Hello folks! Its been quite a while since I've updated, so for that I apologise. Writer's block is no joke folks :)
Any how, I proudly present to you all, the seventh and final chapter of I am the Good Guy.
I appreciate everyone who is still following and still commenting, your encouragement was integral to the completion of the story.
I don't own The Chipmunks.
Without further ado, please enjoy!
If looks could kill, then Alvin Seville's entrails would be strewn all across the class room. Simon was careful not to let on that he had any more knowledge than he had this morning. While he was leagues smarter than either of his brothers, when it came to Alvin, it wasn't enough to know that he had done something wrong. You had to prove it to him in a way that he could not plausibly deny it. In order to do this, he had to give Alvin the absolute smallest amount of time to think of a cover story.
So he simply waited. The clock mounted on the wall above the dry-erase board taunted him with what was likely the slowest minute hand in the county. Meanwhile, he glared at the back of his older brother who was sitting right in front of him with a passion that burned brighter than a thousand suns.
It was like everything he said to him last night went in one ear and out the other!
I tell him not to do something stupid because of the overwhelmingly bad consequences and what does he do? Goes and creates a plan too stupid for words, and then ropes our younger brother into it!
Never in his life had he wanted a class to come to an end so quickly. Usually he enjoyed Intro to European History, but today his fourth period class simply could not end fast enough. Simon couldn't have been more thankful with the bell's frantic ringing. Once Mr. Whittaker assigned homework for the night, Simon quickly gathered his things and made his way to the exit.
Alvin quickly and awkwardly slung his bag of his shoulders and followed suit. As soon as he stepped outside however, he found himself staring his much taller brother in the face. "Hello Alvin."
"Hey Si! Wassup!" Alvin cheerfully greeted, adjusting the way-too-large duffel bag slung around his shoulders.
Already he knew Alvin was in trouble. "Si" was typically reserved for situations in which he was extremely nervous. Poor Alvin probably didn't even realize he was giving himself away. He thought about taking the conversation elsewhere, but with their brother waiting on both of them and the nearest secluded area at least a 5 minutes walk away, Simon decided to instead settle for the privacy provided by the deafening sound of bustling students.
With a look as deadly serious as his tone, Simon finally addressed his brother. "I know what you're planning." He adjusted his glasses and sighed, performing what Alvin believed to be his best Dave Seville impression yet. "Furthermore, as your brother, I am obliged by my responsibility to uphold the goodness of our family name to remind you that what you plan to do is not only dangerous, but profoundly stupid!" With each word, Simon got closer to Alvin, eventually pressing him up against the wall adjacent to the classroom doorway. With each step, Simon's voice got louder and louder.
Alvin returned his younger brother's glare with impressive form. "What are you talking about?!"
Simon chuckled sardonically. "I constantly help you with homework. I routinely learn information years above my grade! I even help DAVE balance his checkbook and you still seem perfectly content to think I'm an idiot!"
Alvin tightly gripped the strap on his bag. Simon was a lot of things. But today, he was just being a annoying. "You know what? Save your performance." He said, pushing past him. "I'm already late for meeting Theo a-"
"I thought you were going to return the bag "first thing". What happened?"
Alvin looked at the bag and realized how obviously out of place it was. "I didn't have time, so what?"
Simon gave a surprisingly calm and non-committal shrug in response, "I guess. Why aren't you doing it right now then?"
"Cause' he isn't in his office at lunch," he shot back. He didn't like where this was going, and he certainly wasn't pleased with the accusations that he'd had to endure thus far. "Furthermore," He continued, "I don't need him bitching at me because I decided to leave his precious equipment where someone could steal it!" Alvin finally turned to face Simon once more.
"Simon," Alvin started, looking at his brother plainly, "What's your deal?"
Simon didn't speak for a moment. He looked at his brother with frustration. He had already grown tired of Alvin's lies. As he began to speak, he realized something. Alvin wasn't looking at him with a similar anger. He had a look of...wait...inquisition? Why? If he's lying then why-
"Wait a minute..." Alvin said mostly to himself. He looked down at the bag, and in a dazzling display of mathematical aptitude, he put two and two together. "...You think I'm gonna go after them don't you?"
Ya hit one guy with a bat (who, again, deserved it) and you never live it down.
"Simon, I don't even know who they are because you won't say anything!"
Simon in a flash of impetuousness, decided to really let his older brother have it.
" 'Won't say anything?' Really? You honestly believe I haven't? Alvin, I spent DAYS trying to get one of the teachers to listen to me. I even told the principal who decided that such "rough-housing" was just "boys being boys".
Alvin's heart began to sink. He completely misunderstood the situation. Simon wasn't cowering in fear. He went through all of the appropriate channels to resolve the situation. It's just that the people who were SUPPOSED to be helpful, weren't at all. While Alvin was no stranger to fighting (and to the surprise of many, winning) hopelessness descended upon him. After all, how was he supposed to stop these guys, if the very people to whom he was going to appeal, didn't care anyways? Was there even a way to do it without fighting?
"Alvin," Simon continued, reminding his older brother that he was indeed still in a conversation, "I don't expect you to understand." He spoke without a hint of bitterness, anger, or even arrogance. His words were only tinted by the sadness which accompanies any disappointing realization. "You don't have to deal with this. You've NEVER had to deal with this. Being an athlete certainly has its advantages after all. You could at least give me some credit though. Its just that every time I've tried to resolve this, the situation only got worse."
Alvin stared at his own feet and spoke in the now empty hallway in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "Just because I don't get bullied, doesn't mean I don't understand." As he raised his head, his voice rose with it. "How do you think I feel every time I have to explain myself to Dave? When I had to tell him why I had detention for the rest of the year? Every single time I've EVER walked into the school office and tried to explain to them the words 'self defense'? Believe me, I know it sucks...when you're in a bad situation that you could get out of, if someone...anyone...would just listen to you."
If prompted to comment, Simon would have to concede that those words made for the most profound and empathetic thing that Alvin Seville had ever said. Honestly, it was shocking. As they stood there, each of them felt oddly naked. Things which they had heretofore kept hidden from the world were now out in the open, and none of it could be taken back.
"Look Simon, I know I don't always make the best choices..."
An understatement to be sure, Simon thought to himself.
"...and I know you don't think you can trust with a lot of things, but trust me when I say that I would NEVER do something I thought would hurt you guys."
Simon looked into the eyes of his brother for a moment before he finally acquiesced. "Fine, you've made your point. I'm...sorry for doubting you." Alvin couldn't help but smile. With the tension all but dissipated, he was actually free to appreciate the rare instance of Simon actually being wrong. It was a guilty pleasure to be sure but an ultimately harmless one he had decided.
"It's alright. It's not like you were short on reasons to doubt me. Lets go, Theo's been waiting long enough."
There the three boys sat in a room which suddenly felt extremely crowded. The "seconds" hand on the clock just above the door way silently made its rounds while the three chipmunks waited for Dave's arrival. While the three boys couldn't hear much on their end, they could reasonably surmise that their caretaker was unhappy about receiving a call from their principal. The hard, cushionless wooden chairs did little to assuage the fear of impending doom as Mrs. Osgood took her time staring each of them down. It was 3 o'clock when Dave was called, so as the clock approached 3:30, they expected him to show up any minute.
Sitting across from the boys was a portly woman who appeared to be middle aged with vintage style glasses and black dress that was complimented by her necklace pendant that had (at least what looked like) an emerald. Her eyeglasses had a silver chain that looped around her neck, and connected on opposite sides of the rims of the glasses. Her desk was one over-sized vanity portrait. All of the pictures on her desk were of her performing various tasks and accepting various awards. It was all topped off with a gold name plate that adorned the front of her wooden desk that read 'Principal Beatrice Osgood'.
Theo never had a reason to be in the principal's office. As far as he was concerned if he never got to see the inside of it, it would be too soon. Saying that he was on edge was putting it lightly. Staying still for more than 30 seconds suddenly became a monumental task and he was pretty sure that the air in that room was making him nauseous.
This is so embarrassing! Even worse than that time I said that the relationship between shear stress and shear rate was linear in non-Newtonian fluids! Simon thought to himself as he shook his head in silence.
'Trust me', he said. "I would NEVER do something I thought would hurt you guys." Well maybe he forgot to add "suspension" to the list of possible detriments!
Of course, he had to wonder whether or not Alvin actually lied to him when he said that he wasn't planning on going after his assailants, or whether or not he simply lost control of himself in the heat of the moment.
But as uncomfortable, and irritated as the two youngest were, their reaction paled miserably in comparison to Alvin's.
He was sweating profusely and practically hyperventilating. His eyes were darting from one end of the room to the other as if to find any way out while his mind was flying through the various consequences at breakneck speed.
What the hell was I thinking? Now Daves gonna disown me, and once that jerk Renier gets out of the hospital he's gonna make my brothers lives living hells and no one will stop them cause the adults here are jerks and I'll probably have to eat gruel until I graduate and I won't see my brothers for years and-
His bothers looked upon him, first with anger, and then with pity. They both knew that it was Alvin who stood to lose the most and they could both guess how this meeting was going to end.
Still they were brothers, and they both knew that no matter the trouble, they would all stick it out together. Theo put his hand only Alvin's right shoulder and Simon put his hand on Alvin's left. When the eldest looked up, he saw that on each side there was a brother smiling ever so slightly. For that brief moment, steeled by the support of his brothers, he felt like everything was going to be okay.
Then Dave walked through the door.
Mrs. Osgood stood to greet him. "Hello Mr. Seville, I apologize that we must, again, meet under such unpleasant circumstances."
He gracefully raised a pardoning hand and moved to take a seat next to Theodore. "No need to apologize Mrs. Osgood." Once he had gotten as comfortable as he believed he was going to get in a chair that may as well have been made of syringes, he spoke again. "So what is this I hear about my boys fighting?"
"Well, Mr. North was the one who brought it to my attention. He heard what sounded like arguing, an when he finally got close enough to see what was going on, he saw your... 'sons'... surrounding an injured boy. Alvin here," she sighed, gesturing in his general direction without actually looking at him, "apparently assaulted another student with a baseball bat, breaking his leg." Dave would've worn his incredulous look, were it not the case that something similar to this had already happened before.
Mrs. Osgood took her glasses off and set them aside. "Mr. Seville, I'll be blunt. I simply cannot have this sort of behavior in my school. I cannot have a students, who seem to think that because they're famous, they can get away with whatever they want. As a result," She now turned to poor Alvin who was still a nervous wreck, "you Alvin Seville are hereby expelled. And you two," she said looking over at his younger siblings "are receiving a two weeks suspension and detention for the rest of the semester."
While he knew that only expulsion awaited him after pulling the stunt he pulled, the mere idea of his brothers being punished for a mistake that he and he alone made was enough to drag from his terror-induced catatonia.
"No..." Alvin said, as though he were stirring from a dream.
Mrs. Osgood glared at Alvin. "I beg your pardon?"
He managed to find his voice in his outrage. "I said 'no'. I'm not gonna let you punish my brothers because of something I did!"
"Alvin, you and your brothers, assaulted another student on school grounds. Did you honestly think that I would just...oh what is that phrase you kids like to use? 'Let it slide'"?
"I was the only one who did any 'assaulting' and if it were up to me I would've broken every bone in his body for what YOU let him do to my brother!"
Theodore immediately stood to rally behind his brother, "And what about that other guys? Are they gonna get expelled for all of the times that they bullied Simon?!"
Dave was actually surprised at his sons' outburst. "Alvin, Theodore, that's enough!"
Alvin was on a roll though, and would not be stopped by mere authority figures. "That jerk has been bullying my brother for who knows how long! And when my brother came you YOU," he said while pointing an accusatory finger at Mrs. Osgood, "you didn't do ANYTHING. What was the phrase? 'Boys being boys' was it?"
She gave Alvin a venomous glare. "How dare you accuse me of not doing my job, you little miscreant."
"AND I can prove it. Simon." He looked to the tallest, and prayed that he would throw him a line.
Simon looked at Dave, then his brothers, and finally Mrs. Osgood.
He stood up and slowly peeled of his sweater, holding it in his left hand. Dave and Theo looked at their now shirtless kin as though captivated by a car crash. They saw various greasy looking dark spots on just about every part of his body that could be covered by a turtleneck. It made them sick, but they couldn't look away. They watched on as his battered torso silently conveyed his story.
"Unfortunately, Alvin's not lying. I told a number of different teachers, and as Alvin has already said, Mrs. Osgood as well. None of them did anything and..." He stopped just long enough to keep his composure "this is the result. It happened just about every day. "
Dave honestly couldn't remember a time (recent or otherwise) when he was as livid as he was then.
"Boys grab your things," he said giving Mrs. Osgood a look of disgust, "we're leaving."
As Dave was exiting, his boys right ahead of him, he stopped walking long enough to address her once more. He looked over is shoulder, not bothering to turn around completely.
"Don't get too comfortable in that chair principal, you won't be occupying it for much longer if I have anything to say about it." With the slam of a door, Dave and his boys were gone.
The short drive home was completed in total silence. No one dared so much as cough while in the car. None of the three boys had ever seen Dave this angry. No, Dave wasn't angry.
He was pissed. It was a type of displeasure that didn't just make rectification appropriate, it was demanded and absolutely non-negotiable. Being the songwriter and manager for The Chipmunks definitely gave him a lot of strings to pull. He would pull every single one if he had to in order to put that half-baked excuse for a principle out of a job. Her ineptitude put his son in danger and that simply was unacceptable.
In short order, they arrived and piled out of the Coup De Ville (or as Dave liked to call it much to the embarrassment of his sons, the "Coup Seville"). The boys made sure to pile out quietly and after Dave had already exited the car. Once the front door shut behind them none of them were sure what to do. Ultimately, they decided that it might be best to give their father a bit of space, so they began to head upstairs. Without turning around, Dave carelessly threw his jacket on the couch and called to his sons. "Boys?" Without another word, he simply pointed to the kitchen table.
They all knew better than to protest in any way. Each of them walked over and took a seat leaving only one chair vacant.
David slowly circled the table, taking in each of their attempts to avoid his gaze. After taking a couple of minutes to make sure that he was going to be able to avoid overreacting. He didn't want to upset them, but he needed to be absolutely sure that they understood that this was completely unacceptable.
He sighed, "Alright, there's something that I think we need to discuss right now. When we were in the office, I couldn't help but notice that you two," he stopped to point and Alvin and Theodore, "knew a lot more about this than I did, which was nothing. Why is that?"
His focus now oscillated between the three of them, making it clear that his question was not rhetorical.
It was Theodore who, against his better judgment, spoke first. "Well uh...Dave...uh...I found out only yesterday and...um..."
Simon decided to spare Theo further anxiety and embarrassment. "It's okay Theo, I'll take it from here." For the first time since they left the office, Simon looked at Dave face to face. "It was my fault Dave. I...When it first started happening, I thought that they would eventually get bored and leave me alone. When that didn't happen, I tried to bring it to the attention of the faculty. That's about when my assailants they told me that he would have me and my brothers "eating through tubes" if I kept it up. Nobody really seemed to take my grievances seriously, and since no one seemed to care and I would only do harm by telling more people, I just...gave up. I was afraid that if you went up there and had a talk with the principal, they would find out."
"Alvin also knew, but I told him more or less what I just told you, so he was similarly bound to a form of silence." He then lowered his head. "It's also the reason why I started coming home later. After school was when they would usually get me. I lied about the tutoring sessions, in an attempt to keep all of this a secret." He quietly chuckled bitterly, "It obviously had limited effectiveness. I'm sorry for lying to you. I didn't think that the situation was going to get this out of hand."
Dave pondered on this for a moment before he spoke. "Simon I know its a tough situation to be in. I definitely had my share of bullies growing up, but I want you..." he said, taking care to make eye contact with each of them ,"...all of you to know that you can trust me with stuff like this. There is nothing more important to me than your guys' safety."
Each of them couldn't help but feel a little foolish. Dave wasn't some automaton that was completely inflexible. He knew his way around delicate situations and he was certainly no stranger to the cruelty that children could exhibit. They decided to not include the only adult who actually cared about them beyond their career, and they all paid quite dearly.
After giving his boys a few moments to think about what he said, he continued. "Simon, Theodore, I need you guys to go upstairs. I need to speak to Alvin in private."
Each of the boys gave each other nervous, knowing glances. They didn't want to leave. Alvin got expelled for defending them. There was a very good chance. that one of the boys that made Simon's school life a living hell, would never walk the same. The least they could do was try to be here for him during this moment.
"Dave...if it's alright with you, and if its okay with Alvin, we'd like to stay."
Dave gave a most inquisitive look, and turned to Alvin.
Alvin gave a quick glance to his brothers, and gave Dave a slight nod.
"Alright. Alvin I'll be blunt. Your behavior these past few months has been absolutely off the wall. I've told you many times that you can't simply hit people just because you're mad. You have responsibilities. Not just to your brothers, who have already begun to feel the effects of your actions by now, but to yourself. This latest incident is the worst by far. You assaulted, and seriously injured, someone else. Now I understand the circumstances were...extenuating..."
Alvin's face wrinkled in confusion, "Extra-what?"
"He's saying that he knows the situation was unusual." Simon interjected.
"Yes," Dave continued. "But that doesn't make your behavior okay. Honestly, I've tried get you to talk to me about it. But since you can't, or won't, I can't help you. So in short, my hand is kinda forced. I have no choice but to send you some place that can help you."
Theo's eyes widened. He's actually going to do it!
"Dave!" Theo cried, "You don't have to send him away! He can change!" He said while clinging to Dave's pant leg.
Dave actually took a quick look around to see if he was the only one confused. Sure enough, he was. "Theo, what are you talking about?"
Simon, again, intervened. "Dave, we found a pamphlet for a boarding school. We...know you were considering sending Alvin there."
Dave had to think back just to remember that he had even gotten the thing. "Simon...how did you guys come into possession of something that was in my room without me knowing?"
Each of the boys began casting nervous glances at one another. Simon somehow managed to forget that he practically stole it from Dave's room. After waiting a few moments and not receiving any sort of answer, Dave continued. "Well, it looks like we'll need to have a discussion about respecting the privacy of others as well. Anyway, that was something that Mrs. Osgood recommended to me. She seemed strangely adamant about it. While I did consider it, I know that this isn't what's best for you Alvin...and its not what's best for Simon or Theodore.
"Anyway, what I was going to say was that I know a counselor who specializes in this sort of thing. I want you to give her a shot."
Alvin could not have been more relieved. He allowed a smile to creep on his face and he even laughed a little. He would have to move, and he wouldn't have to miss his brothers and we would have to eat gruel and wear a stupid uniform!"
"Dave," Alvin ventured warily, "what if it doesn't work? What if she can't help me figure out what's wrong?"
"Then we keep trying different things until something works." He replied, plainly. "Alvin,We're a family. We don't just give up on each other because the going is a little tough. We stick together. It's what we've always done, and as long as I have anything to say about it, it's what we'll always do."
As Alvin heard these words, he began to tear up.
Being thirteen didn't really lend itself to tears very well, but Alvin Seville couldn't care less.
He didn't care if it made him look 'weak' or 'uncool'. He had so much to be happy about. He had his brothers, and his father wasn't throwing him away. In fact, he was doing the exact opposite. Alvin had never been so happy to be so way off base in his entire life. Gradually, each of them came in for a giant hug from their caretaker. As they stood in the center of the kitchen in one another's arms, they let themselves and each other enjoy the warmth of their familial bonds for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. It was Dave who spoke first once their hug had ended.
"And before I forget..."
They all looked up at him, being sure to hang on his every word.
"...all three of you are grounded for sneaking into my room and taking what wasn't yours."
Immediately the kitchen erupted, turning into a mosh pit of blame deflection and self-absolution.
Well, Dave though, at least things are getting back to normal.
Even though the drive only lasted about an hour, Alvin was sound asleep. It was surprising that he even needed to sleep considering how much of it he had gotten over the past few days, but it wasn't an issue Dave felt was worth belaboring. Alvin woke up just as they were finally pulling into Mistfield township.
With a yawn and a stretch of his arms and legs, he peered out the window. The town was definitely more rural than he was used to. There were no bustling crowds or bumper to bumper traffic. They passed several things that the city just didn't have like a couple of Mom & Pop general stores as well as a movie theater that DIDN'T take up an entire city block. When they had finally arrived at their destination, Alvin was surprised to find that the building was strangely nondescript.
They walked in and after Dave signed roughly a dictionary's pages worth of paper work, the counselor at long last made an appearance. "David? Glad you could make it."
"How's it going Jennifer? It's been too long." He extended his hand while Alvin was perfectly content to remain invisible.
"Things have been going pretty well. I'm constantly busy, but you know what they say about idle hands and such." They both share a chuckled until, at the same time, they realized why they were both here.
"Who do we have here?" Alvin took this as his cue to turn on the old 'Alvin Charm'.
"You can call me Al," he said with a wink. After a very conspicuous throat clear from Dave however, he saw fit to amend his introduction. "Er, I mean my name's Alvin Seville."
"Much better." Dave said with a deadpan expression.
Jennifer looked at her watch and remember that she was on a bit of a schedule. "Well Dave it's time for us to get started as it is almost three. I'll see you at 4, okay?"
"Excellent, I'll just take in the sites until then. Good luck Alvin." He said with a nod to his oldest son. With that, he made his departure.
After walking in and getting seated, Jennifer explained to him how the session would proceed. Once she got that out of the way, she gave the floor to him.
Alright Alvin, you can do this. No big deal. All I have to do is talk. All she had to do is listen. Okay...lets do this.
First off I want to say 'thanks' to everyone who read my story. I wasn't sure if anyone would give a damn, but your continued encouragement put that fear to rest.
So this is the end of I am the good guy. I'm not sure what I want to do next. I've considered doing a sequel of sorts to this. Maybe following him to his sessions? Not sure at this point though, lemme know what you think!
