everyone wasn't laughing this time. All they could do was gasp. Theodore looked at Eleanor to see her smirking as she wiped her egg covered hand on her apron.
Well, it looks like I'm going to have to top this, he thought.
"Well, then," he began. "I'm really glad you didn't do that."
He took both of his hands and wiped the egg white off his face. Then, he looked at his hands and back at Eleanor.
"Then," he said. "I would have had to do this!"
He took his egg covered hands and placed them on Eleanor's cheeks. She gasped loudly as he smoothed the egg whites all over her face. This sent another round of gasps from the students. When Theodore was done, he wiped his hands on his apron and crossed his arms. Eleanor was really getting angry now.
Well, if that's what he wants, she thought.
"This means war!" she shouted as she grabbed the carton of eggs.
"Food fight!" someone yelled.
Before anyone knew it, flour, eggs, and other ingredients went flying in mid air landing on the faces of unsuspecting victims. Laughter filled the entire kitchen as Theodore dumped a bag of flour all over Eleanor, and in return, she pelted him with eggs. Once his bag was empty, Theodore tried to steal Eleanor's egg carton. It became tug of war as they pulled on each end of the carton. As they continued their tug of war match, all the eggs fell out, and Eleanor unknowingly stepped on one of the eggs that fell out of the carton. She slipped on the egg whites and began falling to the ground.
In an attempt to save herself from falling, Eleanor grabbed onto the closest thing she could reach. Unfortunately, it turned out to be Theodore's arm. Soon, the two chipmunks fell to the ground with Theodore landing right on top of Eleanor. They both started dying laughing as the food fight continued with their other classmates. When their laughing calmed down, they caught each other's eyes, and all the commotion seemed to just disappear.
When Theodore looked into those chocolate brown eyes, he could once again see the most beautiful girl he has ever seen in his life. He saw her kindness and sweetness. He could even see a twinkle in them that made his heart skip a beat.
Wow, he thought.
Eleanor stared right back into those bright green eyes of the green clad chipmunk. She saw a shine in them she had never seen before, and her breathing became uneven as he lay on top of her. He looked so adorable covered with flour.
Wow, she thought.
She gave him a warm smile, which he returned without hesitation. Then, before Theodore could stop himself, he began to lean down. Eleanor's eyes became wide as he came closer. She knew what was coming. As Theodore came closer and closer, he let his eyes close, and Eleanor did the same thing. They lips were only an inch away.
"What on Earth?!" cried a voice.
Theodore and Eleanor opened their eyes and turned to the source of the voice. It was Mrs. King, and she did not look happy in the least. Everyone dropped their ammunition as Theodore quickly stood up and helped Eleanor to her feet. Both of their cheeks turned a deep shade of scarlet from embarrassment.
"Who is responsible for this?" Mrs. King asked angrily.
The entire class pointed their fingers at Theodore and Eleanor, which caused their cheeks to turn an even deeper shade of scarlet.
"You, two," Mrs. King yelled as she pointed a finger at them. "Clean up this mess! Everyone else, this cooking lesson is cancelled until further notice! Get back in the classroom, now!"
Everyone hastily took off their aprons and left the room, except for Theodore and Eleanor of course. They quickly took off their dirty aprons and washed their faces and hands of the egg whites and flour. Then, they walked over to the kitchen closet, took out the cleaning supplies, and began cleaning up the mess they had created.
As Theodore mopped the floor, he occasionally gazed over at Eleanor, who was wiping the counters. He couldn't help but think about what they were about to do. He couldn't believe he was brave enough to actually try and kiss Eleanor. Then, he remembered how her eyes became huge when he leaned down towards her.
I really hope I didn't ruin anything between us, he thought.
Eleanor slowly cleaned the counters, and she would sometimes look over at Theodore. She just couldn't believe he was going to kiss her. All this year, it seemed like he didn't like her the same way she liked him. Now, this almost kiss changed that.
Maybe he does like me, she thought.
Just then, Mrs. King came into the kitchen.
"I hope this never happens again," she said still a little flustered.
"Yes, Mrs. King," Theodore and Eleanor said simultaneously.
"Well, this mess is going to take awhile to clean up. I'll notify your parents that you'll be arriving home late."
With that said, Mrs. King left the room. Minutes passed and before Theodore and Eleanor knew it, the bell to end school rang. They listened to the rushed footsteps of their classmates as they left the classroom. As Eleanor continued with the rest of the cleaning, she couldn't help but feel guilty.
I should have just listened to Theodore, she thought. After all, why wouldn't I listen to him?
"Theodore," she said so only Theodore could hear her.
"Yes?" Theodore questioned as he looked away from his mop.
Eleanor took in a deep breath before going on.
"I'm sorry," she said solemnly.
Confusion was written all over Theodore's face.
"Sorry for what?" he asked.
"For not listening to you," she said. "If I had listened, we wouldn't be here cleaning up this mess."
Theodore continued to stare at Eleanor.
Why should she apologize to me? He thought. It's more my fault than hers.
"Ellie, it's not your fault," he said. "I should have listened to you. I also shouldn't have thrown flour at you."
They looked at each other for a few moments before they smiled at each other.
"You know, if we hurry, I think we could be finished in no time," Eleanor said.
"Alright then," Theodore said cheerfully. "Let's do it."
As they went back to cleaning, Theodore decided to lift the mood by singing "Beat It" by Michael Jackson. Soon, Eleanor joined him, and they were both dancing around the whole kitchen as they continued to clean. In a matter of minutes, the entire kitchen was spotless. They quickly put away the cleaning supplies, left the kitchen, and walked over to Mrs. King, who was sitting at her desk.
"We're done, Mrs. King," Theodore said.
"We're really sorry about the mess," Eleanor said sincerely. "It won't happen again, we promise."
Mrs. King looked up from her desk at them. She smiled slightly.
"Well, seeing as you, two, are my best students, I'll let this be your first warning," she said. "You won't have to serve detention this time, but if this happens again, you won't be so lucky."
"Yes, Mrs. King," Theodore and Eleanor said together.
"Alright. Now, you, two, get on home."
"Thank you, Mrs. King," Eleanor said as she grabbed her back pack and slung it over her shoulders.
All Mrs. King did was nod as Theodore and Eleanor left the room. They silently walked down the hallways of the school, and soon, they reached the front doors.
"Would you like me to walk you home?" Theodore asked.
"Yes, I would," Eleanor said as she smiled at him.
The two chipmunks walked quietly down the sidewalk. Theodore continued to watch Eleanor through the corner of his eye. He could feel his breathing become uneven as he remembered the one question he still had to ask Eleanor.
I still haven't asked her, he thought. Today is still the day
Eleanor also watched Theodore from the corner of her eye. She still thought about the almost kiss and wondered whether he liked her or not.
He hasn't said anything to me since we started walking, she thought. Maybe today isn't as different as I thought it would be.
Soon, they made it to the Miller's house. They walked up the side walk, through the gate, and to the front porch. Once she made it to the front door, Eleanor turned around to face Theodore.
"Thanks again, for today I mean," she began. "The way you stood up to Jason was really brave, and that food fight was actually kind of fun."
Theodore couldn't help but smile at her.
"You're welcome," he said.
Minutes passed and not a single word was spoken between them.
"Well," Eleanor finally said as she began to turn around. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
Theodore felt his body tense.
Oh, no, he thought. Stop her! Hurry! Say something! Say anything!
"Eleanor, will you go out with me?!" he shouted.
Theodore covered his mouth with his hands.
Anything but that! He thought.
Eleanor stopped dead in her tracks as she turned around to look at Theodore. She could see his cheeks turning red.
Did he just do what I think he did? She thought.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
Theodore moved his hands away from his mouth slowly.
This is it, he thought. Just take a deep breath and ask her.
Theodore took a deep breath before speaking again.
"Eleanor," he began. "I have been trying many, many times today to ask you an important question, and now that we're alone, I've just got to ask. Eleanor Miller, would you, um, like to, um…"
Spit it out, man!! He thought.
"Would you like to go out with me sometime?" he hurriedly asked.
Eleanor processed those words slowly.
He asked me out? She thought. Oh, my gosh! He just asked me out!
A smile grew on Eleanor's face as she stepped closer to him.
"Does this answer your question?" she whispered.
Then, she leaned in close to Theodore and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. Theodore was in shock. He placed a hand on the cheek Eleanor had just kissed.
Is this a dream? He thought.
"Just in case that didn't answer it, I would love to go out with you sometime," she continued.
At first, Theodore didn't hear her, but as the words came through his mind, a smile came across his face.
"Really?" he asked excitedly.
All Eleanor did was nod, and suddenly, Theodore felt shy.
"So, um, I'll call you?" he asked her.
"I'd like that," she answered as she continued to smile. "Bye, Theodore."
Eleanor turned around and opened her front door. She walked inside the house and slowly closed the door behind her. The whole time she closed the door, her smile never faded. Once the door was completely closed, she placed her back on the door and slid down to the floor. Her mind continued to play back those last few minutes with Theodore.
Today was different, she thought. Not just different. It was the best day of my life.
Theodore continued to stand on the porch while his hand continued to touch the cheek that Eleanor had kissed.
She said yes? He thought.
His smile grew wider.
She said yes! He thought. I can't believe this! She actually said yes!
With that thought in mind, he began walking home. He took his time as he made his way down the sidewalk. His thoughts revolved around Eleanor, the person he truly and deeply loved.
Today was indeed the day, he thought. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.
The End
Yay!! Theodore did it! He finally asked her out! And she said yes!! I hope you guys enjoyed reading!
