A/N: Hello! So… This chapter is too short… I keep trying to add to it and it just keeps making it worse. So I'm sticking with what I've got… The ending is very choppy. (I apologize)… I just want to give a quick and sincere thank you to all of you who have not only read but taken the time to review. If this story is any good at all it is because of you guys. Your encouragement and corrections have helped me make this. Again, please review. Tell me what you love, hate, would like to see different…
Story Summary:
Jeanette had an accident which sent her to the hospital. While there, the doctors discover that something else is wrong with Jeanette. She finds out she has a bacterial infection in her eyes. This infection leads to a complete loss of vision for Jeanette. She now has to rely on her friends and family to help her with her handicap… Is there hope for Jeanette?
Chapter 7: A Spark
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Aww…. Shut it off!..." Brittany moaned coming out of her deep sleep…
Theodore, who- as always- was already up, hopped onto the dresser and shut off the annoying alarm clock.
Brittany rolled over onto her right side… I don't wanna get up…. Just…. Five… more….
"Come on guys let's go!" Dave's chipper morning voice broke through the early morning peace…
"Already?..." Simon whined as he stretched under his covers
"I hate you…" Alvin moaned
Eleanor stepped out of the bathroom, "Come on guys… we don't want to be late on Jeanette's first day back…"
Oh yeah! Jeanette! Brittany snapped awake and sat up rubbing sleep from her eyes, "what time is it?"
Simon sat up as well and slipped on his glasses.
"I set the alarm a few minutes earlier than usual. I wanted to make sure you guys had enough time this morning." Dave informed everyone. "Now come on. I've got waffles that are going to be hot-n-ready here real soon."
"You set the alarm earlier?!" Alvin complained and rolled over
"Come on Alvin…" Dave replied
Alvin didn't move.
"Alvin? It's time to get up…"
Alvin didn't move.
"Alvin!"
Still no movement.
"ALLLLVVVIIN!"
"Okay!... sheesh…" Alvin finally rolled over and sat up attempting rub the sleep from his eyes. He looked to the clock. "A few minutes!? We're up an hour early?!"
"Come on and get ready, Alvin. We have some extra things to do and we're going to talk over breakfast about how you guys are going to take care of Jeanette at school…"
The waking chipmunks all turned to their handicapped sibling/friend.
I don't want to go to school… Jeanette thought groggily as she sat up. Hmm… never thought that I would ever think that…
Jeanette stretched and then reached over and put her glasses on out of habit… Simon noticed she blushed and took her glasses off and set them back on the bedside table… Oops…Jeanette thought
After the others had left, Brittany hopped down from her bunk, "Ready to pick out an outfit?" Brittany asked, her mood improving slightly at the thought of getting to pick out clothes…. That did seem to be Brittany's favorite part of school- picking out a style for the day… everything else about school she could do without…
"Umm… can you pick out something that doesn't draw any attention to me?" she asked
Then just wear what you always wear, Brittany thought, "Sure… um… anything in particular?"
"Right now I just want those special glasses…" Jeanette replied
"Oh yeah…" Brittany started going through the bed-side dresser looking for the special glasses that the doctor had given to Jeanette so she wouldn't have to wear the double eye patch. "Here they are." Brittany held up the dark sunglasses.
Jeanette held out her hand and Brittany placed the eyewear in her hand. Jeanette quickly slipped them on… she remembered the sight of her one bad eye when she was still able to see… That was a sight she wasn't particularly excited for everyone else to see.
"So… Today I'm going to be your buddy." Brittany said as she picked out a top for herself and Jeanette, "So I'm going to give you a choice… You can blend in with me and my awesome fashion…or you can wear what you normally wear…" Brittany said obviously hinting at what she wanted her to pick.
"Umm… what's the difference?"
Brittany rolled her eyes, "There's a WOORRRLD of difference."
"Well,…" Jeanette paused, "Make me look normal… I don't want to… um… yeah… just make me look like normal."
"Why? Don't want to what? Look awesome like me?" Brittany prodded jokingly. Then Brittany noticed Jeanette's expression. "Jeanette? What's the matter?"
Jeanette let out a sigh, "nothing…"
"I'm not going to give you any clothes until you tell me." Brittany warned jokingly.
"I don't want to… well…"
"What?" Brittany prodded impatiently
"Well… You're popular. And… And I don't want to make you look bad… So, just make me look like normal…"
Brittany just stood there.
"Brittany?"
Jeanette flinched as she felt an arm slide behind her and onto her left shoulder and the owner of the arm sitting down on Jeanette's right. "Jeanette…" Brittany began, "I'm your sister. I know no-one here is as good as me at fashion… Not even close" she added with a slight squeeze showing she was 'sorta' joking. "But… We are all close here… and you're my sister… I don't care what other people think. I'm never going to be embarrassed of you…"
Jeanette smiled and returned the 'side-hug.'
"At least not too much," Brittany joked as she stood up. "So… You picked wrong… try again." She said smiling.
Jeanette could hear the smile in Brittany's voice. "Fine… give me the awesome fashion" she said with a smile and imitated Brittany's tone.
"Good choice!" Brittany beamed and started to organize their outfits… I get to make two people gorgeous today!
The two chippettes took longer to get ready than normal. When they finally entered the kitchen, the last of the waffles were just finishing cooking. Brittany led Jeanette over to Dave, who helped the two up onto the table.
Simon, still half-asleep, was just finishing his breakfast when he looked over as Dave set the two Chippettes on the table.
Jeanette heard a fork drop and then heard Brittany giggle.
"What happened?" Jeanette asked
Another giggle was her response as Brittany led her over to her spot on the table.
Brittany leaned over and whispered in Jeanette's ear, "Simon's eyeballs just about popped out of his head when he saw you… He dropped his fork and is blushing really bad."
"Really?" she asked quietly, starting a blush of her own.
"Alright… you guys ready for school?" Dave asked.
Several moans were his answers.
"I wanted to talk to you guys this morning and make sure you guys understand what's going on." Dave started, "The school has a 'special-needs' section that Jeanette will be going to now. The principle and I talked and we decided that one of you guys will be Jeanette's 'buddy' and help her get to all of her classes."
"We talked about this a couple of days ago didn't we?" Alvin mumbled
"Yes, but I wanted to make sure that we're all on the same page…" Dave responded, "Today is Brittany's turn, but that doesn't mean that it's all Brittany's responsibility. You all need to look out for each other…"
"Okay…" the chipmunks replied.
"And I'll be taking you guys into school every morning now."
"But what about your job?" Simon asked
"Let's just say that… your guys' music gives me… a little leverage as to when I work… plus they understand the situation…"
"Then why do you work at all? Why not just kick back and play video games all day and hang out with us?" Alvin asked
"Because… I write songs 'cause you guys need all the help you can get." Dave joked and Alvin rolled his eyes smiling. "Anyways… to get back on subject, Today is Brittany's turn. Tomorrow is Eleanor's, and the day after is Simon's, and then last is Alvin."
"I don't get a turn?" Theodore asked
"You're like the back-up… If any of these guys need an extra hand you'll be there to help 'em out. Okay?"
Theodore beamed, "Okay!"…
"Now eat up… we have to leave in about fifteen minutes…"
After a long day of work, school, and city traffic, Dave walked inside the front door, dropped his keys onto the counter, and headed into the kitchen to start making supper. The school-weary chipmunks followed him inside and then scattered to their perspective afterschool places to recuperate.
Brittany and Jeanette plodded into the chipmunk room.
That was soooo exhausting!... Jeanette plopped down on her bed...
"You too, huh?" Brittany collapsed on Jeanette's bed next to her.
"What?" Jeanette asked
"You look exhausted…" Brittany sighed.
"Yeah,… Everything is so hard now…" Jeanette mumbled, "I can't even tie my shoes…."
"Doesn't your stick help?" Brittany referenced the walking cane Jeanette was still trying to master.
"With tying my shoes?" Jeanette asked jokingly
Brittany rolled her eyes…
"It helps with walking…"
"And stabbing my feet…" Brittany complained jokingly
The two Chipmunks remained sprawled out on Jeanette's for several minutes discussing the day.
"So… are you going to need any help with homework?" Jeanette asked.
"Naw… I think I got it…" Brittany replied. "it's just math… What's your homework?"
"I'm learning my ABC's…" Jeanette answered.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah… I have to learn Brail… So… I'm back to the ABC's…" Jeanette sighed
"Want to trade?" Brittany joked
"Actually…. I don't care for Math to much…. I'm more of an English and Literature person…" She replied
"Fine…" Brittany feigned being offended
Brittany felt Jeanette's hand find and grasp hers. "Brittany?"
"Yeah?"
"You know… one good thing about this…" Jeanette started.
"What?" Brittany looked over to her blind sister
"I don't think we've spent so much time alone together since we came to Hollywood."
"Yeah… I thought that too…" Brittany answered with a slight wrist squeeze, "I think we Chippette sisters should get away alone sometime…" she suggested.
"Yeahhh…" Jeanette sighed… "that'd be fun…"
Several thousand miles away, it was, as usual, raining. It looked to be another typical Seattle evening. Not that Dr. Sharp would notice… or care for that matter.
The middle-aged scrawny figure of the doctor was collapsed on a small cot in his lab office. Though only in his early thirties, the doctor had graying hair and looked to be nearly twice his age. His aged look was most likely due to the situation he was in this week. Too much work. It had been nearly two days since he had left the medical research complex. Sleeping, eating, and working… all in his lab. It had been over thirty hours since he had seen any outside weather.
The doctor stirred as his wristwatch started sounding out a wake-up alarm. He reached over, shut off the alarm, and sat up scratching his short, un-kept hair.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stood and walked over to one of the many different complex medical machines he had in his lab. He looked to the screen…
97% complete…
"Yaaaaaawwwwn" the doctor stretched.
He walked over to his desk and started to go through files and paperwork… Not finding what he was looking for on the overcrowded , cluttered desk, he began to open desk drawers searching for something…
"Ah ha!" he smiled triumphantly, "there you are…"
The doctor pulled out a half-eaten sandwich he had saved from a meal or two ago. "I thought you'd be a breakfast." He looked at his watch before taking a bite.
He walked over to the machine again…
98% complete…
He wandered over to his corkboard. He had pictures, files, and diagrams all tacked up in no particular order…
He noticed a picture tacked up in the corner.
Hmm… good 'ole Binder… Dr. Sharp chuckled as he started to reminisce about their crazy times in medical school…
The doctor's face soured as he looked to a picture hanging right next to the photo of Binder and his wife. A photo that he had tacked up from his most recent trip…
"That's so stupid…" the Doctor complained
A beeping noise disrupted his train of thought. He walked over to the machine again.
Analysis 100% complete.
The machine started to print out files and then a diagram.
The doctor took the diagram and tacked it up on the board next to the pictures he had just been looking at.
"Hmm…"
The doctor took a magnifying glass from his desk and stepped forward to investigate the diagram.
After several minutes the doctor stepped back…
"That makes no sense!" he complained
"You! You shouldn't be like that… and you should be… what?... Aww, man…" the doctor had pointed at the diagram with his sandwich hand and had dropped part of his sandwich…
He bent over and started to pick up the inside of his sandwich that had fallen on the ground.
He picked up an olive and stood up.
"Hmm…" he tossed his sandwich to the floor and walked over to another stack of papers. He searched through them until he found what he wanted.
"Hmmm… I wonder... Yes… Yes… No… Yes…"
The doctor looked at the olive and then walked to a computer. He started typing and running numbers through some programs.
"If this works… I'm going to eat a whole jar of you guys…" the doctor talked to the olive.
After another couple of minutes the printer on the other side of the lab began to spit out sheets of paper.
The doctor grabbed the olive and walked over and began to skim through the reports…
"Hmmm…. Mkkkay… Mkkkay…. Yes… maybe… Hmmm…"
The slightly eccentric specialist held the olive up, "you…are… a… genius…"
He ran over to the cork board and took the picture from his last trip… "Jeanette… this just might work… Time to call good, 'ole Binder…"
And the doctor walked out of the lab to make a phone call… leaving his sandwich sprawled all over the floor…
A/N: Well that was my best attempt to create a slightly eccentric, super-smart doctor. I apologize for the choppiness of the last section… I never seem to be satisfied with my stories… anyway… What will happen next? I know! Stay tuned…
There was one more thing...oh, what was it... oh yeah! PLEASE REVIEW :-)
