Alrighty, as I said in the first chapter, go check out my petition, sign it and spread the word. Look up 'Remember the Chipmunks' on youtube to find my video for the petition and share that with as many people as you can.

Hmm..I almost posted chapter 8 instead of 7. Now wouldn't that be just awful? Skipping this whole part of the story...especially this part! This is probably the most important part! Well, one of the most important parts. Please, enjoy...and don't make me beg for more reviews. You already know I'm not above begging, but I still don't like it.

Thanks for your time guys. Remember, spread the word! Things won't change if no one knows about it. Tell people you wouldn't expect to sign too. I did. I took my petition to my church and got live signatures from EVERYONE, old, middle-age, and young. Believe me, good changes happen, but only if we fight for the change we want. Now, without further ranting, Chapter 7:

The Lessons they Teach

Chapter 7

"Be careful," Brittany hissed into Alvin's ear. They had their arms linked and were grinning for the cameras outside after dinner. If it hadn't been hard enough getting scolded for everything he did while eating, she was now scolding him to make sure he didn't start limping at all.

"Brittany," he hissed back. "I'm fine. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been limping all day."

"Yes you have. Here and there, just a couple steps, but you've been doing it. Does it really bother you?"

"No. It's just…irritating."

"Over here!" some photographer called. They spun around with pure smiles. Brittany leaned her head on his shoulder, getting a perfectly cute picture for the papers the next morning. "A group shot please!" Without letting their smiles flinch, the six crowded together. "Beautiful! You kids are so photogenic."

"We're going to be late," Simon hissed through his perfect smile. "There will be enough of this to worry about once we get to the concert hall. Can we just get in the limo?"

"Can we even get to the limo?" Alvin replied. They didn't have body guards, no one would think they'd need body guards. That left some of the people hired by their sponsors to shove back the crowds. They'd also been assured that there'd be cops hanging around outside the concert hall, so it made them wonder why the cops weren't helping here too.

"We can handle this," Brittany decided for them

"We?" Eleanor asked her sister, rolling her eyes. She stepped forward in an attempt to convince people to let them through. "I hope you enjoy our show tonight," she called, "but for anyone to enjoy it, we really have to actually get there…so if you don't mind…"

"Thank you," Theodore added when the people moved. Alvin and Simon stared for a moment, but then pulled their respective Chipette along to the limo.

"That's one way to get things done," Simon complimented. "So…Jeanette, did Alvin ever ask you about taking the leads if he can't?"

"What?" Brittany instantly spat. It was a good thing they were in the limo. Her sweet, innocent smile had completely disappeared. "Alvin…you didn't tell me about this…"

"Or me," Jeanette whispered.

"I was…getting to it…" Alvin tried, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I feel a whole lot better now, so I didn't think that would come up again. But, yeah, if I can't for any reason do any of my solos, then Simon would have to take them. And since Jeanette is paired with Simon, not Brittany, it would only make sense for Jeanette to take the part too." Brittany growled.

"When did you come up with this brilliant plan?" she asked.

"This morning. When my head felt like someone had hacked it open with an axe." Now the cops were running around to get people out of the limo's way, pushing everyone back onto the sidewalk as the driver crept his way down the road. It was a good thing they were only 15 minutes away normal driving. It took almost 45 minutes to get there with all the fans. The reporters attacked as soon as the kids were out of the limo.

"They don't have any dignity," Dave complained as the cops and the hired hands tried to push the lot back. He hurried the kids towards their rooms. "It's sad how we need that many people to keep them from swamping you guys."

"We can handle them." Dave laughed a little as he gave Alvin a gentle push into his room.

"Not tonight. If you took the time to handle them, you'd never get on stage. Hurry up and get ready. You've got fifteen minutes…you guys are getting quicker you know."

"Wow, seven whole minutes more than last time!" Tiff complimented from inside the room. Dave nodded, pulling the door shut. This night was bound to go off without a hitch. So far everything had been perfect, since the accident that morning at least. He figured they'd gotten past all the bad spells already, what with Cal and Theodore's cold and their stuffy choreographer. Things could only get better.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

"You're sure you can handle the leads?" Simon asked before they were due back on stage. The intermission was for them more than anyone else, so they could sit back and just rest for a few minutes.

"I feel better than I've felt in, well, weeks," Alvin lied, glancing over towards Brittany. Besides, if he didn't do the lead, she'd hack his head off with the first sharp object she found. This was her time to sparkle and shine, and she wasn't going to be too happy giving it up to her clumsy younger sister.

"Quiet now!" rang through their earphones. The mikes were going on, that meant the only things that came out of their mouths were the planned words. As the announcer called everyone back because 'the Chipmunks were ready to finish the show,' they climbed the back stairs to get to their platform. It was no wonder everyone seemed to think they were brats, the way the announcer announced them.

The lights nearly blinded them as they stepped up top, so they instantly diverted their eyes to the girls. The cheering fans weren't out of their sights, though, and the people in the front row were grabbing at the stage, hoping to get a chance to jump up on the stage. But the fans weren't going to be a problem. They knew their boundaries. Although the reporters were guessing on one thing that might make the boys slip up: how beautiful the girls looked. The make-up crew had certainly done their job, giving the girls nothing less than perfection for this performance.

"Have fun out there," they heard Dave's voice whisper through their earphones as the pre-recorded instrumental began, as did their dance. The dance went along perfectly with the song, putting their choreographer at ease. He still wasn't convinced they could do the song, but they were pulling it off. Then came the part that had messed up before. Everyone had made sure that the pillars were bolted down, even going so far as having the strongest guys on set ram into them to make sure they wouldn't even jiggle. Now it was time for the solo once again.

"When all the sweet has gone sour,

When all the dreams have faded away,

Oh, I don't know what I'd do;

I'd be so lost if I lost you…"

The Technicolor lights came on as they struck their poses on their pillars. The lights framing them perfectly, they turned with their stage-smiles larger than ever.

"You're always by my side,

You turn my darkness into light..."

Brittany tried her hardest not to glare as Alvin's voice cracked a little on 'into light'. No time to worry though. The others were up on the railing on either side of their respective sibling, helping them down in a way that fit in with the dance.

"Know that always down the road,

You'll have a place in this heart of mine."

They all centered around Alvin and Brittany again, their dance having taken them down to the center stage. It was Brittany's turn for some lines that were hers alone, her biggest spotlight yet. No one knew if she'd planned a bigger spotlight during the Chipette's song, but they could only hope she'd shared enough of it with her sisters.

"And you're the only ones who stay

When my nit-picking drives others away…"

Now it was Alvin's turn to glare. She'd changed her lines, even if she had hit all the same notes. But his glare faded fast. He had some lines of his own to pull off before they could finish the song, and that horrible sinking feeling was back again. He really wished he could just push Simon forward and make his brother sing them for him.

"When loving life becomes a chore,

You know I need you even more.

Oh, I don't know what I'd do;

I'd be so lost if I lost you…"

Every note scratched out like nails on a chalkboard. It hurt, it burned, and he felt like he was going to be sick. Not only that, but he had no doubts that everyone else felt like they were going to be sick just from hearing it. Around him, the others chorused out the last lines, melodically finishing the song, but he could only stare straight out in horror. As the song ended, he felt his brothers' hands on his back and heard what seemed like a million voices speaking all at once through the ear piece. He could pick out Dave's voice, and the choreographer's, but he couldn't understand a thing anyone was saying.

"Your mike is off!" one person said above the others. "Try talking, see if you can." He glanced around at everyone watching him. Even the audience was silent, waiting to see what was going to happen.

"Simon, I guess you should have taken the lead," he scratched out. His voice was a nightmare. Not only that, but talking made his throat hurt like crazy and burn like it was on fire. "Girls, take over. The second half is yours. I can't sing." He sounded so calm but he looked so terrified as he bolted off the side.

"Alvin!" Brittany shouted after him, jolting back as her voice echoed through the room. Her mike, apparently, hadn't been turned off. Stupid move on the sound crew.

"Don't worry, we'll look after him," Simon said, cringing as he found that his mike wasn't turned off yet either. He quickly signaled to the sound booth to kill the mikes before grabbing onto Theodore and running after the oldest chipmunk. They ran into Dave on their way out, and he paused to unhook them from their headsets. He already had Alvin's, so they assumed Alvin had just pulled it off himself and thrown it down.

"Did you see which way he went?" their dad asked. "He wasn't in his dressing room." The two brothers glanced around. "This place is huge, he could be anywhere." Theodore thought he caught a glimpse of red and chased it around a corner. Alvin wasn't fast enough to disappear down the other end of that hall that quickly…Simon appeared at his side, glancing around and doing all the math to pick the right door.

"This one," Simon finally decided, turning the latch and peeking in. "Alvin?" He hurried into the over-sized closet (a room for spare props that didn't quite fit in the main prop room), running to his brother's side. It wasn't hard to tell that the oldest Chipmunk was crying, and he was doing a terrible job of trying to hide it. "I'm really really sorry I didn't believe you. If we'd gotten you to the doctor earlier in the week, then maybe…"

"It's not your fault," Alvin's voice scratched back. "I could have just waited until the next break for a day off school, but no. I had to go and try to get out every day. I wouldn't ever believe me again."

"Well, you know what they say about the boy who cried wolf. When the wolf actually came around, no one listened because they were sick of being tricked. Learned your lesson yet?"

"Yeah." They glanced back at the door where Dave and Theodore were waiting. Helping Alvin up, Simon made his way back to their family. "Do you think the doctor is still in?"

"Not this late," Dave sighed. "But the hospital is always an option, and it would probably be a good idea to get you checked out as soon as possible." He kneeled down, looking into Alvin's eyes. They showed embarrassment more than anything else.

"Seville sirs?" a timid messenger-person whispered as he slipped down the hall. "They want to know what to say on the stage. The girls are doing a good job winging it, but everyone is worried…and the press is going to eat us alive if we don't tell them something."

"Tell them we're going to the hospital to get this checked out, and not to bother us while Alvin's getting better so he can get better."

"Of course, sorry for bothering you."

"Not a problem." Dave led them back to their dressing rooms, leaving them with instructions to change into their normal clothes so they'd be more comfortable during their late night trip to the hospital. While they did that, he went to find a payphone to warn Miss Miller that she'd need to pick the girls up from the concert, just in case she wasn't watching it. All he knew was that she had an awful head cold and hadn't been able to come in person (which had crushed the girls a little, but had also convinced them to do that much better for her sake).

Even with that pause, they still managed to get to the hospital within thirty minutes. They all took in the sights of the dull room as they waited for the doctor. The nurse had all done the normal necessary tests (temperature, blood pressure, and all those sort) and had assured them that Dr. Dell would be in shortly.

"Nate!" they heard a nurse outside complaining. "I have no idea where to find her, especially this late at night. Why don't you take the pie yourself? After all, she's practically your kid!"

"Tammy," the deeper voice of who they hoped was going to be Alvin's doctor replied, "I'm on shift, and I have a patient. Besides, I've taken you to her usual spot before anyway. She's bound to be there, and if she's not you can just leave the pie on her table."

"The table? That's covered in that mess she calls science. Why don't you just get over your childish guilt and ask her to move in with you? It's the least you can do for the poor kid."

"Tammy…just go. You know coconut's her favorite, so don't delay getting her that pie. Poor kid is probably getting sick from lack of fruit already."

"Mark my words Nate, one of these days something's going to happen to her and you're going to have fifty times as much guilt because you'll be guilty for not taking her in." They heard the heels of the nurse clicking as she stormed down the hallway, and jumped a little as the doctor came in.

"Sorry, I fight with my cousin a lot. What can I say? She's like a baby sister to me, literally." He smiled as he shook Dave's hand. "I'm Dr. Nathanial Dell, in case you haven't guessed. Pleased to meet you, just not under these conditions." It took him maybe five seconds to be over at Alvin's side, checking the Chipmunk out. He started rattling off notes to himself at speeds none of them could keep up with. It was gibberish to them, even Simon. This was one language he hadn't mastered: Doctor Chatspeak. It was very likely that Dr. Dell was the only person in the world who spoke it, too.

"Well?" Dave asked when the doctor appeared to be done.

"Well, you won't like what I have to say, I think. I have an idea of what's happening, but it's curious how it could happen. I want to see firsthand though, and that means, yes, the ever popular mini-camera. A tad uncomfortable, but incredibly helpful in situations like these for a close up, first hand look."

"Isn't that what those CAT-scan things are for?" The boys couldn't help but snicker at Dave.

"Sir! Those scan things?" The doctor pretended to be insulted, but quickly shook it off with a laugh of his own. "Actually, I don't like those much, radiation and all. Besides, I know what's going on, I just don't know the extent of it. If it's better than I think, then we can just give him some medicine and forbid him from speaking for a couple weeks."

"Weeks?" Alvin finally exploded.

"Yes, weeks. For your health. That is, if you want to sing on stage again anytime soon." Alvin shut up instantly.

"You said if it's better than you think," Simon spoke up instead. "What happens if it's exactly as you think or worse?" The doctor gave him a true, shut-up glare, which sent a chill down Simon's spine. He knew. With that one look, he could tell. Surgery, or possibly even an irreversible condition Alvin would have to cope with forever.

"It's almost midnight…do you want me to finish this up tonight or do you want to come back in tomorrow?"

"We might as well find out what's going to happen tonight," Dave decided, wrapping his arm around Alvin. The poor kid looked like his eyes were going to fall out of their sockets.

"Well then, if you'll wait, I'll have the nurses get everything set up.

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

The doctor was rubbing the side of his face, his eyes wrought with worry as he looked at the screen. "This is awful," he grumbled. Theodore was clinging to his oldest brother and Simon had his hand on Alvin's shoulder. It did look awful. "And see, there's the problem." The doctor smiled a little, letting out a sigh of relief. "We can fix this…but…Mr. Seville, can we talk for a few minutes?"

"Sure," Dave replied, following the doctor out.

"It can't be terrible if he can fix it," Theodore whispered.

"But he said he didn't know what would cause this," Simon grumbled, glancing at his brother. Alvin wouldn't even look at him. "Alvin, you know what caused it, don't you?" The oldest brother nodded. "I guess asking won't make you tell, will it?"

"I think it's that potion of yours," scratched out in reply. Simon paused, pushing his glasses up on his nose as he took in what his brother had just said. When Alvin finally glanced over at him, he cracked up.

"Alvin, the other cause I figured out for that thing was that it relieved sore throats, for a price. It would make whoever drank it get a fever first, but then it would soothe the throat. I figured that out when I went over my notes. I accidentally put in…well, an ingredient instead of the one I meant to put in. Believe me, that is not the cause of this." Alvin smiled a little, trying hard not to laugh along with his brother.

"So we don't know what happened then," Theodore sighed.

"That's ok. He said he can fix it, so we don't have so much to worry about."

"Why would they be talking outside if there was nothing to worry about?" Alvin snapped. They could hear the lie in Simon's voice. He was trying to believe that the fix wasn't complicated, but he couldn't even convince himself. The lie was a miserable one.

"Ok, well, I think…we'll just have to…wait for the doctor…" He sighed with relief as the doctor opened the door again. Dave came in first, and the two younger brothers got out of the way so he could give Alvin one of those wonderful fatherly hugs.

"Dr. Dell says that it is fixable," Dave explained, sitting on the edge of the table so he could keep his arm around his son. "But the longer we wait the worse this will get, even if he gives you some medicine and you don't talk for, well, a really long time. He says the only way we can fix this is through surgery." He felt Alvin tense up against his side, and he looked around at the brothers. Theodore's eyes were wide with shock; Simon was kicking the ground as he refused to look at anyone. He'd guessed the outcome already. "But it's not terrible, really. You'll have your voice back, full strength, in just over a month, he thinks."

"And you should be able to talk, at least a little bit, as soon as the stitches come out," the doctor added. "Not to sound cold, but the sooner we do this the better. If you want me to be the surgeon, it has to be Monday. Then you'll be here in the hospital until Wednesday, and you'll get your stitches out the following Wednesday. You can go back to school as early as that Thursday, if you feel up to it." Alvin had tuned them out after the word 'surgery.' He was a kid! Things like that didn't happen to kids, at least not kids like him.

"Hey," Simon said, shaking his brother's shoulder a bit. Alvin hadn't noticed his younger brothers come over. "What's with the long face? Alvin! You've got two brothers to help you get through this. Everything's going to be fine." Alvin looked up at the two, a grin peeking across his face. The two of them looked just as worried as he was. This was going to be a piece of cake, just so long as they were there for him.