The interview was a disaster, Dave is going to have to come up with something to solve the publicity problem.
The next day, Sunday, Dave had cooled down but was still annoyed. The three chipmunks and three chipettes were up and eating breakfast at the table with him. He had a stack of newspapers, which he had been out earlier and bought, and was scanning through them with a frown on his face.
Alvin and Brittany looked at each other from opposite ends of the table; Alvin had a concerned look on his face. Brittany stared at him for a few seconds before realising; she quickly looked back at Dave to judge his reaction to the tabloids.
Dave gazed at one of the newspapers before sighing in despair; he dropped it in the centre of the table deliberately, so the six of them could see the page. Theodore and Eleanor were too busy eating their breakfast to read the page, but Simon and Jeanette scanned over the page before looking at Alvin and Brittany. Their faces were full of disapproval and disappointment, seeing this, Alvin and Brittany both looked at the page of the newspaper, with the headline catching their eyes. 'Chipmunk Relationship on the Rocks', the two of them dropped their heads identically at reading it. They knew that they had done what Dave had told them not to do; involve their personal lives and issues in the publicity event. This had not only jeopardised the competition and school's publicity, but also thrown their relationship issues out into the open, adding pressure to an already fragile friendship.
"I told you two." Dave said. "I warned you not to let personal matters get in the way."
"Sorry Dave." Alvin apologised, trying to worm his way out of being yelled at.
"Sorry isn't going to get rid of your bad publicity." Dave said becoming visibly frustrated. "I try to help boost publicity for the school, and you steal the spotlight and turn it into a big waste of time."
"It was Brittany as well." Alvin reasoned, attempting to shift some of the blame from himself.
"I don't care," Dave replied. "It has been done, and you two are the main attractions, plastered all over the newspapers."
Dave opened the newspapers to the pages with the two of them on, and covered half the table with them, showing them how serious it had become.
"This personal issue has overshadowed the competition, and our tour of England." Dave stated.
The six of them all sat in silence looking sorry for themselves, even Theodore and Eleanor had stopped eating their toaster waffles. Dave wanted to vent his anger but knew that only Alvin and Brittany were to blame, and he would only upset the others.
"I need some time alone today," Dave explained, calming himself down. "So I've called Julie and Toby, and they've agreed to take you out for the day."
"But it's a Sunday." Alvin protested. The angry look on Dave's face answered his disagreement, he knew that Dave was fuming; it was a bad idea to argue.
"They should be round at ten to pick you all up." Dave said looking at the clock, "You have an hour to get ready."
Dave got up from the table, grabbed the newspapers and took them away to the music room.
"You two are in deep trouble," Simon said, focussing more on Alvin than Brittany.
"I don't like seeing Dave mad." Theodore said nervously as he looked in the direction of the music room.
"You two should have had more sense," Eleanor said.
"The public didn't need to know about your private lives." Jeanette reasoned.
"Why didn't you keep this grudge match between yourselves until after the interview?" Simon asked.
"Brittany started it by doubting my leadership skills." Alvin argued.
Simon rolled his eyes, mainly at the fact that Alvin was trying to blame someone else as usual.
"I was merely voicing my opinion." Brittany replied innocently.
"I would have to agree with Britt on this one, your leadership skills aren't up to much at the moment." Simon argued. "You're going to tear this team apart instead of pulling us all together."
"I think it was wrong to voice the negative comments in front of the press." Jeanette reasoned, "We could have kept it private and sorted it out between ourselves."
"If these issues hadn't occurred in the first place, we wouldn't have had this problem." Simon replied.
"We should just work as a team and put this all behind us." Eleanor reasoned.
"That's easy for you to say," Brittany answered, "You aren't the one in the newspapers." She scowled at Alvin, and then left the table to get ready for their day out with Toby and Julie.
"I just want us all to be a team again," Eleanor said slightly upset by her sister's snappy mood.
"We'll fix it." Theodore assured, trying to make Eleanor feel better. He looked across at Simon for some encouragement, but instead Simon was looking across at Alvin, who was staring down at his feet.
"We better get ready for our day out." Jeanette said changing the subject. Jeanette, Eleanor, Simon and Theodore left the table and went to the bedroom, leaving Alvin lonely by himself pondering his predicament.
Half an hour passed and then the door bell rang, Dave went to answer it while the chipmunks and chipettes made their way to the living room. Toby and Julie were at the door, ready to meet the six of them as they entered the room. Toby is Dave's cousin who looked after the chipmunks in his absence. Julie is a teacher at their school, Ms Ortega, and Toby's girlfriend.
The six of them approached the door to greet Toby and Julie. The chipmunks knew the two of them well, but the chipettes only knew Ms Ortega from school.
"Hi guys," Julie said seeing them approach.
"Hi Ms Ortega," Eleanor greeted politely.
"Call me Julie." She said smiling. "This is my boyfriend Toby."
"Nice to meet you," Toby greeted, trying to act cool as usual.
"Nice to meet you too," Jeanette replied likewise.
"So where are we going today?" Simon asked.
"It's a surprise." Julie said.
"I love surprises," Theodore said, becoming excited.
"Let's get going," Toby said, seeing the impatient look on Dave's face. He walked over to the car and opened the doors for them all, prompting them to get in.
Julie walked with the six of them to the car and then made sure that they were all buckled up properly, before getting in the passenger seat.
"Try and take it easy, okay Toby." Julie reminded, not wanting him to drive in his usual erratic style.
"Okay." Toby replied as he started the car. They set off on their journey; it was a warm and sunny day, perfect for a family outing.
"How have you two been getting on lately?" Simon asked.
"Great." Toby replied.
"It's been great fun with Toby." Julie added.
"Are you still living with Aunt Jackie?" Theodore asked, hoping that there might have been a chance for him to acquire some popcorn.
"No. I moved out." Toby answered.
"Toby's moved in with me." Julie added.
"You were right about everything working out," Simon said, referring to the escapades at the school music competition they competed in several months ago.
"How have you been getting on?" Julie asked the six of them.
"It's been amazing." Eleanor said.
"Actually moving in with the Chipmunks was like a dream come true." Jeanette added.
"With the chipettes moving in, our lives have been a lot more fun." Simon said.
"They brighten up our days." Theodore added.
"Awe, it sounds like you all get along great." Julie replied.
"Well, almost all of us." Simon said.
"I saw the papers this morning, and I didn't know whether to believe them or not." Julie explained. "That's why you two have been so quiet this morning."
Alvin looked up at Julie with a sad expression on his face, before looking across at Brittany to see her reaction to the comment. She entirely ignored it and continued looking up through the window at the clear blue sky. Alvin looked back at Julie before lowering his head in a despairing fashion.
"Where is this 'surprise' day out taking us?" Simon enquired, changing the subject to prevent any further damage being done.
"We thought that we'd take you to the zoo." Julie said.
"I love the zoo." Theodore said.
"Me too." Eleanor agreed.
"Don't go near the birds of prey this time." Toby reminded, hinting at the episode they had at the zoo, when Theodore ran away from home.
"Don't worry, we won't." Simon assured.
"What happened last time you went?" Julie asked Toby and the chipmunks.
"It happened way back when the school music contest between us and the chipettes was taking place." Simon explained. "Alvin didn't turn up for the sing-off, because he was at a football game with the jocks."
"I couldn't find Alvin anywhere." Toby added. Brittany rolled her eyes at hearing this, Julie noticed this and knew that there was bothering her.
"Alvin didn't turn up so we lost the sing-off." Simon continued.
"We felt so bad for beating you by default." Jeanette said.
"The next morning, Theo ran away from home and left a note on the fridge door. We tracked him to the 'Birds of Prey' enclosure at the zoo."
"What happened?" Eleanor asked, concerned at the prospect of Theodore being in danger.
"Alvin rescued Theo, and we all ran from the area." Simon explained. Alvin managed a smile at hearing this.
"Theo saved me." Alvin replied modestly.
"We worked as a team," Theodore said smiling happily.
"So we need to stay away from the birds." Toby reiterated.
"Definitely." Julie agreed.
They arrived at the zoo and paid the admission fee.
"We should split up," Simon suggested to Julie, quietly. "It would be best to keep Alvin and Brittany apart."
"Okay," Julie agreed. "So girls, you want to come with me?" The chipettes walked over and joined Julie.
"I guess you guys are with me," Toby said looking down at the three of them. "Just like old times."
"We'll meet back here at three," Julie said, as she lead the chipettes away, Toby walked with the chipmunks in the opposite direction.
"I can guess where we are going first." Simon said.
"Where?" Toby asked curiously.
"The meerkats of course." Simon replied.
They went to the meerkat enclosure, to Theodore's delight, and watched for a while.
"You've been quiet today Alvin." Toby said, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I guess." Alvin replied looking glum.
"I can see that you miss Brittany's company." Toby added. "Seeing the papers this morning, I guess you two are having problems."
"Brittany is angry with me and I'm not sure why." Alvin explained. "And every time I try to talk to her, she ignores me."
"That's harsh." Toby agreed.
Simon and Theodore were busy watching the meerkats together, Theodore was fascinated by the family bond they shared, while Simon was explaining something to him.
"I may not be the best guy to give advice," Toby said, "But I tried to do something caring and special, singing on the school stage for Julie, and it worked for me."
Alvin dwelled on this idea for a moment, maybe it would work, Brittany wanted him to treat her nicer more often, and maybe this would be the first step.
"It's worth a try." Alvin replied.
Simon and Theodore returned, they had finished watching the meerkats.
"Phew, it's hot. Wanna go get some ice cream?" Toby suggested.
"Yes please." Theodore replied. They all went for ice cream to cool off from the hot weather.
Meanwhile, with the girls, Jeanette and Eleanor were watching some butterflies, Brittany was trailing along behind. Julie noticed that she was acting a bit down and was not saying much.
"Brittany? Are you okay?" Julie asked.
"I'm fine." She replied trying to hide the fact that she was starting to miss Alvin's company.
"You don't look fine. I know that you're thinking about Alvin." Julie said, reading Brittany like a map.
"He doesn't think about me, so why should I think about him." Brittany replied.
"Two wrongs do not make a right." Julie summarised. "Besides, from the way Alvin has been acting today, I think that he's feeling sorry and wants to apologise."
"Why would he?" Brittany asked.
"Because he loves you." She replied.
"He never shows it." Brittany said.
You don't realise how much you will miss something until it is gone." Julie reasoned. "Alvin has taken your relationship for granted but now misses you, he hasn't realised it until now."
"Well, he should have taken care of me better." Brittany responded stubbornly.
"You should at least hear him out, to see how sorry he is." Julie suggested.
"If he did apologise, at least it would show that he misses me." Brittany said considering the prospect of Alvin admitting that he was wrong. "If you think that it's a good idea, then I'll give him a chance."
At 3:00pm they all met up at the exit to the zoo, and made their way back home. The day had been fun for all, except Alvin and Brittany, who were feeling downtrodden but had received some helpful advice from Toby and Julie. They were now beginning to understand the feelings of one another and were getting closer to resolving the situation. Maybe Dave had more than just a fun day out in mind when he sent them off with Toby and Julie, the two of them had been very supportive.
Upon returning home, Dave was in a happier mood, welcoming them home and bidding farewell to Toby and Julie, with the others.
"So how was your day out?" Dave asked.
"It was so much fun; we got to see the meerkats." Theodore said happily.
"We should go out with Julie and Toby more often." Eleanor added.
Dave, half expecting Julie to have talked to Brittany, and Toby to have talked to Alvin, asked whether they were feeling any better. Brittany looked across at Alvin, who had his head lowered but was still looking back out of the corner of his eye. Alvin plucked up the courage and turned to Brittany.
"Brittany? I'm sorry for whatever it is I have done. I'm not sure what it is but I am sorry." Alvin apologised, sounding more genuine than he ever had before.
"You don't know what you have done?" Brittany replied, "'Whatever it is' you have done?"
"I am sorry." Alvin pleaded.
"You are insensitive; you have no idea why I'm upset when you are the one who has caused it. I thought that you had come to your senses, but I was wrong." Brittany raged, seething with anger.
"But Brittany, I..." Alvin began.
To the shock of Dave and the others, Brittany slapped Alvin round the face, out of blind rage.
"You don't have a clue! Whatever we had between us is done! We're finished! It's over!" Brittany yelled.
Alvin was in shock, being slapped by Brittany had left him stunned, not moving a muscle, watching the disaster unfold before his very eyes. Brittany's reaction was unexpected, and Alvin was speechless, he couldn't think of anything else to do, solid as a statue, watching Brittany storm off to the bedroom and lock herself in. The others were as shocked as he was, they didn't expect Brittany to snap like that, and didn't think that she would take such a drastic step.
Their relationship had crumbled in front of their on-looking family, and the team was falling apart with every passing day.
It pained me to write the ending; Alvin and Brittany can't break up, the team are counting on them.
Thanks for the reviews.
And thanks for reading.