Jeanette's POV

I strolled out of the gym locker room in my purple tank top and light purple shorts. They were quite baggy, somewhat like boys' shorts. I don't like tight form fitting ones like Brittany wears. Eleanor also prefers the baggy kind too. I cannot fathom why Brittany wants to always wear tight clothes. Who decided that tight clothes "look good" and loose fitting clothes "look bad?" I guess I really shouldn't talk. I used to wear skinny jeans a lot. Interestingly, I only wore them because stores (even ones that cater to TODDLERS) seem to refuse to make girls' jeans loose. Skinny jeans and tight jeans are the only options.

I scoped out the large gymnasium from a spot on the bleachers. Where was Coach Dopkins? It's not like him to be late. He makes us run extra laps if we're late, or do more push ups. I got my answer as an unfamiliar woman entered the room. She looked young, somewhere in her 20s, and her hair was done up in a sporty ponytail.

"Coach Dopkins couldn't make it. He twisted his ankle at the soccer game last weekend. I'm your substitute teacher, Ms. Moran." The woman said.

"Haha! Sounds like moron!" One of the rude boys that hangs out with Ray Ray shouted.

"Yes, very funny." Ms. Moran walked over to him. "Why don't you go do 10 push-ups for me?"

The boy obeyed, I think he knew this teacher was not one to be messed with.

BoCarter sat on the bleachers next to me and I almost fell backward in shock. Usually, BoCarter avoids us chipmunks whenever he can. We, uh, well, we have history. I actually don't like BoCarter at all. I've told myself not to have grudges on people, but he just isn't willing to learn and grow. He also gets whatever he wants by bribing people with money. People like BoCarter make me feel sick.

"Uh….hello." I greeted, trying to sound friendly. He is my worst enemy, yet he still deserves some kindness.

BoCarter turned away from me. "Don't talk to me, glasses. I'm only sitting here because every other seat is taken."

You see what I mean? He's a lost cause. Derek, the other notorious school bully, is actually on a path toward redemption and friendship. He's still a little rough with others, but he's working on channeling his anger and frustration constructively.

BoCarter and I got down from the bleachers and gathered near Ms. Moran so she could do the roll call. She went through the list and everyone who was here responded. When she got to the letter S, she stopped at a name I was all too familiar with. He was my boyfriend after all, strange as that may feel to admit.

"Alvin Seville?" The youthful gym sub called out. "Alvin Seville!?"

I saw Theodore and Simon's reactions. Theo seemed slightly worried, while Simon seemed to be looking up at the ceiling. Maybe he was counting all the speckles on the ceiling tiles. I do that sometimes when class feels boring.

Alvin burst forth from the boys' locker room and into the gym. He was wearing just above knee length light blue shorts and a red shirt that proclaimed "I heart Physics" on it in light blue letters. His rainbow sneakers clopped against the polished gym floor as he raced up to the teacher. I gasped when I saw his bare legs. They must hurt a lot! It was the first time seeing them since Friday. His knees, both of them, were completely black and blue. They looked swollen and puffy underneath the bruising.

"I'm here…..I'm here." Alvin panted, seeming out of shape.

The substitute looked upset and concerned. "Young man, what in tarnation happened to your knees?" She asked.

"Uhhh….sports happened." Alvin replied, chuckling.

"You realize we're running outside on the track today, right?" She narrowed her eyes.

I remained quiet and watched from a distance.

Alvin looked down at his bruised legs and back up at Ms. Moran. "Yeah. No biggie. I can still run."

Simon looked at his brother with a difficult to read expression. I guess it was smug or something. "Perhaps it would be best if you sat out today."

"No way!" Alvin growled. "I WANT to run."

"Suit yourself." Ms. Moran marked him down on her attendance sheet. "Everyone, to the track."

We all filed outside and to the large grassy area near the baseball field. I would often walk here after playing baseball with Eleanor's team. I love exercising so much more when it's outdoors! The fresh air gives me stamina I never knew I possessed. Although, I should have guessed. Chipmunks naturally are gifted with stamina and flexibility. Those are strengths we all share together.

The objective of today's gym class was to each run the track while Ms. Moran records our times. Then, we'd do stretches and jog in place. After that, we'd run again and try to get our second time to be faster than the first. It sounded simple. Boy, was I glad for a nice and simple game. Sports have so many confusing rules. Running is just running.

As I ran the track, I watched my sisters. Brittany was trailing behind most of our other classmates. Eleanor was nearly leading the pack. Only Derek and Logan were ahead of her. BoCarter shoved Tommy off of the track and was asked to stop running altogether. That's probably what he wanted anyway. Theodore was in last place, hanging with Cheesy and Kevin. Simon was surprisingly nimble and quick, he was even ahead of Alvin. The red clad boy was struggling, visibly. I could see the determination in his eyes as he tried to push himself to his normal speed. His legs wouldn't allow it today. I ran next to him, slowing my pace so that I wouldn't pass him by.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Alvin groaned as his long-ish legs pumped harder. "What is WRONG with me today?" He turned his head for a quick second to look at me.

I consciously slowed my stride more. My legs are only slightly longer than Alvin's. I'm much taller than he is though. Simon and I have long torsos. Alvin's torso is….tiny. He's a bit sensitive about that.

"It could be the bruises." I answered. "Your legs are probably quite stiff too."

Alvin shook his head. "No. I have run with bruises before. This is…..different. I feel weak."

I frowned. "It's all in your head, Alvin." I assured him. "You're probably just tired. Did you get enough sleep last night?"

He didn't seem to hear me, because he didn't answer my question. "I think…..I'm succumbing to the Nerd Curse."

"No, you aren't. There is no curse. Don't listen to what the other kids say." I instructed as we neared the finish line. "Listen to your heart."

Right now, his heart was probably up to 260 beats a minute. Resting heart rate for a chipmunk is naturally high. For us, it's lower than an average chipmunks' and it gets super high when we are energized. I couldn't even feel the individual beats of my heart. It was just a constant hum in my chest.

"My heart tells me to be cool. My brain tells me to be nerdy." Alvin panted as he made the final push forward.

"Be both." I said. "You are not cursed. I promise you."

We both crossed the finish line for the final time, having run 5 laps. That's the equivalent to one mile. The substitute called out our times and I was happily surprised.

"4 minutes and 35 seconds on the nose!" She informed us.

I was overjoyed! That's my fastest time ever! I had no idea I was even capable of running a mile in 4 and a half minutes. I went to high five Alvin, to celebrate our victory. To my utter shock, he was gone. I spotted him out of the corner of my eye, climbing a tree near the track. Uh oh. He usually climbs trees when he's in a bad mood and wants to sulk where no one can see him. I sprinted toward the tree, though my legs were beginning to feel achy and sore. I was sure that Alvin was in need of some comfort. Something had set him off. Maybe it was something I said.

ALVIN 2.0'S POV

4 minutes and 35 seconds. 4 minutes and 35 seconds. That might seem fast to you, if you aren't a speed demon and a chipmunk. If you aren't ME. The usual time it takes me to run a mile is 2 minutes and 55 seconds! 4 minutes and 35 seconds is A LOT slower than I'm used to. I can't blame it all on the bruises. Sure, they hurt, but I don't focus on the pain. In fact, while I was running, I didn't even FEEL them. This was BAD news. Somehow, I was losing my ability to be athletic!

So, I did the only thing I could do. I climbed up the nearest tree and started crying. No one could see me up there, and I made sure that the tears were small and I wasn't bawling my eyes out loudly. I wrapped my skinny arms around my, too lean for my liking, torso and squeezed tightly. Hugs make everything better, or so Theodore says.

Then, suddenly, I wasn't alone on the branch. Jeanette had joined me. I was glad to see her. I wanted this nightmare to end. Maybe Jeanette knew how to reverse this weird spell that Brittany is convinced she cast on me. Maybe there was no spell at all. Yet, if the spell was a hoax, why did I suddenly feel so….weak and wimpy?

"Don't cry, Alvin. It's just a one mile run. It wasn't even a race." Jeanette leaned her head on my shoulder.

I tried to regain my composure. I couldn't speak very well through the tears.

"I'm slow." I choked out. "I'm so so slow."

"You're just having an off day." She reasoned. "Or...maybe you're subconsciously feeling the effects of the fake curse. Brittany planted that idea in your head….and now you have yourself convinced that you're losing your athleticism."

"Maybe." I shrugged.

"It's very common. I read about this effect in my psychology book." She stood up on the branch, motioning for me to as well. I wasn't ready to stand up.

"I guess I have kind of been worrying I'll turn into some nerdy stereotype….a lot. The odds of that happening are pretty low." I admitted. I trusted her. I believed her. She DID have me under her spell, but it wasn't a curse. It was the spell of sweet, soulful, loving, gentle romance. "Jeanette,...something happened when I was on my way to the gym." I decided I needed to tell her this up front. I wanted her opinion on it. "This guy….I dunno his name, he gave me an opportunity to regain my popularity."

"Oh." She looked dumbfounded as she took a seat on the branch once more, playing with a leaf that had gotten lodged in her hair on the way up. "Are you going to take it?" She sounded sad. How could getting my popularity back be sad? This was EXCITING!

"Yeah. I think so. There is one issue though. He wants me to do some challenges tomorrow after school…..which is the same time as the art show. I think I can do both though. I'll do the challenges as fast as I can and then BOOM, race to the art show." Yeah, on my new and SLOWER legs.

"I don't know about this, Alvin." Jeanette bit her lip. "It sounds too good to be true. You don't even know what the challenges will be. What if they're uncomfortable and dangerous?"

Oof. She did make a good argument there. But, then again, popularity might be worth the risk.

"He said it's my only chance." I looked at the ground way below. "If I mess this up, I'll never shake the nerd label. If I complete the challenges, then I'll be a popular kid who still loves science! It would be amazing!"

"Do it if you must." Jeanette's midnight eyes were full of sadness and worry. "But please don't get your hopes up too high. I'd hate to see you get crushed."

Or would she hate to see me popular again because then we'd both be on different sides of the social barrier? I wanted to ask her that. It seemed too petty, so I kept it to myself.

"It's my only shot." I murmured. "I HAVE to take it."

Jeanette looked like she wanted to say more on the topic. However, she kept her lips pressed firmly shut. I briefly imagined kissing those lips….and then mentally beat myself up because I know it's WAY too soon in our relationship to take it to that level.

"We should….rejoin the class." Jeanette stood up again. "It's almost time for lunch."

I shook my head. "Still got language arts class. I'm tempted to skip it and hang here." I told her honestly.

"What if someone finds out?" She looked down at me like I was a child she had to protect. Urgh. I hate it when people treat me like I can't make my own decisions. They aren't ALL terrible.

"That's a future Alvin problem." I shrugged.

She reached down and took my hand, giving it a gentle tug. "Come on, Alvin, you know you don't want to wind up in detention."

I didn't. Detention is the WORST. Still, maybe if I got detention, the cool kids would see I'm not a clone of Simon. Was that worth 2 hours locked in a room with Miss. Smith, not being allowed to draw or read my comics or listen to music? "How do you know what I want?" I shot back with more attitude than I would have liked.

"Because…..you told me." She looked hurt. Aw crap! Aw fudge! No!

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it like….that. I'm in a bad mood." I tried to salvage this.

Jeanette blinked, seeming more hopeful. "It's okay. Look, if you want to stay up here, it's fine. I just….want you to do what makes you happy, not what others THINK would make you happy. I thought you were trying to live life on your own terms."

I scrambled down from the tree. "You're right." I said, as my sore feet touched the ground. "Detention ain't worth it."

She climbed down and came over to me, wrapping me in a big bear hug. Her arms were skinnier than mine. As delicate as I was, she was much more delicate and wimpy. She made me feel….manly, strong, and powerful.

We were broken from our hug by a high pitched scoffing noise. I gulped and turned around. There was Brittany, looking upset and aggravated. I considered running away. Too bad I was so slow today that Britt could clearly outrun me.

"H….Hey." I waved to her nervously as Jeanette copied my actions.

Brittany crossed her arms. "We all need to talk." She said in a bossy voice. "Today, at lunch."

"Talk about what?" Jeanette's soft and angelic voice was like ear candy.

In comparison, Britt's sounded gruff. Feminine, no doubt, but….like you'd imagine a girl wrestler would sound. Don't ever tell her I said that. "About all this." She gestured to me and my wonderful girlfriend. "And how it's going to affect our careers."

Wait, could my relationship with Jeanette mess up my music career? Well, duh, yeah, if I couldn't even be 2.0 onstage, what would my fans say if they saw me canoodling with a nerd? Jeanette's so much more than a simple nerd though. I'm sure I could make them understand….somehow. Before Brittany could say anything else, the bell rang. Drat. The dreaded ELA class was upon us. I would have to wait until lunchtime to get answers.