I do not own the Chipmunks, Chipettes, Miss Miller or David Seville. Bagdasarian Productions does.
Chapter 4
Twas the night before their first concert, and all through the hotel room, not a creature was stirring, not even a pet dog. Musical instruments are stacked by the door with care, in hopes that the bell boy would help carry it down there. Dave in his pajamas, and the Chipmunks in bed (with Alvin still wearing his cap) had just settled down for a long night's nap, but Alvin could not go to sleep.
He was worried that his brothers and the Chipettes wouldn't be able to learn his song in time. He worried how Rodney would be cooped up all afternoon again in the hotel. Mostly, he was worried about his emotions. Ever since he smelled "Love's Enchanting Spell", he had been acting differently. He had caught himself looking over at Brittany several times while they were using the Wii, rehearsing, and even at dinner. Valentine's Day didn't help either. He almost didn't want to do anything for it, but he didn't want to hurt Brittany's feelings, not again.
"Simon, Theodore, are two still up?" Alvin whispered. He whispered their names again, jabbing them this time.
"Huh?" started Theodore.
"I am now. What is it, Alvin?"
"I can't sleep. I have a lot on my mind."
"Like what?" Theodore checked to make sure Rodney was still asleep by their feet.
"Well, our concert for one thing. Do you think our songs with the Chipettes are good enough?"
"Yes, I'm sure we'll do fine. We'll have more practice time before the concert commences," Simon reassured.
"Yeah."
"Is there anything else," Simon asked.
"Valentine's Day is closer than I thought. I'm not sure what to do. What are you doing?"
"Um…," thought Theodore aloud, "I'm making cookies or some other special dessert. We'll go somewhere for the day then have a candlelight dinner. I'll look out for something to buy her too."
"I heard the hotel will be having a dance here," Simon said. "We can eat dinner here and then dance."
"That's it? Sounds lame to me," muttered Alvin.
"For me, Valentine's Day is just a day to spend with dear friends. We shouldn't think about romance until we're older, and what are you doing again, Alvin?" asked an offended Simon.
"Well, Brittany likes presents. I'll do that for her and treat her to somewhere nice."
Simon noticed that Alvin still seemed preoccupied. "Is there anything else bothering you? You still appear to be moody."
"Simon's right. What's wrong?"
"Nothing else, just what I told you. We should get to bed. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Alvin." Theodore snuggled back down.
"Goodnight, Alvin. I hope you'll be okay." Simon tugged back some of the blanket Alvin had stolen and drifted off to sleep.
"Chipmunks! Chipmunks! We want the Chipmunks!" a large audience chanted in French and English.
"That sounded much better than yesterday," praised Dave after the Chipmunks finished singing their new song from behind the curtain. "Simon, you double-checked to make sure all the music equipment is plugged in safely?"
"Yes, it's quite safe and ready for the concert."
"You boys sure you know all the music?"
"Yes, Dave," they answered. Alvin was bored with these questions. He was feeling much better this morning and itched to get to his public!
"Alright, then, let's get started. We'll call you girls up when we're ready."
"Okay," they answered.
The Chipettes said goodbye and went to their front and center seats reserved for them next to Miss Miller. The lights in the auditorium went dim, and smoke effects started on stage.
"Doo, doo, do do do do," voices sang.
The audience cheered with delight and started to sing aloud with "We're the Chipmunks".
"Thank you, thank you!" Alvin shouted. "It's great to be here in Paris!"
The audience roared.
"Are you ready for a great concert? Alright! Let's start out with a familiar favorite in honor of this beeeeautiful city! 'Bonswa, bonswa. Hehe. Maimselle, bonswa. I wish I could speak French.' "
The audience was mesmerized by their performances, just as anyone is when they watch a Chipmunks concert. It had the best special effects, and Alvin kept them quite entertained with his acrobatic stunts. In between songs, they would share a short story or answer a few questions from the audience. After the intermission, they gave out a couple T-shirts and copies of their latest CD.
"We're sorry, everyone, that's the last CD we have to give out," Alvin announced after tossing one to a little girl.
"I wish we could give out more, but Dave won't let us," added Theodore.
"Now, it's time for a very special part of our concert," Simon began. "The Ch-"
Alvin interrupted and gave him a dirty look. He wanted to be the one to tell them the news. "The Chipettes are coming up to sing a few songs with us!"
The audience shouted with delight. "Yay, the Chipettes!" "I love you, Brittany!" "Chipettes, Chipettes!"
"Thank you!" waved Brittany and blew a few kisses to the audience. Eleanor pulled Jeanette sideways to avoid tripping over a cord, and they waved as well.
"The first song we'll be singing is one of the best songs ever (Alvin rolled his eyes), and one of my favorites, (eyes rolled again) 'The Girls of Rock and Roll'!"
"Girls and Boys!" Alvin added.
"Hit it!" she turned around to Simon who began playing the music.
During this song, Alvin's and Brittany's competitive sides kicked in, and they tried to outsing each other. The audience thought their elbowing and face-smacking was part of the act. The next songs went well, with the Chipettes incorporating their new dance moves.
"Next, we'll be performing a new song written by yours truly."
"Alvin writing a song? This could be a disaster!" a boy whispered to his friends.
"Or romantic!" his sister said.
Simon started to play on his keyboard, and Alvin joined in playing a steady beat on his guitar.
"I woke up this morning," he sang, "The world looked so beautiful."
"I knew with a day like today," sang Brittany now, "Nothing was gonna get me down."
Then Alvin sang again, "I went to brew my coffee. Birds were singing outside."
Brittany took over, "I wondered why I felt this way. Then I thought of you."
They both sang the chorus.
You make me wanna dance.
You make me wanna sing.
You make me wanna shout out loud.
You make me wanna dance.
You make me wanna sing.
You make me wanna shout out loud.
Alvin sang the first two lines of the next verse. "Sometimes I feel sad. And sometimes I don't know what to do."
Brittany sang the next two. "Even when my life's a mess. You'll still see me through."
They sang the first half of the chorus; then all of them sang the chorus. Alvin's guitar solo was next. Not a sound was heard from the crowd. Even Dave was listening with the excitement of the song building up in him.
Simon began singing the next part of the song quickly, "You make me wanna dance all night. You make me wanna shout loud out. You make me wanna keep you close. You make me wanna sing to you. You make me wanna say it's true: (sang normal) That I love you!"
The crowd cheered at this surprise. Then Alvin sang Simon's part again. The song ended with all six singing the chorus twice. Their performance received a standing ovation. If Alvin's spirit hadn't been lifted through the roof already, it was now, and even started ascending to heaven.
"That was 'You Make Me Wanna Dance'. Now just one more song before we go, 'We Are Family'."
Backstage, Theodore and Simon gave Alvin a huge hug.
"It turned out terrific!" Simon exclaimed.
Theodore also said, "You should write songs more often. Our fans loved it!"
"You bet I will!" Alvin was still in a daze.
Eleanor giggled with her sisters while Brittany talked excitedly about how well the performance went.
"You were wonderful!" Miss Miller came over and gave the Chipettes huge hugs.
"You should be proud of yourselves. That was one of your best performances. I'm really glad the Chipettes came with us."
"Thanks, Dave! When do we need to sign autographs?" asked Theodore.
Dave looked at his watch. "Oh, right now!"
"Ah! My public awaits!" Alvin walked through the doors and touched a few of his fans' hands.
"Come on, Theodore, Prince Alvin needs his entourage."
The Chipmunks walked to a long table with three much longer lines of people standing in front. The Chipmunks sat in chairs labeled for them and commenced signing autographs. It was worth it for fans to pay for their autographs, as the Chipmunks took the time to answer questions. They could even get pictures professionally taken, for a small fee of course. Fans were asking for the Chipettes' autographs too, so Dave and Miss Miller set up chairs for them to sign autographs.
"Alvin, I loved your song!"
"Thank you," he said with an air of importance. "I'm glad you liked it."
"Your performance was awesome, Theodore!"
"Thank you!"
"My favorite part was when you sang really fast, Simon. It gave me chills."
"I'm honored, I think."
"You look so dashing in your outfit, Alvin."
"I love you guys!"
"I'm your biggest fan!"
Alvin greeted his next fan, a ten-year-old black- haired French girl. "What's your name?"
"Juliet."
"Did you like the concert?"
"Oui! Tres magnifique!"
"Uh, thanks. Would you like a picture?"
"Oui, s'il vous plait ."
"Okay, come right over here."
"Brie!" the photographer said.
Juliet giggled. Before she left, she asked Alvin in broken English, "Are you go-ing to marree Britta-nee?"
The question startled Alvin. "What? What do you mean?"
"When you two were sing-ing, you looked like you loved her. I could tell." She gave a huge smile.
Alvin was flabbergasted.
"I hope you have lots of kids. Maybe-"
"Juliet! Arreter! (Stop!) Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Au revoir."
Theodore and Simon had heard what Juliet said to him. "Are you okay?" they asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be right back." Alvin knocked over his chair in his rush to leave.
"What's that girl talking about that I looked like I loved Brittany on stage! I was looking at my fans, not her!"
Alvin remembered that he did look at Brittany a few more times than normal. He thought about the words and how he came about writing them for the song.
"I had to do something while I was in Brittany's body. I barely thought about her when I wrote this song! She never made to want to sing or shout. When I sung them though, those words seemed almost true. I don't love her, but, am I beginning too? No, don't be silly, of course not!"
His lyrics "I wondered why I felt this way, then I thought of you" floated into his head while he was signing autographs, and he couldn't get them out. He was moody with everyone for the rest of the day.
