Chapter 3

The sun slowly rose up into the sky over the small town.

Simon was the first to wake from his slumber. He put one his hoodie and yawned.

He walked over to Theodore's bed and gently nudged his younger brother. Theodore rolled over and opened his eyes. "Good morning, Theo."

Theodore got out of his bed and quickly pulled on a hoodie. Both chipmunk ran to Dave's room and jumped on the bed, thinking nothing of the missing brother.

"Wake up, Dave!" Theodore yelled as he jumped on the bed next to Dave. Dave laughed and opened his eyes, but he raised up and looked around for a moment, noticing that there was no third chipmunk. "Where's Alvin, boys?"

"Well we didn't check his bed this morning, Dave." Simon pushed his glasses higher on his nose. "I can go check for him."

All three got from the bed and made their way to the boys' room. Dave pulled Alvin's blanket back only to find an empty bed. "Alvin? Alvin, where are you?"

They checked every corner of every room and searched the house the best they could, only to find that Alvin wasn't there.

Simon, however, noticed something: There was a little note sticking out from under his Chemistry book on his work desk. Simon read the letter once, then twice, unsure of whether he should laugh or be very worried at what his brother wrote.

*Meanwhile at the North Pole*

Alvin couldn't believe at the sight in front of him. There was elves, no taller than three feet tall, laughing and singing as they worked on the toys.

Alvin's smile reached his ears as he asked, "Is it like this all the time?"

Santa laughed and said, "Why yes, it is! All year, every year!"

"Santa!" Santa turned his attention to one of the elves. He held a clipboard with paper and a pen, and he wore a gold badge with the name "Ollie" written on it. "Santa, how are you going to deliver all the presents this year? You only have a limited amount of time and a lot more places to be than last year!"

"Ollie," Santa raised his chin and smiled, "I have a new helped this year." Santa turned and motioned towards Alvin. "This is Alvin Seville, and he's going to be helping me deliver all of the presents."

"A chipmunk?" Ollie asked bewildered. "A chipmunk?"

Santa raised his brow at the elf. Ollie sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry. But we have more stuff we need to discuss! There's-"

"Now hold on, Ollie!" Santa stopped the elf. "Let me show Alvin to his room, and you can meet me in my office when I'm done."

Santa walked Alvin up a set of stairs and down a hallway. Alvin's room was the last bedroom on that hall, but it was directly across from Santa's.

Inside, there was a large bed in the middle of the room. White windows scattered the walls, along with various painting and pictures, a dresser, a door that seemed to go to a closet or bathroom, and Alvin thought there was a snack cart in one corner. Every item inside the bedroom had red on it somewhere, and Alvin loved it.

Alvin ran and jumped on the bed, then laid down and rested his head on one of the fluffed pillows. "I think I'm going to like it here..."

"Alvin," Santa's voice rang through the room, "Dinner will be in ten minutes. I'll have Mrs Clause bring you a plate." Santa smiled at the chipmunk, then left the room.

Dinner came soon, and Alvin felt like he had never ate so much food in his entire life. There was ham, mashed potatoes, macaroni, green beans, dinner rolls and biscuits, gravy, and many other choices scattered on the Then Mrs. Clause came with a platter of dessert and a cup of warm tea. Alvin ate the food happily, even though he felt as if it was going to come right back up. Everything was so delicious.

Alvin thanked Mrs. Clause with a smile, then he went into the bathroom and changed into his pajamas. He quickly laid down in bed, but couldn't help but worry about his family back home. Was he ready to take on this amount of responsibility?

The last thing he heard was the clock ticking on the wall before he fell into a deep sleep...