Chapter 9: Plagiarism?
August, 2009
Theodore was thrilled about the fact that he was once again allowed to get on the Internet. However, he was still supervised while on the Internet. He was not allowed to e-mail any of his teachers, past or present, and he definitely was not allowed to go on . This was just fine with him since a lot of the sites that he went on could not be called inappropriate since many of them were Christian social networks. When he wasn't communicating with a fellow Chrisitan (and who knew where they were from?), he was busy watching videos on YouTube.
On one such day, Theodore lied down on his stomach on his bed with Simon's laptop in front of him. He was glad that Simon trusted him enough to believe that the chubby chipmunk was doing what he said he was doing, and today the chubby chipmunk was busy checking his e-mail. He waited patiently for the YaHoo website to appear on the screen, then he quickly typed in his e-mail address, followed by his password. Apparently, he was in love with his character Marshmallow because he had put her name as his password to his e-mail account. He waited patiently and then finally clicked on the option "inbox" to his left.
Tony Greyfox.
That was the name of the mysterious person who had sent Theodore the following e-mail:
"Someone gave me a link to your stories on a site a few months back and I must say that I am appalled. Your story 'Hold Me in Your Arms' is an exact replica of my story 'Comfort,' if not word-for-word. My characters Erik and Colin (allow me to emphasize the word 'my') are very special to me and I do not appreciate you using them in your writing. I would appreciate if you would cease from using them in any other form of writing that you do from now on. If you refuse to do so and I find out that you're using my copyrighted characters, I will have no choice but to sue you for copyright infringement. You may think that I have no way of finding out who you are, but you are dead wrong. Please e-mail me when you have deleted your stories from the site you posted them on and I will be willing to forgive you for using my characters. Thank you."
Theodore read the message again and again and again, stunned by what the mysterious man known as Tony Greyfox had said to him. His eyes remained glued to the screen as he read the hateful words numerous times, his fingers not moving from the mouse as the cursor on the screen went from one word to the next.
"Theodore?" Simon asked.
Apparently, he must have had a worried look on his face because Simon walked over to him and sat on the side of his bed, glancing at the computer screen through his blue glasses. The chipmunk pushed the glasses up on his face before removing them so he could read the message properly. He looked down at Theodore. "Who's this Tony Greyfox guy?"
"I-I-I have no idea," Theodore stammered, his voice shaking. "Let's see . . ." He looked at the date when the message had been sent. "He sent it just a couple of days ago."
"Your characters are actually his characters?"
Theodore shrugged. "I don't think so. He may just be making that up."
"He says he has them copyrighted."
Theodore tried his best not to sound too irritated. "I know what he said."
Simon nudged Theodore with the back of his hand. "Here. Move over. I know a way we can find out who this guy is." He moved the cursor on the screen to the Google search box that was below the address box and typed in the name Tony Greyfox, then clicked on the magnifying glass beside the search box and waited. A few seconds later, several links with the man's name appeared on them. Simon clicked on one of them. "Ah, here we go."
Theodore moved closer to his older brother so he could read the article that his brother had clicked on. According to it, Tony Greyfox was a Canadian who lived in Vancouver, British Columbia. He had been born on September 27, 1970, which would make him a thirty-nine-year old this coming September. However, none of this changed the fear that Theodore felt gripping his body. He glanced up at his brother whose eyes remained locked on the computer screen. "What should I do?"
"Here's the first thing you should do," Simon instructed. He went back to Theodore's e-mail account and deleted Tony Greyfox's message. "There. Problem solved. Just ignore him, Theodore. It's probably just some guy pulling your leg trying to scare you." He smiled down at his little brother and ran a hand through the chipmunk's hair. "I wouldn't worry about it." He leaped off the bed and walked over to the bedroom door. He turned, grinning at his little brother. "Are you hungry? I'm making grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch."
Theodore smiled himself as he closed the laptop and joined his brother by the door, knowing that eating something would make him feel better. "Sure, let's go." He went ahead of his older brother. When he reached the first floor, he spotted Alvin sitting in the living room on the couch watching cartoons. Smiling, the chubby chipmunk made his way over to his second oldest brother. "Have you been there all day?"
Alvin grinned. "Pretty much."
"Well, Simon's cooking lunch if you want some." He looked over at the television screen. "What are you watching?"
"Oh, it's this show called Futurama. You'd love it. I hear they're supposed to start airing a new season on Comedy Central next summer."
Having nothing better to do, Theodore decided to join his brother on the couch while they waited for Simon to get done preparing their lunch. Ordinarily, Theodore would've been helping Simon with preparing the meal, but watching television with Alvin allowed him to think about the new situation he found himself in. He was glad that Simon had deleted the hateful message from Tony Greyfox, but that didn't make the problem any easier to deal with. He still wanted to read Tony Greyfox's story "Comfort" to see how it compared to his story "Hold Me in Your Arms." After all, Tony Greyfox had said that the two of them were a lot alike, and Theodore was curious as to how. Unfortunately, Simon's printer was currently not working, and he doubted that he'd have any time to read any of the Canadian's stories. Therefore, he would have to wait until school started back to print off one of Tony Greyfox's stories, provided that his computer privileges were given back to him, but he doubted that they would be, knowing the school staff of Warren Central High School.
After lunch, Theodore called Ashley on the phone and requested that she print off one of Tony Greyfox's stories for him to read. He quickly explained the situation to her to the best of his ability. His curiosity wouldn't allow him to wait until September. She agreed to the ocassion and said that they would go to the park to read the story once Dave dropped him off at the building at their next morning.
Theodore's therapy session was a week later, on a Wednesday. Before they could go to the park, however, Ashley stated that she would like to talk to both Theodore and Dave so she could get a better understanding of the situation that Theodore was in. Sadly, Dave had no clue what she was talking about since Theodore had yet to tell him about the e-mail he'd gotten from Tony Greyfox.
The room that they entered was small. There was a desk pushed up against the wall to their left with a large painting above it. The desk had seven drawers with one between the three on either side of it. The desk held a lamp and several folders with papers scattered around them. The wall in front of them had a leather armchair pressed against with a case to its right. Finally, to the wall on their right was a window whose blinds covered it that showed a view of the parking lot. In front of it was a leather couch with a coffee table in front of it. There was yet another armchair, this one also made of leather, positioned a few feet away from the coffee table, resting by the white door that led to the hallway from which they had entered the room, across from the couch. The walls were the color of a faded burgundy color, bordered by white, while the carpet of the floor was the color of dark brown. A clock was attached to one of the walls, ticking away the seconds as the skinny red hand went past each number, creating a soft but audible tick-tock.
"Shall we sit down?" Ashley suggested, gesturing towards the furniture. She sat in the chair positioned in front of the desk while Theodore sat in the armchair that rested in front of the coffee table and Dave sat on the couch. In her chair, Ashley turned towards Theodore. "Theodore, would you mind explaining to your father why we're here."
Theodore's eyes met his father's. He did not hesitate in explaining the situation that he found himself in. "Some guy on the internet by the name of Tony Greyfox is accusing me of supposedly stealing his characters and copying his stories."
"I see," Dave said. He turned to look at Ashley. "What are our options of dealing with this?"
'Well, Theodore requested that I print off one of Tony Greyfox's stories, but, unfortunately, I was not able to do so. For some reason, every time I attempted to read one of his stories, I was not given access to them."
Theodore gave a dismissive gesture with his hand. "That's fine. I can always get them through school."
"That will depend on whether or not you're allowed back on the computers at school," Ashley reminded him.
He nodded. "I know that."
"Speaking of which," Ashley added, turning to Dave, "have you received any word from anyone from the school regarding his computer use at school at all?"
Dave shook his head. "No, not yet."
"Keep me posted on that, will you. If a meeting is required to determine that factor, let me know. As Theodore's therapist, it is my duty to keep the school updated on his well-being."
Dave nodded to show that he understood.
Ashley turned back to Theodore. "Would you mind going out to the hall so your father and I could talk alone?"
Without a word to either his father or his therapist, Theodore gave Ashley a nod before rising from his seat and leaving the room. He went back in the lobby of the building and sat on the bench outside of the room to his right. He looked through a couple of magazines before finally lying down on the bench and going to sleep with his knees drawn up to his chest and his hands folded together to form a pillow for his head. His slumber did not last long. It seemed as if as soon as he had fallen asleep, he was been woken up by his father. He was too tired to speak to Ashley and only wanted to return home so he could take a nap. He was grateful that neither his father nor Ashley pressed him to talk. They both knew that he would talk when he was ready.
It was not until near the end of August that Dave received a letter from Ms. Hood herself regarding Theodore's use of the computers at school. Along with Theodore, he was scheduled to meet with her and some of the other faculty members of the school to determine whether or not Theodore was mature enough to handle the responsibility of being on the computers at school. The fact that his son's maturity was being called into question upset him greatly. Theodore was a very responsible person. He took the trash out every day, sometimes twice, and often prepared the meals, as well as washing the dishes afterward, even going as far as drying them off and putting them away. There was no need for anyone to determine whether or not his son was mature enough to handle a responsibility like knowing what websites he was allowed to go on and which ones he wasn't. Still, if it would help him and his family get over the situation that had caused them so much trouble, then it attending the meeting would be worth it. The meeting itself was scheduled for September the second, one day before the new schoolyear began.
The fact that he would be a sophomore during the new schoolyear excited Theodore. It meant that he only had two more years left until he graduated and went on to college to become what he'd always dreamed of becoming: a novelist. His first novel, he hoped, would be his Erik and Colin novel My Brother's Keeper, followed by its many sequels. As to whether or not he should write a prequel regarding the events in My Brother's Keeper (which he would call My Brother's Keeper: Between the Years), he was still trying to decide. But the thought of getting his novel published while still using the characters he was using frightened him when he thought about the possibility of Tony Greyfox reading it and then sueing him for copyright infringement. Surely the Canadian had to be pulling his leg. After all, he didn't think it was possible for anyone to copyright a fat skunk or a binge eating brown raccoon.
Alvin and Simon went school shopping instead of attending the meeting with Dave and Theodore. While the meeting was scheduled for two o' clock, Dave was not comfortable with going in the school to meet Ms. Hood and Mr. Dempsey until after Ashley arrived. Theodore appeared to be the same way. Along with his father, he waited anxiously for his therapist to arrive. The chubby chipmunk announced her arrival as he spotted her silver car pulling into the parking lot of the school. The three of them entered the school together, side by side.
With Mr. Dempsey, Theodore's guidance counselor for his second year at Warren Central High School, and Ms. Kaumer, Theodore's guidance counselor's assistant, Dave, Theodore, and Ashley entered a room to their left when they started down the language arts hallway. They quickly formed a circle of desks and sat down.
"First of all," Mr. Dempsey said, "let's review why we're here." He cleared his throat and began reading from a piece of paper he held in his hands. "Back in May of 2007, Theodore contacted a teacher at Henry F. Moss Middle School and sent her a letter that she found very threatening. As a result of this, Theodore was asked to cease having any other contact with her whatsoever. Theodore, however, disobeyed this rule and contacted the teacher once again in February of 2009, requesting that she read a story he had written on a website called and give him her opinion on it. This story contained a lot of adult situations and lots of inappropriate material, such as excessive violence, strong language, and sexual content. Theodore was suspended and sent to 11th Street Alternate School."
"We are here to determine whether or not Theodoer should be allowed to use the computers while here at school," Ms. Sneed stated. "We have decided to grant Theodore his computer use privileges, provided that he is supervised during such times. Theodore will not be allowed on the computers here at school unless he is supervised by an adult."
"I have been working with Theodore on a weekly basis," Ashley spoke up, "and I think he has gotten better about what is acceptable to do on the Internet and what isn't. I honestly do not believe he needs to be supervised while on the Internet."
"For his own safety and for the safety of others around him, he does need to be supervised," Mr. Dempsey declared. "How do we know you're not just saying that for his benefit?"
Ashley said nothing.
"We definitely don't want another incident like back in February to happen again," Mr. Dempsey went on. "If such an incident does occur once more, we will be forced to have Theodore arrested for defiance. With him turning eighteen in just a few short days, we can go as far as arresting him for obeying the rules, and it will go on his permanent record.
"I have something exciting to announce to you, Theodore. The school is starting an online newspaper that will be posted on the school's website that will keep the students posted on school events, such as sports, homecoming week, dances, and other topics of interests. The newspaper will be written by students enrolled in the new journalism class that we're doing this year. If you can stay out of trouble, we'll see about getting you in the class. If you wish, you could give us some ideas if you have any."
"Would you like that, Theodore?" Dave asked.
Theodore shrugged. He had no interest in writing articles for things he did not care about. What he enjoyed writing was fiction, where he could be creative. He disliked writing nonfiction since he rarely found himself getting the chance to be creative with his writing.
"Like I said," Mr. Dempsey said, "we'll see about getting you in the class if you can stay out of trouble."
"Shouldn't be too hard if you idiots will keep your noses out of my business," Theodore said.
"Well," Mr. Dempsey said, "that settles it. You can go now. Thank you for coming."
Theodore left the school with his father, irritated that his computer prvileges hadn't been fully restored. He agreed with Ashley. He did not need to be monitored while on the computer. In fact, he had become so trustworthy among his family that he was no longer being monitored while he was on Simon's laptop. He was trusted to get on it while the rest of them were out of the house, knowing that he wouldn't go on any inappropriate websites, though they knew that he would have the temptation to do so. Luckily for him, Simon had blocked any sites that he thought were inappropriate for not only Theodore, but also for everyone in the family, even Dave.
When he got home, Theodore discovered that his brothers had gotten his school supplies while they had been out. Along with seven new notebooks, which he was sure he will fill up with new stories and drawings, he received a new pack of pencils, at least one kneaded eraser, a couple of binders, a few folders, and a hand-held pencil sharpener. He put his belongings in his backpack and went to bed earlier than he normally did. He went to bed at thirty minutes past eight o' clock at night, an hour and a half before Alvin and Simon did.
Going along with his plan, Theodore entered the library the following morning at school and went to a computer after checking one out from the librarian. He was shocked when Ms. Napier didn't say anything to him about being monitored on the computer while he was on it. He shrugged it off and decided not to worry about it. After getting logged in by the librarian, he went on the Internet and typed in the name Tony Greyfox on Google. He clicked on the first link he was presented with and a long list of stories written by the Canadian appeared in front of him. Many of them were rated for adults only. He was surprised that several of the Canadian's stories featured the characters that supposedly belonged to him: Erik and Colin.
A few minutes later, Theodore made his way to the printer that was located behind the counter where he had gotten his card for the computer he was at. He found Tony Greyfox's story "Comfort" lying face-down in the printer. He made sure he had all of the pages to the story before making his way back to the computer. Along the way, however, the story was suddenly snatched out of his grasp by Ms. Napier.
"What is this?" the librarian demanded as she observed the story that the chubby chipmunk had printed out.
Theodore did not like it when people stuck their noses in his business and it greatly irritated him when they did. Now was definitely one of those times. He tried his best to keep his cool. "It's private. It's for therapy."
"I don't care what it's for, I still have to look over it to make sure that it's school appropriate."
Theodore blinked. Surely she couldn't be serious. He wanted to slap her and snatch the story out of her hands, but knew that in doing so would only get him arrested for assaulting a teacher. Instead, he rolled his eyes and shook his head. It was time to go to his first class of the day anyway. With his backpack slung over his shoulders, he walked out of the library, grumbling under his breath.
The first class of his school day was economics. Thankfully, the class was boring for the first day since they were once again going over the rules and regulations of the school. Theodore prayed that the beginning of every schoolyear wouldn't begin with all of his classes going over the rules and regulations of the school.
During his English class, his second class of his school day, Mr. Dempsey walked in the classroom and walked over to the chubby chipmunk and ordered him to go to the main office to his office. Puzzled, Theodore followed the vice-principal to the main office, then walked down the hall beyond the main office until they reached Mr. Dempsey's office. He found his guidance counselor seated at the second armchair of the two that rested in front of the vice-principal's desk. He was ordered to sit down and he did so, sitting in the leather armchair beside Ms. Sneed.
Mr. Dempsey sat down at his desk and held up a small amount of papers. "Ms. Napier gave this to me a few minutes ago." He examined the papers, then looked up at Theodore. "Do you know what this is, Theodore?"
"Yeah, it's a story I printed out for therapy," Theodore replied.
"Yes, but it's an erotic story, a story in which two or more characters engage in sexual activity. In this case, the characters are a skunk named Erik and a raccoon named Colin. Would you care to explain why you chose to print this out?"
Theodore explained to Mr. Dempsey and Ms. Sneed the situation that he was in with Tony Greyfox.
"I'm gonna have to call your father," Mr. Dempsey told Theodore, picking up the telephone to his left. Without waiting for a response from the chubby chipmunk, he began dialing Dave's number. He reclined in his chair and waited patiently until Dave answered the call. "Mr. Seville? Hi, this is Mr. Dempsey, the vice-principal here at Warren Central High School. Uh . . ." He leaned forward and placed an arm on his desk. "We have a situation here with your son Theodore. It seems he has printed out an inappropriate story from the Internet and we're trying to figure out what the best course of action may be. Would you mind coming in? Excellent. Thank you, sir. Well, you know what? Why don't I have him explain the situation to you? I'm sure he could do it better than I could."
Theodore was given the telephone. He quickly explained what had happened and dreaded what would happen when Dave got to the school.
While they were waiting for Dave to get to the school, Theodore's backpack was searched for any dangerous substances or weapons. The second vice-principal's search turned up a few notebook, a Bible, a few binders, and a few folders. As soon as Mr. Dempsey spotted the notebooks, he began to look through them to see if he could spot any stories written in them, much to Theodore's agitation. Still, the chipmunk sat silently in his chair, his hands tightly folded tightly, his knuckles turning white. His baby blue eyes pierced through Mr. Dempsey's eyes as he silently cursed at the vice-principal in his head.
Theodore had yet to write My Brother's Keeper. In the meantime, he had begun to write a story that he'd been inspired to write while watching The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. His story "Garden of Eden" featured, to no one's surprise, Erik and Colin and their friends and, just like in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, they were each transported to a magical land that the residents referred to as the Garden of Eden through a hole in the ground that Erik had dug one day when he'd been bored. The story's main influence was the story of Adam and Eve found in the Book of Genesis and featured famous biblical characters like Jesus and His twelve disciples. As far as Theodore could recall, the story was his first time with mingling animals with humans. He noticed that people seemed to be more accepting of this type of writing instead of all the characters being animals, and he liked having his animal characters in the same existence as humans since it made the stories seem more realistic.
Mr. Dempsey attempted to read the first chapter that Theodore had written for "Garden of Eden," but was unable to due to Theodore's microscopic handwriting, much to Theodore's embarrassment. The chipmunnk had always had lousy penmanship, which was why he preferred writing his stories on the computer since typing them made them more readable. When Mr. Dempsey requested that the chipmunk read to him what he'd written, the chipmunk refused, Besides, he wasn't comfortable talking about his stories or his characters, however interesting he thought they were. Mr. Dempsey then asked Theodore if he had been in a rush when he'd written the story due to the fact that the text was difficult to read and Theodore told him no. Mr. Dempsey then requested that Theodore explain what the story was about, but Theodore refused to do so, claiming that it was none of the vice-principal's business.
Sighing, Mr. Dempsey set the notebook on his desk and looked up at Theodore. "You know you're in trouble, right? You broke the rules. You know you're not allowed to be on the computers unsupervised."
"Theodore, did you get on the computer in the library because you thought that you'd be supervised?" Ms. Sneed asked.
Theodore nodded.
"Right in here, Mr. Seville," a voice stated.
Theodore turned his head to see Mrs. Burch, the secretary, leading his father into the room. Feeling uneasy about the situation, the chipmunk quickly diverted his eyes from the angry look on his father's face. He didn't need to look at his father to know that his father had his hands on his hips.
Dave glared at Mr. Dempsey. "What are you accusing my son of now?" As he scowled at the vice-principal, the man lowered his gaze.
Mr. Dempsey held up the story "Comfort" written by Tony Greyfox. "As Theodore explained to you, Mr. Seville, he printed out this story, which is very inappropriate. Uh . . ." He examined the story that he held in his hands, doing everything he could to avoid making eye contact with the angry parent in front of him. "It features a skunk and a raccoon doing adult behavior. In other words, they are having intercourse."
"Theodore was explaining to us that he printed out the story because some stranger on the Internet known only as Tony Greyfox was accusing him of copying his story ideas and his characters," Ms. Sneed stated.
Dave nodded. "Yes, that is the situation that we are in here."
"This man knows nothing about Theodore, not his age or whether or not he's still in school," Mr. Dempsey stated. "Unfortunately, none of that matters in this situation. As a form of punishment, Theodore will be suspended from school until we can come up with a suitable solution."
Theodore tightly gripped the armrests of the chair that he sat in, trying his best to maintain his composure. As calmly as possible, he asked, "May I have my notebook back now?"
Mr. Dempsey shook his head. "No. I will be holding onto this." He picked up Theodore's backpack and tossed it over to him. "You may have your backpack, though."
Theodore gritted his teeth.
"Come on, Theodore," Dave suggested. He led his son out the door and left with giving Mr. Dempsey a mean look.
Hearing the squeak of brakes outside, Simon sat up from his lying position on the couch and peered out the window by lifting the blinds. He saw his father and Theodore walking up the walkway, heading towards the front door. He lied back down on the couch, pulling up the blue blanket that covered his body. Balls of tissue surrounded him. Due to the fact that he wasn't feeling well, he hadn't gone to school. He heard the front door open and close and heard the sound of heavy footsteps as his younger brother stormed up the stairs in the huff.
Dave walked in the living room and sat down on the couch.
"Theodore's home early," Simon noted. "Anything wrong?"
"You know that guy who e-mailed Theodore a couple of weeks ago?" Dave inquired.
Simon sat up in an effort to get into a more comfortable position. "You mean that Tony Greyfox guy?"
Dave nodded. "That's who. Today, Theodore printed off one of his stories to prove a point and he got in trouble for it."
Simon blinked. "For trying to prove a point?"
Dave nodded. "Yes."
Simon's expression hardened. "I've just about had it with this school. Theodore didn't start having trouble until he started going to school within the Warren County District."
"Oh, believe me, this is the last straw for me as well. Theodore will not be going back to that school, I can assure you. I'll put him in a different school."
Simon adjusted his glasses. "Well, he has been talking about hopefully getting into a Christian school. Maybe you could do that."
"Yeah, maybe."
"So, what's the story?"
"They suspended him until they can come up with a reasonable punishment." He shook his head. "Don't be surprised if Theodore's in a bad mood throughout the rest of the day."
"I don't blame him if he is. He has every right to be mad." He looked past Dave to see Theodore descending the stairs. He called out to his younger brother as he was about to go in the kitchen. He was grateful that Theodore didn't ignore him. His younger brother angrily walked in the living room, shaking with rage.
"They have no right," Theodore growled. "What reason could they have for taking my notebooks?"
"Well, at least you can still write your book," Simon declared. "Why don't you go do some writing? Maybe it'll help you cool off."
Theodore's expression softened. "Yeah, maybe you're right." He walked out of the living room and to the kitchen to retrieve a can of orange soda. Walking back to the living room, he opened the can and took a sip. "You still haven't answered my question."
"Maybe they feel like your writing is a threat to them," Dave assumed.
"How?" As he spread out his arms in anger, Theodore ended up spilling a few drops of soda on the rug that covered the wooden floor. He took another drink of his soda in silence.
"You have to admit that your writing in the past has been quite inappropriate," Simon noted.
"I'm an adult. It's perfectly natural that I'd write for adult audiences." Theodore glared at the two of them, his anger still evident by the expression on his face.
"Yes, that's true," Dave agreed.
Theodore stopped a moment to think. "Maybe we could press charges and sue the school for harassment and thievery."
Simon shook his head. "Won't work, mainly because those charges won't hold up in court."
Theodore sighed.
Dave hoped that some good news would brighten his young son's spirits. "I've thought it over, and I've decided to take you out of that school and put in a new one."
Theodore's expression softened and a grin appeared across his face. "You mean it?"
"You bet. I'm fed up with these people harassing you all the time."
Feeling much better about the situation, Theodore took another drink of his soda in a more cheerful manner than he had before. "Thanks, Dave." He took another drink of his soda before going up the stairs. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a chapter to finish typing."
"Feel free to post it online," Simon called to him. "Remember, your fans are waiting."
Theodore stopped with one foot on an upper step while the other remained on the step below it. "Yeah. Call me when lunch is ready, okay?" He continued up the stairs. The slam of a door let his father and brother know that he didn't want to be disturbed until lunchtime.
Lunchtime didn't come unitl three hours later, around eleven-thirty. Despite that he wasn't feeling well, Simon decided to go with Dave and Theodore to the mall so he could get out of the house and get some fresh air. They got something to eat first since all three of them were hungry. Afterwards, while Dave went to JC Penney to do some clothes shopping, Simon and Theodore decieded to go to FYE to browse the CD and DVD sections. Since the store didn't sell very many video games, they didn't bother browsing through the video game section of the store.
As he walked along the aisles of CDs and DVDs, Theodore had his headphones over his ears while his MP3 player was stuffed in the pocket of his sweater. He passed the different genres of music: country, rock, hip-hop and rap, pop, dance, Christian, gospel, and Latino. Spotting a tobyMac CD, he stopped to examine it. It was the Christian rapper's latest CD: Portable Sounds. Seeing as it was only twenty dollars and he had thirty-five dollars in his pocket, he decided to get it, leaving him with seven dollars and one cent after paying extra for tax. He told the woman to keep the penny and just give him the seven dollars, leaving him more than enough to get some dipping dots and a drink or a candy bar as they were about to leave the mall, but he didn't know when that would be. Since Alvin wouldn't be home until three o' clock, they could stay at the mall for another three and a half hours if they wanted to.
While Simon checked out the Degrassi DVDs (each were a whopping sixty dollars), Theodore looked at the animated shows that the store had on DVD. He was surprised that they had many animated TV shows from the nineties on DVD, such as Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, and Pinky and the Brain, not to mention older shows like The Flintstones. The first season of Tiny Toon Adventures cost forty-five dollars, but the DVDs of Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain each cost a little over twenty dollars. At least they were all cheaper than the Degrassi DVDs. Knowing that Simon was a big fan of the show, the chubby chipmunk knew that his older brother was saddened that he couldn't buy them. To make the matter more depressing, the DVDs of Degrassi that the store had in stock were the first four seasons of the television series.
Theodore and Simon moved onto the CDs. Simon examined the jazz and blues sections of the CDs while Theodore examined the country section. Unfortunately, they could only glance at the items that they desired to have. Seeing as they had little to no money whatsoever, they could not buy anything in the store. Realizing this, Theodore told his older brother that he was more than welcome to listen to his tobyMac CD. Though Simon was not a big fan of Christian music (or Christians in general), he gave his little brother a smile and said that he would give the CD a chance. Theodore couldn't help but hope that Simon would end up liking the CD.
Recalling another Christian rapper that he was a fan of, Theodore went back to the Christian section of CDs. Someone on YouTube had mentioned KJ-52's name in a comment and the name had stood out to Theodore among the others that the poster had listed, such as LeCrae and Gospel Gangstaz. The only CD that Theodore found of KJ-52's was "The Yearbook," and he didn't have enough money to get it. It featured a song that the chipmunk was familiar with: "Fanmail." After noticing that the price of the CD was only twenty dollars, he set the CD back in its proper place before moving onward. He thought that it would be cool if tobyMac and KJ-52 did a song together.
After forty-five minutes, Simon finally received a phone call from Dave. The chipmunk told his father where he and Theodore were and added that they would be waiting for him outside the store. Afterward, he had no problem getting Theodore out of the store. The chubby chipmunk was getting bored with looking at the same stuff over and over again. As the two of them waited for their father, Theodore asked Simon if his older brother would like to get a snack and a drink with the money he had left in his pocket. His older brother agreed that he was actually in the mood for a snack and a drink. It seemed that his older brother knew that eating a snack and having a drink to go with it would calm his little brother's nerves, though it was perfectly clear that just being out of the house and with his family had been more than enough to calm Theodore's nerves. Simon noticed that beforehand, his little brother had been really tense. Now, as he and Theodore waited for Dave, Simon noticed that his little brother's body seemed to be more relaxed.
Simon looked at the CD that Theodore had gotten and examined the tracks that were listed on the back of the CD case that protected the CD from any harmful substances, such as dirt, water, or any other substances that could potentially damage the CD. Smiling, he decided to go ahead and open the CD by tearing off the paper and picking off the adhesive label that coated the top of the CD, which he found frustrating. Theodore could only remember the many times he'd hated having to get the adhesive label off the CDs he'd gotten. Theodore's face brightened when Simon suggested that they listen to the CD on the way home.
After ten minutes of waiting, Dave finally arrived at the location that Theodore and Simon were in. He lured the boys to the main entrance and stopped long enough for the both of them to get a snack and a drink from the vending machines that stood silently by the automatic sliding double doors. It wasn't until they got in the car that Simon inserted the tobyMac CD into the CD player of the car, claiming that he was eager to see why his little brother liked the Christian artist so much. As the music blasted through the speakers, thus causing the whole car to vibrate, Simon took a drink of his Dr. Pepper, nodding his head along with the beat of the music as he sat in the passenger seat.
Dave also appeared to like the Christian artist since he was tapping his fingers in time with the music against the steering wheel as he drove. The man claimed that the best part about listening to the Christian artist was that there was no vulgar language or inappropriate material within the songs. All that there was to hear was nothing but good, wholesome lyrics about the Lord and His goodness.
Silently, Theodore sat in the seat behind Dave. He stuffed a Reese's peanut butter cup in his mouth. He pressed his tongue down on the chocolate-covered peanut butter-filled treat, crushing it into two parts before crushing it into many little pieces with his teeth. He made sure to chew slowly, wanting the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter to last for as long as it could. Afterward, he took a swig of Mello Yello from the bottle he held in his other hand. His free hand patted his knee, positioned just in front of the package of Reese's peanut butter cups that rested on his leg. He still had three more left to eat, and he was going to make sure to savor them for as long as he could. He was surprised by how quickly his day had turned around. It had gone from bad to worse to enjoyable. Hopefully, the moment would last for awhile before Alvin found some way to ruin it. He dared to hope that his mischievious brother would be understanding of what was going on and try his best to make him feel better about the situation that he found himself in. He doubted that such a thing would actually happen, but he supposed that it wouldn't hurt to hope that his second older brother would actually reject thinking of something witty to say and instead comfort his little brother.
They didn't stay at the house very long at all. Once a couple of hours had passed after they arrived home, they went to the college to pick up Alvin. On the way home, Alvin explained what he was majoring in. None of them were surprised to discover that his major was music. He was minoring in English literature. The chipmunk figured that if he never made it big as a musician, he could possibly make it big as a novelist. Of course, Simon wasn't happy that he had missed his first day of college, but hoped that he'd be feeling better enough the following day to go to his classes. Meanwhile, Alvin would be staying up until two-thirty in the morning working on homework and studying for a test he had in one of his classes the following day.
Theodore knew exactly what he wanted to major in upon getting to college, and it was no secret to his family and friends. He'd be majoring in creative writing while in college. He had yet to decide his minor. Since math and science were not his strong suits, he advised himself to steer clear of the two subjects that had caused him so much frustration over the years. Like Alvin, he hoped to make it big as a novelsit, starting with his first two novels: My Brother's Keeper and My Brother's Keeper: Between the Years. His third novel that had been titled Erik, We Hardly Knew You had yet to be written. As soon as he was done writing My Brother's Keeper: Between the Years, he would get started on it.
Theodore was out of school for the remainder of the week. He had no problems with this since being out of school only gave him an excuse to write and draw some more. While Dave went to work (he trusted Theodore enough to know that the chubby chipmunk wouldn't do anything destructive like Alvin) and Alvin and Simon went to the local university, Theodore busied himself with working on his novel or drew some pictures when he wasn't busy surfing the Internet using Simon's laptop or watching television. It surprised him to know that his older brother didn't take his laptop wtih him when he went to the university. Theodore had always thought that college students were allowed to use their laptops in class, but apparently such wasn't the case with the University of Los Angeles.
Theodore's bad mood was suddenly resurfaced when Alvin asked him how his day at school had went.
"He got suspended," Dave told Alvin.
"Because he was on the computer?" Alvin guessed. He turned around in his seat to glare at his little brother. "Like he wasn't supposed to be?"
Simon shook his head. "No. It's because apparently, Ms. Hood didn't send out an e-mail telling the other staff members about the conditions regarding Theodore being on the computer. Remember that Canadian named Tony Greyfox who e-mailed Theodore a few weeks ago, accusing him of stealing his characters?"
"Yeah," Alvin replied.
"Well, Theodore's therapist was unable to print out one of his stories, so Theodore decided to print one out at school. For starters, there is no information regarding Tony Greyfox's stories, so there was no way for Theodore to know that they were pornographic in nature."
"Hmm," Alvin mused. "So, he was suspended for trying to prove a point?"
Simon nodded. "Exactly."
"So, what's the verdict? Is he expelled or what?"
Simon shrugged. "We don't know. Mr. Dempsey said that Theodore was suspended until they could come up with a suitable punishment."
"You mean that jerk of a vice-principal, the guy who thinks he's God?"
"Mm-hmm."
Alvin shook his head.
"I'll tell you right now, I can't wait to graduate," Theodore said.
"Well, don't be too excited about going to college," Alvin told him. "It's just my first day, and I've got four essays to write."
"I'll be sure to leave the coffee pot running," Simon said, chuckling.
Alvin didn't seem to get his brother's joke. "Thanks. I'm going to need plenty of coffee to get me through the night. Okay, well, actually, I only have three essays to write. I wrote one of them during lunch."
"What about?" Theodore was curious. Perhaps he could help his brother with his essays.
Alvn thought for a moment. "One is on society. The other one is what I'm passionate about. The third one is that I have to explain how today's society reflects the society seen in a book that we're reading my English calss right now. The one that I wrote during lunch was about what problems exist in the world and how we could overcome them."
"Such as?" Dave asked.
"I did mine over the economy," Alvin replied. "Everyone knows that it's nowhere near as good as it was years ago."
"In the meantime," Theodore said, "I'll be trying to think up ways to get back my notebooks before I'm transferred to a new school."
This statement took Alvin by surprise. He turned around in his seat to once again look at his little brother. "You're transferring to another school?"
Theodore nodded. "Yeah. I'm fed up with Warren Central. You and Simon are lucky you guys never had any problems while going there."
"Yeah, right," Simon cried. "I got accused of hacking into Mr. Dempsey's computer so I could change my grades to make it look like I had all A's."
"And it was rumored that I told one of the teachers to go . . ." Alvin suddenly stopped. "Well, something that's not appropriate.". He shook his head. "Bunch of dumb idiots at that school."
"Mm-hmm," Simon agreed, nodding his head.
Theodore sighed. "I need something to eat. Dave, would you mind stopping by Minit Mart so I can get a pepperoni roll and something to drink."
"I need to stop for gas anyway," Dave told him. "Do you need any money?" He momentarily looked over his shoulder at his chubby youngest son.
Theodore shook his head. "No, I have at least fifteen bucks in my pocket, more than enough to get what I need."
"Why don't you just stay in here and relax?" Simon suggested. "You look like you could use some rest. I'll run in and get what you need."
Theodore shrugged. "Okay." He diverted his eyes from the baby blue eyes of his older brother to the scenery that the car was passing outside. His pudgy body gave a jolt as the car ran over a speed bump. His eyes suddenly met a gas pump as Dave parked the car at Minit Mart. Without a word to Simon, he took out his money and handed it to Simon. Before his older brother got out of the car, he told Simon that he and Alvin could get themselves something if they felt like it.
While Dave and his brothers got out of the car and tended to their business, Theodore sat in the car. To be honest, he could care less about the punishment that he would face from Ms. Hood and Mr. Dempsey. Seeing as he would be attending a new school in only a few short weeks, it really didn't matter in the slightest. The only thing that bothered him was that Mr. Dempsey seemed to believe that he was above Ms. Hood, his superior. The vice-principal was second in command while the principal of the shcool was the chief. Being that she was easier to get along with than Mr. Dempsey, Theodore didn't have any reason to fear what the punishment would be. After all, Ms. Hood was a very reasonable woman.
Moments later, Dave got back in the car and waited patiently for his two other sons to come out of the store. After only a couple of minutes of waiting, both Alvin and Simon proceeded out of the school, each carrying a drink. Simon carried two drinks: one for Theodore and one for himself. In his other hand he carried a bag, which Theodore guessed contained his pepperoni roll. It wasn't until the chubby chipmunk spotted a buy one, get one free deal for pepperoni rolls on one of the windows in the store that he realized that there could have been more than one pepperoni roll in the bag that Simon was carrying.
Theodore agreed to let Alvin and Simon have one. He split it in half and gave Simon the bigger piece. He was grateful that Alvin didn't complain. He assumed that Alvin knew that him complaining would only make his day worse.
The only thing that Theodore felt like doing when he got home was sleeping. While he wanted to write a few more chapters for his novel My Brother's Keeper, he did not have the strength to do so. Besides, he was struggling with the idea of whether or not to make Erik and Colin a gay couple. He admitted to himself that the two of them made a cute couple, but knew that he would be ridiculed by the Christian community. In honesty, he did not care. He was not aiming to please anyone with his novel. The only thing he was concerned about was writing a novel that he thought everyone would enjoy reading. He was not aiming to influence anyone or inspire anyone, much less change anyone's life.
It wasn't until Sunday afternoon that Theodore received a letter from Mr. Dempsey stating that he was reported to attend Lifehouse Alternate School the following morning. He glared as he read the letter. He didn't know who Mr. Dempsey thougth he was. The vice-principal seemed to think that he ran the school, not Ms. Hood. Shaking his head, Theodore put the letter aside and went back to typing chapter thirty-five of his novel.
As to why he was going to Lifehouse Alternate School in the first place, Theodore was clueless. He guessed that it had something to do with the story that he had printed off last Friday, yet he wondered whether the staff of the high school had made the decision, or whether the school board had. He made a mental note to ask Ms. Hood as soon as he got the chance. For now, he concentrated solely on his novel so he could send it to a publisher and hopefully get it published.
Lifehouse Alternate School was less restricted than 11th Street Alternate School. However, Theodore was not allowed to roam the hallways like he was at 11th Street Alternate School. Here, he was ordered to stay in one room and do his work from eight o' clock in the morning to three o' clock in the afternoon-a total of seven hours! Luckily, the work at Lifehouse Alternate School was different than work had been at 11th Street Alternate School. He received his work from his teachers. Luckily, a lot of the work did not take him long to accomplish and once he was done, he was allowed to read a book throughout the rest of the day, unlike at 11th Street Alternate School where he was forced to work every hour of the school day until the bell rang.
The week went by slowly for Theodore. While he was allowed to read a book while waiting for the school day at Lifehouse Alternate School to end, he was not allowed to put his head down. It wasn't until the following week that Theodore's counselor, Ms. Sneed, arrived at the alternate school. The very first question that Theodore asked upon meeting her was, "Why am I here?"
The chubby chipmunk sat across from the tanned short black-haired woman with green eyes. She sat with her hands folded in her lap, smiling warmly at him.
"Well, Theodore," she said, "Ms. Hood and the other members of the staff at school thought that it would be best if you went here until you could get over your Internet addiction."
Theodore blinked. "Excuse me? I don't suffer from an Internet addiction."
"Why are you always getting in trouble over the Internet?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Because the people at my high school are a bunch of retarded idiots who need to learn not to take everything so seriously!" Theodore yelled. Theodore shrugged, though what he truly wanted to say still buzzed around in his head. What irritated him most about the whole experience throughout the past six months was that it had all gotten started over him trying to share his faith with someone who thought needed to hear the Word. Despite this turn of events, he refused to give up on his faith. Just because someone had refused to hear what he had to say didn't mean that no one was interested in what he had to say. He would continue to share his faith with those who were willing to listen.
The following day found Theodore at home sitting on the couch in the living room watching a cartoon. It was a Wednesday. The previous night had left him feeling restless with an upset stomach. With the pain hadn't ceased in the morning, Dave had allowed him to stay home. For this, he was grateful since it would give him some time to reflect on the recent events that had turned his life upside-down. However, it also upset him since it meant that he'd be going to Lifehouse Alternate School longer than expected since it was required of him to make any days that he missed, regardless of whether or not he had an excuse from his parent.
Theodore only had the television on in the first place since it provided some audio to drown out the silence that filled the room. An unopened Bible lay at his side while a sketchbook was in his lap and a pencil was in his lap. He lied on his back with his knees drawn up and his green turtleneck sweater drawn over them. He took a moment to stop doodling a portrait of Colin's face to glance over at the Bible. Now more than ever, he longed for the wisdom that was inside the Good Book. He longed to know what he should do in the crisis that he found himself in. He quickly finished his doodle, being sure to pay close attention the coon's eyes to make them stand out with their brightness before setting the sketchbook and pencil aside and opening the Bible to his side.
"Humble yourselves before the mighty hand of God so that he may exalt you in due time, being sure to cast all your cares upon Him because He cares about you." This commandment came from 1 Peter chapter five, verses six and seven. It was then that he realized that instead of acting upon his own impulses, he should have been asking God for help. Of course, he had attempted to do ask Jesus had commanded as in the twenty-eighth chapter of Matthew, verse nineteen: "Go and teach this message to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." Just like with Marsha Kerr, some people would not listen to what he had to say, but God willing that there were a few who would give their hearts to the Lord. If even one person came to Christ because of him, then he had accomplished his goal.
For the time being, Dave was out of the house. Theodore was waiting for his father to return home with lunch. The digital clock on the table beside the couch with the lamp beside it read twelve-thirty, which told the chubby chipmunk that lunch wsa nearly over and that his brothers and the Chipettes were currently on their way to lunch themselves before being released from the cafeteria at five minutes to one o' clock in the afternoon for their fifth period class. The chipmunk figured that while he was waiting for Dave, he might as well take a nap. A nap would do him some good. Without bothering to get a blanket, he lied down on his side and rested his head on a pillow before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
Theodore was out of school for the next two days, which meant that he had three days to make up, and the meeting that he had to attend with Ms. Hood and Mr. Dempsey on Monday morning would only cost him an extra day. He was actually looking forward to meeting just so he could hear what Alvin and Simon had to say about the situation that he was in.
On Monday, at precisely eight o' clock in the morning, Dave, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore were led to the conference room that Theodore reminded being in just six months prior. With Ms. Hood, Mr. Dempsey, Ms. Sneed, and Ashley, they took their seats and sat quietly, waiting for the meeting to begin.
"Well, uh . . ." Mr. Dempsey said. He turned to Ms. Hood. "Lisa, would you like to begin?"
Ms. Hood shrugged and picked up a stapled stack of papers that rested in front of her. "On the week before last, Theodore printed out a pornographic story when ordered not to. He claimed that some stranger on the Internet was threatening to sue him for supposing stealing his characters and ideas."
Theodore was about to object to the accusation when Alvin spoke up.
"That wasn't a claim, you stupid idiot, that was what actually happened," the chipmunk in the red sweater snapped. "I myself can show the e-mail. I had Simon print out in case of emergencies, such as this."
Ms. Hood glared at her former student. "Mr. Seville, you may not attend school here no longer, but while in my presence, you will show some respect. Is that clear?"
Alvin shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Ms. Hood continued. "It seems to me that Theodore is suffering from an Internet addiction. I've noticed that only a few days upon returning to school, he's getting back on the Internet."
"I've discussed that with Theodore on numerous ocassions," Ashley told the principal, "and I have monitored his activity on the Internet. I can assure you that Theodore does nothing out of the ordinary. Just like every other child in this school, he goes on Facebook and YouTube most of the time."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Mr. Dempsey demanded.
"I'm his therapist," Ashley replied, "the one you assigned him to six months ago."
"One of the questions that Theodore had for me when I met him last week was why he was at Lifehouse Alternate School," Ms. Sneed declared. "I tried, to the best of my ability, to explain the situation to him. Ms. Hood, would you care to elaborate?"
"Certainly," the principal agreed. "Like I'm sure Ms. Sneed told you, Theodore, you are being put in ASP-which in Alternate School Placement-which I am sure you are familiar with from last year-to help you recover from your Internet addiction. Until we feel you are mature enough to be at school, we will let you come back. Until then, you will stay at Lifehouse."
"Lisa, do you think Officer Woodard would be able to escort Theodore to his classes?" Mr. Dempsey inquired. "To make sure that he doesn't skip class again?"
Theodore let out a groan and shook his head, his eyes cast skyward.
"He wasn't skipping," Simon growled. "He had an assignment to do for his English teacher."
"So he claims," Mr. Dempsey said. "I've spoken with his English teacher from last year and she claims that she did not assign any writing assignments throught January or February."
"You know what?" Alvin barked. "Mr. Dempsey, you're a jerk!"
"Amen to that," Simon agreed.
Mr. Demspey ignored the two brothers' comments and looked over at Theodoer to see that the chubby chipmunk was still shaking his head, his eyes still cast skyward. "Now, Theodore, you're shaking your head. Do you want to tell us what you're thinking right now."
Theodore remained silent. He had the compulsion to hurtle a chair across the room and stomp out and slam the door shut. He didn't think his family would blame him. After all, he was fed up with dealing with the idiots at his high school and the events that he'd found himself in had been incredibly frustrating for him. "Let's just say, y'all better be lucky you aren't having to face me in court," he announced. "If it were up to me, I'd be sueing you for harassment and invasion of privacy."
"Invasion of privacy?" Ms. Hood questioned.
"You guys are monitoring what I do on the Internet, right?" Theodore barked. "What do you call that, Ms. Hood? Invasion of privacy!"
"We only do that because we want what's best for you-" Mr. Dempsey began.
"Oh, that's bunch of baloney!" Ashley cried. "It is my duty to see that Theodore gets the best support available to him, not you control freaks. This is ridiculous! No child should have to go through all this, especially a child at Theodore's age!"
"Theodore, if you choose to refuse to stop what you're doing and you do what you are doing when you turn eighteen, punishment will go to the law, not us," Ms. Hood declared. "You will be thrown in jail. You won't be going to ASP like you are now, so you'd best be thinking about that the next time you're on the computer."
Theodore slammed his fists down on the table and glared at her. "Look! I'm not doing anything wrong! It's not like I'm talking to someone twice my age, posting nude pictures of myself on Facebook, or threatening people or sending sexual messages to girls! All I'm doing is writing stories and posting them online, and most of those stories are written for adults, so they're going to have some adult situations and some language, as well as some adult themes!" He shot an angry look at his brothers and pointed at them. "You two! Did you see anything wrong with my stories?"
"No," Simon replied while Alvin shook his head. "Yes, you are writing about a skunk and a raccoon getting . . . intimate, but so what? Hundreds of people write about that type of stuff on the Internet all the time."
Theodore threw his hands in the air and shouted, "Thank you!"
"Mr. Seville, if you do not calm down, I will be forced to remove from the school grounds," Ms. Hood demanded.
"Will he be getting his notebooks back?" Dave demanded.
"No," Mr. Dempsey replied. "After reading through the first chapter of his latest story, we feel that it's best if he does not continue it."
"What was it about?" Alvin demanded.
Mr. Dempsey opened the blue notebook sitting in front of him. "Well, let's see. It's about this squirrel and this raccoon-"
"Skunk!" Theodore cried. "Erik Matthews is a skunk! Not a squirrel!"
"It's about the two of them finding this secret land known as the Garden of Eden and it talks about the two of them getting together to . . ." Mr. Dempsey squinted, trying his best to read the microspoic writing. ". . . have sex with each other."
"Bull!" Theodore yelled.
"Mr. Dempsey, please remove Theodore from the room," Ms. Hood commanded.
"You don't have to," Theodore shouted at her. "I'll remove myself. I'm sick of all of y'all." He walked over to the door, lifted his middle finger at the group, then turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut without so much as a polite good-bye to anyone.
