Chapter 7
Katrina loaded into her cousin's car. Mei-lee had agreed to take Katrina to Hollywood, so that she could begin her search for her sisters. Until today, Katrina had been staying Mrs. Johnson. Bobby and Lucy were sad to see Katrina go, but they knew she had to. Mei-lee put Katrina's suitcase in the back of her car and then got into the driver's seat. "Okay, seat belts on." She said. Katrina pulled the belt across herself, and buckled it. She then pulled it as tight as she could, so as to keep herself from slipping out from under the seat belt in the event of a sudden stop. "Okay, let's hit it." Mei-lee hit the gas and the car pulled away. Katrina could see the Johnson family waving goodbye to her in the rearview mirror. She wished she could wave back, but she was already strapped in. "Okay, Kate. We're on the road, heading for Hollywood. Never been there before myself, you know." "Neither have I, but that's where my sisters are, so that's where I have to go." Mei-lee stopped the car for a moment. "You know, Kate, my house is on the way to the freeway exit that leads to Hollywood. It's not too late to change your mind about moving in with me." "I appreciate the offer, Mei, but, I made a promise to Macy. I can't go back on it. I mean, could you go back on a promise you made to your mom?" "No, no, I couldn't. It's just, I'm gonna miss you." "Well, I have your phone number. Once I get I situated in whatever place my sisters are living in, I'll call you and give you the number for that place. That way, you can call me there any time you want." "Your being a little overly optimistic, don't you think? I mean, do you really think that it'll just be so easy?" "I know it won't be easy, Mei. But, I have to try. I'll do whatever I need to, to convince them that I'm their sister." "Well, if your this determined, we might as well get on with it. Okay, here we go for real. Don't worry about a thing, cuz. I'll get you to tinsel town in no time."
Meanwhile, Cash and Rai were on the freeway. Rai glanced over to Cash. "Did Kimiko tell you that we postponed our wedding?" "Um, yeah. She told me that you decided to postpone it until sometime after Agito's funeral. Guess I'm gonna miss it." "Actually, no. Knowing Kimiko, she'd never have the wedding without you there. Trust me, she'll make sure that you'll be there. No, you see, what I meant when I asked if she'd told you that we postponed was that we've decided to postpone for a while." "No, she didn't tell me that your planning on putting it off for a long time. How long did you postpone it? And why?" "Well, we figured for about two months. As for why, well, Kimiko really wants her wedding day to be a happy occasion. Not just for herself, but for everybody. She doesn't want anyone feeling sad on our wedding day, and we figured that people would still be tore up about Mr. Ikebana's passing for a while. I mean, from what I heard, he was a great man. The kind of family member that, when he passed, it rocked the entire family. And, since Kimiko plans to have a lot of members of the Ikebana family present at the wedding, she wants to make sure that everyone is feeling their best. So, we figured that it would best to give the family a proper amount of time to grieve and have every member of the family be able to move on, before we have the wedding. And, we figured that two months would be enough." 'I see. Yeah, that sounds about right." "So, when it comes time, do you want me, or if I'm not available, somebody else, to come pick you up?" "Of course." "Alright, then. I'll make a note of that."
Both groups drove for about thirty minutes and soon reached Hollywood. Both groups then began to contemplate where the best place to begin their respective searches would be. Both young munks that going to the biggest mall in the city was a safe bet. And so, both cars headed to said mall. However, the parked on opposite sides of the mall. "Alright. Let's go check things out." mei-lee said. 'Okay. Um, I think we should split up. We can cover more mall that way." Katrina said. "Okay. I'll take the lower level and you take the upper one." "Okay. Meanwhile, Cash and rai had decided to divide their search into north and south. Cash would explore the south section of the mall and Rai would take the north. And, while the two groups looked, the chipmunks and chipettes, along with Dave, were dividing themselves up. "Okay, guys. Remember what we're here for. We're here to buy Aunt Jackie some birthday presents. Girls, why don't you check out the music stores?" Dave asked the chipettes. 'Well, okay, Dave. What kind of music does aunt Jackie like?" Brittany asked. "She likes gospel, but she's also into country. So, if you could find a cd that has a country music star singing gospel, that would be ideal for her." "Okay, got it. Come on, girls." "wait, Brittany. We don't have any money." Eleanor said. 'Yeah, and, shouldn't we have a plan to meet up somewhere later?" Jeanette asked. "Good idea, Jeanette. Um, how about the food court? That seems to accessible from any point in the mall." Dave said. "Okay, we'll meet in the food court. But, when exactly?" Jeanette asked. "How about forty minutes from now?" "Okay." "Alright then, girls. Here's the money." Dave handed Brittany a twenty dollar bill, which the chipette promptly folded until it would fit in her jacket's tiny pocket. "Hey, while the girls are looking at cds, where are we going to be, Dave?" Theodore asked. "We're going to the model shops. Aunt Jackie loves building models." "Wait, wait, wait. The girls get to go hang out in a music store, looking at cds, and we're stuck with models?" Alvin asked. "That's right, Alvin." "Um, can I change groups?" "No, Alvin. Aunt Jackie has done a lot for you and your brothers. So, you should help pick out her gift." "But, I could do that with the girls? Why can't I go with them?" "Because, while the girls listen to rock and pop music primarily, they also listen to samplings of various other kinds of music. You don't. So, they're qualified to find the cd, and your not. Besides, from what I hear, Aunt Jackie spends more time working on her models than she does listening to music. And since she's done more for you and your brothers than she has for the girls, you should be part of the group that picks out the gift she'll probably spend the most time with. Not that your gift is any less important girls. It's just that..' "We understand, Dave." Eleanor said. Dave nodded. "Okay, now that that's settled let's get going. Come on, Alvin." "Sorry, Alvin. Better luck next time." Brittany said as she and her sisters walked away. 'Man, this bites." Alvin said. ( twenty minutes later.) "Huh. They've got one of these here to? Cool. I wonder if they have anything the one back home doesn't. I'll just take a quick peek inside." Katrina said to herself as she entered a very large music store. She wandered the isles. "Quite a selection they've got here. It's a lot bigger than back home." Katrina continued to walk, not paying attention to where she was going. She ended up bumping into someone. "Oh, I 'm sorry." "It's alright." Katrina looked to see who she had bumped into. Standing before her was Brittany. Jeanette and Eleanor stood behind their sister. "Whoa. Are, are you three the chipettes?" "Yeah." Brittany said. Katrina threw her arms around Brittany. "I can't believe I found so fast. Thank you, god. Thank you for helping me find my sisters." "Sisters?" ( twenty more minutes later) "Where are the girls? They should be here." Dave said. "Well, no sense in sitting' here thirsty. I'm gonna go get something to drink." Alvin said, hopping off the table the Seville family was sitting at. Alvin walked across the floor, whistling one of his favorite songs to himself and not paying attention to where he was going. At a distance of about five feet from the table, Alvin bumped into a certain black clad chipmunk, who was searching the food court for his long lost brothers at this time. "Hey, watch where your going!" Alvin yelled. "What? You're the one who bumped into me!" Dave, Simon and Theodore were shocked when they saw who Alvin was arguing with. "Simon, do you see that?" Theodore asked. "Yeah, I see it, Theo. But, I don't believe it. He looks so much like Alvin it's scary." 'Hey, Simon!" "What, Theo?" "Your dream. Remember, The fourth one of us you saw in it? Well, I think that's him." 'But, the odds of that are astronomical, Theodore." "Look at his face, Simon." "Y-Your right. Man, this is too weird." "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go keep Alvin from beating him up." "Right. Alvin!"
