As you may be able to tell, this chapter spells trouble for the chipmunks; with the jocks still plaguing them. Enjoy.
The day of reckoning had passed; with Alvin taking most of the punishment, but it was now in the past and they all had to move on. It was now a Tuesday, and the chipmunks and chipettes all woke up bright and early; feeling refreshed from a good night's sleep. Alvin was surprisingly upbeat, following Dave's pep talk the previous night; it was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. A sense of relief filled the air, the six of them didn't have the pressure of the competition upon them as it was two days until the chess round, and the press conference was not until tomorrow afternoon.
It was much easier to for the six of them to drag themselves out of bed due to the absence of the burden of the competition. Alvin jumped out of bed and headed for the bathroom; Brittany too jumped off her bed and met up with him on the way to the bathroom.
"Morning Britt." Alvin said happily.
"Morning." She replied. "You seem a lot happier this morning."
"Yeah, I feel happier. What Dave said last night really got through to me." Alvin explained.
"I'm glad, I don't like seeing you all depressed; it just isn't you." Brittany replied.
"Ladies first." Alvin said as they arrived at the bathroom door.
"Thanks Alvin." Brittany giggled before going in.
She liked it when he was in a good mood, he seemed to be more sensitive and caring; and he didn't tease her.
Before long, the others arrived at the bathroom and joined the queue. Jeanette and Eleanor went into the bathroom, joining Brittany who had already been in there for a couple of minutes, leaving the three chipmunks waiting outside. Alvin looked upbeat and cheerful, drawing questions from his brothers.
"You look happy today." Simon said. "What's gotten into you?"
"Nothing, I just feel happier than usual." Alvin replied
"You do know there's school today?" Simon quizzed.
"I know." Alvin replied.
Simon and Theodore looked at each other with confusion; Alvin was never usually happy on a school morning. They both shrugged at each other before turning towards Alvin once again.
The chipettes finally emerged from the bathroom and went back to the bedroom; leaving the chipmunks to take their turn. After the six of them had used the bathroom and gotten changed, they all headed through to the dining table for breakfast.
On approaching the table, they noticed that it wasn't set for breakfast; this was strange as Dave always served up their breakfast right on time. But before the six of them had time to contemplate the change in routine, Dave walked out of the kitchen with their breakfasts.
"We're having breakfast in the living room this morning," Dave informed them, "So go any make yourselves comfy."
Dave entered the living room area and placed three bowls on the table, before returning to the kitchen to retrieve the rest. The chipmunks and chipettes all made their way into the living room and hopped up onto the table in anticipation of breakfast. Sure enough Dave returned with the rest of the meal and then sat down on the couch next to the table. The six of them were now looking at Dave with curious and puzzled expressions across their faces.
"I guess you're wondering why we're having breakfast in here." Dave said.
"Yeah." Alvin replied.
"Why?" Brittany asked
"Well, I know I said about not watching the dodge ball match because it wouldn't be helpful. But you did show a lot of teamwork and determination, so I want you to see that regardless of the result you did yourselves proud."
"I'm not looking forward to this." Alvin said.
"Who is?" Simon agreed.
Dave turned on the television and switched it to the local news channel; the coverage was just beginning and the pre match interview with Dave was just concluding.
"You look really professional, Dave." Eleanor commented.
"You really think so?" He questioned.
"Yeah." Theodore replied.
They all watched the first round of the match and listened to the far from flattering commentary from the commentators. This was not very reassuring; the commentators made it sound like they had played terribly.
"Don't listen to them." Brittany said.
"They're over exaggerating." Jeanette reassured.
Following straight on from the match was the interview on the team bench with Brittany. Seeing this, Brittany covered her eyes in an attempt to avoid watching the awful interview. It lasted just half a minute or so, but was abysmal in Brittany's eyes nonetheless.
"I think you did okay." Alvin reassured her.
"It was awful, you saw it." Brittany replied.
"It was your first time." Alvin reminded. "You didn't cave in under the pressure."
"Well, I guess you have a point." Brittany said. "As long as you think it's alright."
The interview swiftly continued once Jeanette and Eleanor had joined their sister on the team bench. They handled the interview well and came across as very supportive; the three of them defending their counterparts under questioning. Brittany stated her confidence and belief in Alvin, Jeanette defended Simon by interrupting the interviewer and putting the record straight, while Eleanor was polite throughout and backed Theodore's performance with their tactics.
Alvin, Simon and Theodore felt much better after seeing the interview; they could all see how genuinely supportive the chipettes were being.
"Thanks Britt," Alvin said putting an arm around her.
Brittany welcomed the attention and was happy that some good had come from the interview.
"Wow, you stood up to him," Simon said, "Thanks for being so supportive."
"I had to; he wasn't being fair on you." Jeanette replied blushing modestly.
The two of them were feeling that the trust and respect in their relationship was restoring itself.
"Thanks for backing me up." Theodore praised. "You were really polite and caring in the interview."
"It was nothing." Eleanor replied happily, feeling great for helping Theodore and the rest of the team in the interview.
Theodore's respect for Eleanor would have increased if it were possible, as the relationship between them was practically perfect to a tee.
The coverage continued with the second round of the dodge ball match being shown, before continuing to show the jocks celebrating their victory. This made Alvin's blood boil; he was determined to make amends for his mistakes and seeing the jocks parading about the court victoriously just made him more and more anxious to set the record straight with them.
The interview soon followed; with Alvin confessing to being the weak link of the team. He came across as being genuinely truthful and taking the blame away from his brothers in a caring manner.
"Maybe taking the blame wasn't such a bad idea after all." Alvin said.
"It was a thoughtful think to do." Brittany replied. "But it was still the wrong way to do it."
"At least I came across as being responsible." Alvin commented.
"If you can call it that." Simon replied.
The coverage finished and they all finished their breakfasts with just enough time to get ready for school. The day would be the same as any other; boring lessons, except Alvin was determined to prove his worth against Ryan and his jocks.
Before long, Dave had parked his car in the parking lot and they had all convened at their lockers in the usual manner.
"Try to focus on your school work, okay?" Dave said.
"We'll try." Alvin replied making no promises.
Dave frowned at him and gave a telling glare.
"I'll see you all later." Dave said as he turned and walked away down the hall.
The chipmunks and chipettes went about their usual routine of rummaging through their lockers; finding the stuff they needed for their classes. There was just a few minutes left until the start of school; Theodore and Eleanor decided to move on to their class.
"We'll see you at break." Eleanor said.
"Bye, guys." Theodore said.
The two of them left; leaving the others to finish preparing for class and go.
"Remember what Dave said; try and focus on your school work, you don't want your grades slipping." Simon warned.
"Whatever." Alvin replied not sounding bothered about it.
"If they can slip any lower." Simon added.
Alvin gave him an evil look; just because he hasn't got high grades doesn't mean he's dumb.
"Let's go Simon, we'll be late." Jeanette intervened preventing the two of them from sparking up an argument.
"Talking of work, we haven't had any homework for a while." Brittany said as her and Alvin left the lockers and headed in the opposite direction of Simon and Jeanette.
"Don't say that, you'll jinx it." Alvin said hastily.
"I'm just saying." Brittany replied.
"Homework is the last thing we need." Alvin said.
They went to their lessons and all got the first part of the school day over with; managing to make it to the break, without falling asleep with boredom in Alvin's case. Escaping their class at the ringing of the bell, Alvin and Brittany headed for the lockers to meet up with the others for a brief chat.
"Phew, I'm glad we didn't get any homework after you jinxed it." Alvin said sighing with relief.
"Don't be silly, that's just superstition." Brittany replied passively. "Just because I 'jinxed it' doesn't mean it's going to happen."
"Well, it could have." Alvin protested.
"Don't worry; we still have the rest of the school day." Brittany teased. "It could still happen."
This made Alvin frown, he didn't like homework and he especially didn't want to be joked around about it. To him it was the worst thing ever; it takes time outside of school hours to do and it's hard, as well as being a complete waste of time and effort. The two of them walked round a corner and towards their lockers where the others were already stood talking.
"Hey, guys." Alvin said as the two of them arrived.
"What're you up to?" Brittany asked.
"We were just discussing the chess practise we need to do." Simon replied.
"It'd be best to try and get some done at lunch." Jeanette suggested.
"A little extra practise wouldn't hurt." Eleanor added.
Just as they began discussing their plans for chess training at lunch time, Alvin spotted the jocks walking down the hallway in their direction. He stepped to the front of their group; standing between the jocks and the rest of the chipmunks. Ryan walked dangerously close them for Alvin's liking; making sure that they all noticed that him and his jocks were passing by. Alvin took a defensive stance and had a threatening look on his face; in an attempt to repel the jocks and show that he wasn't going to be intimidated.
"Ooh, I'm so scared." Ryan said sarcastically.
"You should be," Xander pointed out. "Remember what happened to us last time?"
Ryan punched him in the arm and gave him an evil glare; disapproving of his habit of stating the obvious and most of all showing him up. The jocks carried on walking, leaving the chipmunks to resume their conversation in peace; with Alvin stood watching Ryan with his arms firmly folded.
"Phew." Theodore said. "I thought they were going to come after us."
"Not with Alvin guarding us." Brittany replied with pride.
"Yeah, good work Alvin." Jeanette praised.
"You sure showed them." Eleanor added.
"They were fazed by Alvin and me, you know." Simon informed.
"Huh, how?" Brittany questioned.
"We attacked them a while back, to teach them a lesson." Simon explained.
"Really?" Jeanette asked curiously.
"Yeah, the jocks were teasing me," Theodore continued. "And Alvin and Simon made them stop."
"The rivalry between you and the jocks goes back further than just the sports team thing." Brittany said.
"Yeah, and that's why we have to beat them." Alvin stated with intent.
"So we need to practise as much as possible." Simon agreed.
"Should we do some practise at lunchtime then?" Eleanor questioned.
"Yes, and we can use the chess board outside to our advantage." Simon replied. "What do you say?"
"I'm in." Jeanette replied.
"Me too." Eleanor answered.
"I'll help as well." Theodore added.
Alvin stood in silence, still caught up in the jocks rivalry; plotting his revenge for them for making him look weak. Brittany looked across at him to see if he was paying any attention at all; he clearly wasn't.
"Alvin?" Simon asked, snapping him out of his daydreaming.
"Um, no thanks." Alvin replied. "I don't understand all that chess stuff. I'll just hang out at lunch."
"Fine, Brittany?" Simon continued.
"I wouldn't want to get in your way; I'll just hang out with Alvin at lunch." Brittany replied.
"Okay, well it's almost time for class again." Simon concluded.
"We'll all meet up for lunch." Eleanor suggested.
"Definitely." Theodore replied enthusiastically.
"That settles that." Simon said, "We'll see you all later."
Simon and Jeanette left the others to make their way to class early. This left Alvin, Brittany, Theodore and Eleanor at the lockers.
"Are you sure you won't join us at lunchtime for chess?" Theodore asked.
"It won't bother us." Eleanor added.
"No thanks, besides three's a crowd." Alvin replied.
"But there will be four of us." Theodore said.
"It's a figure of speech." Alvin explained before turning and walking away down the hall to his next class.
"Sorry guys." Brittany said before following after Alvin.
Theodore still had a slightly puzzled look on his face; he didn't understand what Alvin had meant. Eleanor looked at him and noticed his confusion.
"If three is a crowd, what is four?" Theodore asked.
"Let's go to class." Eleanor said changing the conversation to the matter of being on time for class.
Later on at lunchtime, Dave, the chipmunks and the chipettes all sat down for lunch together and discussed their training for the next round. They quickly finished their lunches in an attempt to maximise their practising time on the chess board; Dave departed from the table in his usual manner, leaving just the six of them.
"Let's go play some chess." Simon suggested.
"Okay, see you guys later." Brittany said as the four of them got down from the table and headed outside.
Brittany turned to Alvin but found that he was no longer there. She noticed that his tray wasn't on the table; so he must have taken it back. Looking across to the food counter, Brittany caught sight of Alvin exiting through the open double doors of the cafeteria. This was a little confusing; why was Alvin sneaking out of the cafeteria without her, when they were supposed to be hanging out together. Maybe he didn't want to hang out with her, or maybe she was being too paranoid. Brittany pondered Alvin's stealthy exit as she picked up her tray and headed to the counter to return it. Suddenly it dawned on her, maybe Alvin wanted to keep her out of harm's way; the jocks were nowhere to be seen, which meant that he must be going to confront them. On summing this up in her mind and returning her lunch tray, Brittany dashed out of the cafeteria in desperation; not wanting Alvin to face up to the jocks and get hurt.
Meanwhile, the others were setting up their chess game ready for some extra practise.
"I don't know who used this last, but they left it in a mess." Simon said as he kicked an empty milk carton out of the way.
"I guess we'll have to tidy it up." Eleanor said.
"I'll do it." Theodore volunteered. "You start playing."
"Thanks Theo." Jeanette replied appreciatively.
The three of them began their game and gave Theodore the helpful job of removing the litter from the table they were using. Theodore picked up the empty milk carton and made his way across the courtyard to put it in the bin; leaving the others to play their match in peace. Once again he pondered what Alvin had said; as he threw the litter into the trash can and turned to return to lend his support at the chess game. An unwanted sight waited as he looked over at the chess table; the jocks were now stood in front of the others and were looking menacing.
"Getting in some practise are we?" Ryan said looking down on the three of them.
"What do you want?" Simon replied.
"We could do with some practise ourselves; so move over, it's our turn." Ryan announced.
"We only just got here." Simon protested.
"Can't you wait your turn?" Eleanor added.
"Let's see, there are six of us and only three of you." Ryan replied. "Looks like stalemate."
"It's 'checkmate' actually, not 'stalemate'." Simon corrected.
"You think you're smart don't you?" Ryan said becoming annoyed by Simon's wise guy attitude.
He had made Ryan look stupid several times in the past and again he had succeeded in doing so. The other jocks sniggered to themselves behind Ryan, which just made him angry and he was going to take it out on Simon.
"Fine, it's your turn." Ryan said angrily before swiping at Simon.
Simon was hit by Ryan's backhand swing and launched into a nearby bush; leaving Jeanette and Eleanor to face the jocks alone.
"Anyone else in the mood to argue?" Ryan asked.
The two chipettes shook their heads in unison; crossing the jocks is the last thing they wanted to do.
"I didn't think so. Listen up; unless you want to end up like your friend in the bush over there, I suggest you listen to me very carefully. You are going to lose the next round, on purpose, and you're not going to tell anyone, you got that?" Ryan threatened.
Jeanette and Eleanor stood together in silence, dreading what Ryan would do, their eyes becoming teary. They were scared for their safety, and rightfully so, with Ryan towering over them in and intimidating manner.
"Well make sure you do, or else." Ryan threatened again, before leaving the chipettes and rounding up his jocks.
"That was scary." Jeanette said with tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Don't worry Jen." Eleanor comforted, putting on a brave face. "They won't get us; Dave and the guys will make sure of it."
Eleanor hugged Jeanette, making sure that she wasn't too upset about the whole incident, and also keeping an eye on the jocks who were heading back towards the cafeteria.
Alvin was patrolling around the school hallways in search of the jocks; he was determined to find Ryan and confront him. He just had to find him; summing up his options he decided to ask around for the jocks' whereabouts. Alvin approached a group of girls in the hallway, one of whom was Becca from homeroom, and proceeded to get any tips on Ryan's location.
"Hello ladies," Alvin said turning on his charm.
"Hey Alvin." Becca replied ahead of the other girls.
"I need to ask you..." Alvin continued before being interrupted.
"Out?" Becca suggested enthusiastically before realising what she had said, and then backing down.
"No, sorry, but you'd be near the top of my list." Alvin answered being flirty.
"Wow," Becca said feeling flush. "Near the top."
"Do any of you know where Ryan is?" Alvin asked becoming more serious.
"The last time we saw him was in the cafeteria." One of the other girls replied pointing out the direction.
Alvin turned to look towards the cafeteria; he had just come from there and was certain that the jocks weren't in there. As he looked down the corridor he spotted Brittany, who seemed to be looking for him.
Brittany made her way down the hall and noticed that Alvin was stood talking to a group of girls. Evidently she had misjudged the situation; he wasn't hunting down the jocks, he was sneaking off to flirt with girls. This made her slightly angry and annoyed with after she thought that he might be in danger; but instead he is hanging out with some girls, one of which was looking giddy at the prospect of talking to him.
Brittany marched over to Alvin and stood behind him as he continued to talk to the girls.
"Thanks for the help." Alvin said.
"I'm near the top of your list?" Becca asked giddily.
"I said 'near', the top is reserved for someone special." Alvin replied, before turning away and almost walking into Brittany, not realising that she was right behind him.
"Oh, hi Britt." Alvin said smiling uneasily. "I didn't see you there."
"What was that about being near the top of your 'list'?" Brittany interrogated with an air of annoyance.
"Don't worry about it." Alvin reassured.
Brittany didn't look too pleased by Alvin's disregarding reply and certainly wasn't reassured. The two of them had only just restored their relationship and he was already lining up a list of possible girlfriends.
"I did say that the top of the list was reserved for someone special, and that someone is you." Alvin explained offering an arm to Brittany.
"I hope so; because you're at the top of mine." Brittany replied taking his arm.
The two of them walked away from the group of girls and headed towards the lockers; with Brittany holding her head up high, rubbing in the fact that she was with Alvin. As soon as they reached the end of the hallway to head left to their lockers, Theodore came dashing from the right; sliding across the floor in a frantic attempt to stop. He quickly scrambled to his feet, panting heavily after having sprinted around school to find them.
"Guys...The jocks...Outside...Attacking...Chess table." Theodore said between his heavy panting.
"Excuse me for a moment." Alvin said taking his arm away from Brittany; he had an angry expression on his face.
He darted off down the corridor towards the door that led to the school yard, fuelled by his anger and desire for revenge.
"Alvin, wait!" Brittany shouted desperately.
She knew that if Alvin squared up to the jocks he would be severely outnumbered and it would all end in disaster. She sprinted after him; not wanting anything bad to happen to him. Theodore followed the two of them at a much slower pace; on his last legs after already running around the entire school.
"Don't worry, I'll catch up." Theodore said taking a few bounds down the hall and falling down exhausted.
Emily, who worked on the 'Toys for Tots' project with Theodore and Eleanor, noticed that he was lying on the floor and came over to see what was wrong.
"Theodore? Are you okay?" She asked concerning about him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, still lying face down on the floor and not looking fine at all.
"Can I help?" Emily asked being caring.
"I need to get to the chess table to help; the bullies are there." Theodore explained still slightly out of breath.
"I'll take you." Emily volunteered, bending down and offering a hand. "Jump on."
Theodore climbed onto her hand and they headed for the chess board, and the jocks.
Alvin arrived at the chess table to find Jeanette and Eleanor stood together looking upset, but no sign of the jocks; they had managed to evade him again. Brittany arrived soon after and went to comfort her sisters. Alvin noticed that Simon was slowly crawling out of a bush, with a twig stuck in his hood, and went over to lend a hand.
"I take back what I said earlier; it's you who they are scared of." Simon said getting to his feet.
"What can I say; we work better as a team." Alvin replied as he pulled the twig out of Simon's hood and threw it back into the bush.
The two of them joined the chipettes to make sure that they were okay and that the jocks hadn't done anything serious.
"Are you okay?" Simon asked brushing himself off.
"What happened?" Alvin asked.
"Yeah, we're okay now." Eleanor reassured. "Just a little shaken up, that's all."
"The jocks threatened them to lose the next round." Brittany explained.
"Lose? Not a chance." Simon replied.
"Yeah." Alvin agreed.
"And Ryan hit Simon into that bush." Jeanette added.
"You're not hurt are you?" Eleanor asked.
"Just a few scratches," Simon reassured. "Nothing that a victory against those jocks won't cure."
"And this time it's personal." Alvin added.
Eleanor looked around and started to worry; she couldn't see Theodore anywhere.
"Where's Theo?" Eleanor asked worryingly.
"Don't worry, he's okay." Brittany replied.
"He came and warned us about the jocks." Alvin explained.
At that moment, Emily walked up to the table and lowered Theodore down to table height for him to hop off.
"Thanks Emily." Theodore said appreciatively.
"Don't mention it." She replied happily before turning and walking back where she came from.
"Bye." Theodore said.
"Bye." She replied, waving a hand and smiling cheekily.
"Are you all okay?" Theodore asked.
"We're fine now." Simon replied.
"I'm sorry for leaving you but I had to go get help." Theodore explained.
"Don't worry Theo; it was the right thing to do." Eleanor reassured.
"I think we should continue this discussion after school." Simon suggested.
"You're right; we'll be late for class if we don't." Brittany agreed realising the time.
They all went to their lockers and then to their classes, making it there right on time.
Alvin and Brittany had math class last thing before the end of school and were dreading it, as neither of them were particularly strong with numbers. As usual Alvin was watching the clock and the teacher was becoming annoyed and distracted by him. There was just one minute left on the clock until the end of school and Alvin was raring to get out of the classroom. The teacher rapped up his lesson and let the students begin to pack away their belongings. Alvin walked to the edge of his desk and was about to jump down, but was halted by the teacher.
"Wait a minute, Mr Seville." He said with a sly, vengeful look on his face. "You need to collect a copy of the homework."
Alvin scowled at him and the teacher looked back with a grin across his face. The whole class groaned at the prospect of having to do homework; especially Alvin. He looked across at Brittany with a frown on his face; she just shrugged in return knowing that he was going to say that she 'jinxed it'.
The two of them got a copy of the homework each and headed to the lockers to meet up with the others.
"I told you that you'd jinx it." Alvin reminded.
"It was just coincidence." Brittany replied. "And the fact that the teacher doesn't like you wouldn't have helped."
"Well I don't like him either." Alvin said.
"Somehow I could already tell that you didn't." Brittany replied laughing to herself.
They arrived at the lockers at the same time as the others; ready to pack away their things and get out of school.
"I can't believe it, we got homework." Alvin said to the others as he slammed his locker shut.
"It was bound to happen sometime, after all this is school." Simon replied.
"It won't be as bad as you think." Brittany said to Alvin.
"Have you looked at this stuff?" Alvin replied. "There are 'x' and 'y' everywhere."
"Sounds like algebra." Jeanette said.
"Oh no, I hate algebra." Brittany said unhappily
"That makes two of us." Alvin added.
"Me three." Dave said as he arrived at the lockers.
"Hi Dave." Theodore greeted.
"You hate algebra too?" Eleanor asked.
"Yeah, I could do it but I didn't enjoy it." Dave explained. "So, how did you get on today? Do any training?"
"We tried, but the 'jocks' soon put a stop to it." Simon replied.
"They're always bullying us." Theodore added.
"And now we know what it feels like." Jeanette continued.
"Yeah." Eleanor agreed.
"It sounds like you've had a bit of a run-in." Dave said concerned. "We should get going; you can tell me about it on the way home."
The six of them all talked to Dave about the jocks and the chess practise on the way home. Once they arrived back at the house, Simon and Jeanette immediately made their way to the chess board; determined to beat the jocks as humiliatingly as possible. Theodore and Eleanor followed suit and joined them on the table at the chess board. Simon and Jeanette began looking at techniques that they could use in order to beat the jocks in the shortest space of time that they could. Eleanor was reading through the book of chess techniques with them, while Theodore attempted to set up the chess pieces on the chess board once again.
Alvin and Brittany, seeing that everyone was preoccupied, decided to try and get the homework out of the way. Brittany was the one who ultimately decided and Alvin was just dragged along for the ride. The two of them entered the bedroom, jumped up onto Brittany's bed and began looking over the homework; Alvin with very little interest in it.
"Okay, algebra, hopefully it looks harder than it actually is." Brittany said being hopeful herself.
"I don't know where to start." Alvin said looking confused, turning his paper upside down and then back again.
"How about question one?" Brittany replied in a tone of obviousness. "If 2+x=5, what is x?"
"A letter?" Alvin replied.
Brittany burst out laughing; she didn't know whether Alvin was joking or being serious, but either way that wasn't the correct answer.
"Well, I guess that's true." Brittany said. "But I think the answer is 3."
Alvin scratched his head and looked down at the paper, which was covered in letters, numbers and symbols. He squinted at the paper again before finally figuring out that x was representing a number.
"2+3=5" Alvin read out from his homework sheet, replacing the x with a 3.
"Well done." Brittany said patronisingly before giggling to herself.
Alvin was not amused; he wasn't very good at math and especially not algebra, he didn't need Brittany to rub it in. He frowned at her and raised an eyebrow in an attempt to subdue her laughter. Brittany soon stopped after seeing the expression on his face, and decided to continue with the next question. It was pretty straight forward, on a par with the first one, but as soon as they got to question three they were stumped.
"There's no way we can do this." Brittany said.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Alvin replied.
"We need some help." Brittany said.
"Or we could just forget about the homework." Alvin suggested.
"That won't solve anything." Brittany answered. "Come on."
Brittany took the homework and left the bedroom in search of some assistance; Alvin trailed behind uninterested in the whole homework thing. Brittany decided to see if Simon or Jeanette could help, after all they were the smartest people she knew.
"Hey guys, do you think you could help us with this math?" Brittany asked.
"We're a little busy." Simon said.
"Maybe later, okay?" Jeanette added.
Clearly the two of them were busy and Eleanor was the focus of all their attention, so that left Theodore; it was a long shot but it was worth a try. Alvin and Brittany walked over to ask Theodore about the algebra, he had just finished setting up the chess board and was currently unoccupied.
"Hey Theo, know anything about algebra?" Alvin asked.
"We really need help with this homework." Brittany added.
"I'm not sure, but I can try." Theodore replied.
The three of them sat down and looked at the third question on the sheet. It had an x and a y in it; this was the reason for their struggling. Theodore eyed up the problem for a minute before attempting to solve it.
"I think you need to solve the second part first." Theodore said.
"How?" Alvin asked impatiently.
"Work out x, and then use it to work out y." Theodore explained.
"That's no help, what's the answer?" Alvin asked becoming frustrated.
"I get it now, thanks Theo." Brittany said grabbing Alvin and dragging him away; annoyed at how he had received Theo's help.
The two of them continued to do the homework; managing to make it to the halfway point before getting stuck on question six. Luckily, to break the monotony, Dave called them all for dinner. This gave Alvin and Brittany a chance to clear their heads and stop thinking about algebra for the time being.
They all sat eating their dinners happily; having worked up an appetite from all the events they had been through at school.
"So how's the practise going?" Dave asked. "Do you think you can beat those jocks?"
"It should be a piece of cake," Simon replied.
"Cake? Is there any dessert?" Theodore asked.
"Make sure you finish your dinner first." Dave replied before continuing the conversation. "How's Eleanor getting on?"
"She's getting really good." Jeanette replied.
"I think I'm getting the hang of it." Eleanor added modestly.
"Well, I'm glad that you're all getting on well with your practise." Dave replied. "Hopefully we'll bring the contest back to one round a piece."
"No doubt." Simon commented confidently.
The six of them finished their meals and left Dave to clear the table as usual, all except Alvin and Brittany, who waited behind. Dave took some of the plates and cups through to the kitchen, and then returned to find that the two of them were still there.
"What's up?" Dave asked curiously.
"We need help with our homework." Brittany replied.
"Just let me finish clearing the table and I'll help you with it, okay?" Dave said as he continued to pick up the used plates.
Sure enough, Dave cleared the table and then sat down with them to assist with the homework.
"I see," Dave said looking at the piece of paper. "That's why you were talking about algebra."
"We did some of it." Alvin said.
"But we're stuck on question six." Brittany explained.
"Let's take a look." Dave said taking the homework sheet and studying it carefully.
"Well, have any ideas?" Alvin asked.
"I think I remember how to do this." Dave replied. "It's been a long time since I last did any algebra."
"I bet it has." Alvin commented.
Dave frowned at him, not amused by his comment referring to his age.
"So, can you help us?" Brittany asked politely, covering up Alvin's rude comment.
"Yeah, it's pretty simple really, you just need to practise that's all." Dave replied. "It's a simultaneous equation."
"A what?" Alvin said.
"It means two equations used at the same time." Brittany explained.
"Well, something like that. You have to put both equations equal to zero and then you work it out." Dave explained.
"So what's the answer?" Alvin asked.
"I said I would help you with the homework, not do it for you." Dave replied.
"That's okay, I understand now." Brittany said. "Thanks Dave."
"But we didn't get the answer." Alvin protested as Brittany dragged him away.
The two of them returned to their post in the bedroom, where they continued to tackle the homework; following up on the help that Dave had provided. On their way they had passed the others who were still hard at work, preparing g for the chess match ahead.
Simon and Jeanette were now using the chess strategies to work out which would be best, and to test Eleanor to see if she could play against them competently. Theodore watched on curiously as they attempted to using the Sicilian defence opening to test how suitable it was for the upcoming chess round. Eleanor seemed to be coping with the strategy and was holding her own in the current practise match.
Simon and Jeanette continued to test more strategies and tactics in the following matches; using discovered attacks and pin moves. The matches were taking quite a while as Eleanor wasn't rushing into making any silly mistakes on her moves. By the time they had finished the third practise match it was fast approaching 9 o'clock and Dave came to tell them to wrap it up and head for bed.
While all this training was going on, Alvin and Brittany were still hard at work on the homework; well Brittany was. They had progressed through it well, considering the amount of distractions Alvin was making in an attempt to sidetrack Brittany.
"We need to concentrate on this math, Alvin, quit goofing around." Brittany said becoming annoyed by his antics.
"Forget about the math homework, its lame." Alvin replied.
"You still need to do it." Brittany reminded.
"The only math I'm interested in is one plus one equals two." Alvin answered putting his arm around Brittany and pulling her close towards him.
"Maybe later," Brittany said giggling, "But right now we need to focus on homework; so get studying."
"The only thing I want to study is you." Alvin replied.
"That's so cheesy, how many of those one-liners do you have?" Brittany said jokingly.
"Plenty." Alvin boasted.
"Alright Casanova; work now, play later." Brittany said becoming more serious.
"Who's playing?" Alvin teased.
Brittany burst out laughing; Alvin was on form with his snappy replies and wasn't going to let it rest. She dived on him to try and shut him up.
"Please stop. It's starting to get annoying." Brittany said laughing out loud.
"Not as annoying as that homework." Alvin pointed out.
"But we have to do it." Brittany reiterated.
" 'Do it'?" Alvin questioned flirtatiously.
Brittany blushed at hearing what Alvin had said and also that she inadvertently said it as well. She put her hand over his mouth in a desperate attempt to shut him up.
"I meant no such thing." Brittany replied pleading innocence.
"I certainly hope not." Dave interrupted.
Alvin and Brittany quickly got up and peered over the edge of the bed to see Dave and the others stood at the entrance to the bedroom.
"But you did say it." Alvin said.
"Not in that context." Brittany protested.
"Well it better not have been." Dave warned as they all entered the bedroom.
"Alvin was just twisting what I said." Brittany said pleading her innocence.
"I can believe that." Simon replied. "It's something that Alvin is an expert at."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Alvin asked sounding annoyed.
"That's enough guys, as long as it was all a misunderstanding then its okay." Dave said. "Now get ready for bed; you have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."
They all got ready for bed in the usual routine; and before long the six of them were tucked up in their beds. Dave bid them goodnight and they all drifted off to sleep with thoughts of the next round of the competition and the next press conference, floating through their minds.
Thanks for reading, please review. :)