Simon's POV

He was driving me crazy. Absolutely crazy. His aversion to doing the ONE THING that would actually help him makes NO SENSE! I was trying to look at things from Alvin's perspective. Really, I was. Alvin's always been one to fall prey to the trap of self persuasion. He was convinced that he was bad at studying, and therefore he was bad at studying. I was positive that's all there was to it. My job was to convince him he could be good at studying, and so far….I wasn't very good at it. I wanted to talk to him again, before this night was over. I searched the entire upstairs floor, but he was nowhere to be found.

I didn't give up. I searched the downstairs floor and found him in the dining room, eating pasta and peas. That was odd. I could have sworn I saw him leave earlier in the opposite direction of the dining room. I must have been mistaken.

"How are you doing?" I asked, trying to sound less angry at him.

"I'm fantastic." He snipped sarcastically. Upon further inspection, he wasn't eating much. He flipped the pasta and peas around, using his spoon like a catapult.

I narrowed my eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Exactly what Kevin said to do. I'm eating physics. Mmmm physics." Alvin picked up a piece of pasta and dropped it into his mouth.

I rolled my eyes. "You are a nutcase." I commented.

"What? I'm following directions." Alvin protested. "He said "Eat, sleep, and breathe physics! That's what I'm doing. I'm showing you I'm serious."

"You're a serious pain in my keister." I crossed my arms. "And you still aren't studying."

"Oh here comes the all night naggathon." He sassed me, standing on his chair and putting a hand on his cocked hip.

"I….I don't mean to nag." I said. "I want to get to the bottom of your problem."

He got defensive again. "It's not a problem."

"Why are you so afraid of studying?" I asked.

Alvin pursed his lips and I could tell he was thinking about an answer. "I study MY way. I told you." Of course. He always wanted everything HIS way.

"Okay." I was losing my patience, but I didn't want to go to bed angry at him. "Let me rephrase that. Why don't you want to try studying like a normal person?"

"Cuz I can't!" Alvin sat back down and picked at the peas on his plate.

"Or you think you can't?" I implied, hoping it didn't anger him more.

"I. CAN'T." My brother scowled. "If you spent even an hour inside my head, you would know that." His demeanor suddenly changed. He didn't look upset anymore. He looked like he had an idea….and that was scarier than him being angry at me. His ideas often lead to disaster.

"Oh no. Whatever you're thinking, we are NOT doing it." I gulped.

He jumped out of his chair and landed beside me. "Oh yes we are. I'll see ya tonight." He bumped me with his hip as he left the room.

"What do you mean by that!?" I asked, starting to worry. He planned to enact a plan I was part of without even telling me what his plan was. I hate it when he does that! If you're going to include me in something, I at least need to know what I've been signed up for.

When I crawled into bed that night, I could feel sharp tingles spreading through my body. Nerves. I was scared. I was scared to go to sleep, not because of my history of insomnia, it was another reason entirely. I knew in my heart Alvin would wake me up in the middle of the night and drag me into whatever plan he cooked up. Then, there would be a huge chain reaction that ended with both of us in a heap of trouble. I could NOT allow that to happen. I stayed awake as long as I could, but it was no use. Eventually, I had to fall asleep.

I woke up on another planet it seemed. I guessed I was dreaming, but it wasn't a dream I'd ever had before. The ground was orange and the sky was a dark blue with six moons sprinkled throughout the night sky. It was a desolate wasteland without much to look at besides the colors. I squinted my eyes. Were those physics equations written in the sky? Glowing cyan letters and numbers? Where was I? What kind of dream was this?

I got my answer sooner than I expected, as Alvin floated, yes FLOATED, down from the sky. He was pulsing with an eerie red glow.

"What is this place?" I asked my brother.

He hit the ground and stopped glowing. "Welcome, to the inside of my head….kinda. Technically, it's my dreamscape, but we don't need to get into the specifics."

"Ohhh." I could understand it now. "This is what you meant by "see you tonight?"

He nodded. "Precisely."

I don't know how he's able to enter all of our dreams and drag us into his own. It defies all logic. He's had this ability as long as I can remember. No one knows where it came from.

"This place is so weird." I commented.

Alvin scoffed. "You dream about colorful flying ponies and unicorns. I don't think you should judge."

Yes, he was right about that. My dreams aren't what anyone would expect from someone like me. Plus, I have the irritating habit of talking in my sleep so most of what I dream about isn't a secret from my brothers.

I raised an eyebrow. "I mean it's so…..empty….and….not at all like you."

He started glowing again and floated over my head. "You don't get to determine what's "like me" or "not like me." He waved his hand and suddenly I was floating too and glowing with a blue light.

"P….Put me down." I stammered, scared of what Alvin could do to me here. It was his dream, after all. I was merely a bystander.

He didn't listen, he just lifted me up higher and higher. Soon, we were floating,….err flying at this point, through a deep blue void with physics equations written all around us. I was flabbergasted. How could this be Alvin's deam? He's so into physics he DREAMS about it? I've devoted my life to scientific discoveries, and yet not much of that has ever shown up in my dreams.

"All this….is in your head?" I asked, awestruck by the sight. "So….you did study? You must have."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Alvin did a loop de loop in midair. "I know this stuff. But it's hard for me to access my memories quickly. I gotta sift through all the extra junk in here like...this." He waved his hand again and a list of complicated sports plays came up, then a list of song titles, then a bunch of videogame high scores. The lists were HUGE. They were easily ten times as big as we were. Dreams are so weird.

He waved his hands again, and the lists vanished. "Do you get it now?" He asked. "Are ya gonna stop yelling at me to just "study harder?" Because I would LOVE to get back to my usual dreams."

Ah. So this wasn't his usual style of dream. That explained why it was so….devoid of monsters and aliens and various other Alviny things.

"Yes. I get it." I said. "Now, how do we make you remember if you can't study my way?"

Alvin frowned, floating us both back down to the ground….which was now a giant chess board, for some reason. "I…..don't know." He rubbed his neck. "Still gotta figure it out."

"You're good at cramming. Always have been. What if you cram as much information in as possible? Maybe some of it would become easier to access." I suggested.

"Simon, cramming is just studying at the last minute. Which, yeah, if nothing else works, cramming is my plan." He explained.

I grabbed a hold of his hand. "We'll figure something out, Alvin. Together." I promised him.

"Thanks for believing in me, bro." He smiled. "Wish I did."

Hold on? He didn't believe in himself? Perhaps that was impeding his ability to recall information despite studying.

Alvin looked at something that was behind me. "Uhhh….you might wanna get out of here now." He warned.

"Why?" I turned around to come face to face with a group of zombies and mummies. "...Nevermind."

I woke up in my bed panting and gasping. It was early in the morning, and Alvin was still fast asleep….probably fighting the zombies and mummies in his dream...or nightmare...or whatever it was. I decided to get my shower early and eat some breakfast and then make sure everything was ready for my school day.

While in the bathroom, about to run a comb through my hair, I noticed my messy bed head kind of looked…cool. Should I keep it? Just for a day? I decided against it, wondering why I'd had such a thought for a split second. I didn't care about looking cool. Was hanging around Alvin rubbing off on me? No. That's absurd. I was overthinking things…as I have a tendency to do.

When Alvin woke up, with little time to spare before school started, I handed him his shoes and his Physics King T-shirt. He seemed grateful. Finally, we had moved past the rough patch and we were beginning to see eye to eye.

"Hey, Doofus Genius." I greeted him playfully. That's my nickname for him, now that he's 2.0 "Time to get ready for school."

"Hey, Genius Doofus." He replied with a yawn. "What did I tell you about nagging?"

"Sorry, sorry." I murmured. "It's a force of habit." I really needed to remind myself to not be so hard on him. I had to walk the thin line between nagging and coddling. I didn't want a repeat of what happened on the history project. I cared FAR more about the Physics Bowl than I had about the project.

Alvin got dressed and met me outside on the sidewalk in front of our house.

"No skateboard today?" I asked with a surprised expression, noticing his usual ride to school was missing.

He shrugged. "I'd probably just forget it and leave it lyin' around somewhere." He walked ahead of me, strutting confidently. "Got too much on my mind to worry about it. After school, I gotta check on Jeanette again. I'm gonna practice some basketball with Ells and Derek. My comic club and I are plannin' on helpin' Brittany get ideas for an art project. I am in very high demand."

I froze in my tracks, then raced to catch up with him. "This being in high demand won't be a problem, will it?"

"What?" Alvin puzzled for a second or two over what I meant. Luckily, it did not take him long to realize. "No. The Physics Bowl is my top priority! I would never leave the team hangin'"

"Then how do you expect to do all that after school?" I questioned.

Another shrug. "I'll find a way."

Now what was going on with him? He seemed to have a completely different attitude compared to the one he had on the weekend. Once again, it made NO SENSE.

"Okay, what gives?" I asked rather abruptly.

"Huh?" He blinked, that's what he usually does when he's zoned out and needs a gentle shove back into the realm of reality.

I put an arm on his shoulder. "You're acting differently today."

"No I'm not." He said, getting defensive again.

"Yes, you are." I pointed out. "More laid back, more relaxed…..which doesn't seem like something you usually are when you have ten or more obligations."

"Remember how I told you some days I feel like I'm Superman?" He asked.

Of course I did. My memory was nearly flawless. "You feel like you can do anything today? You're on top of the world?"

"Righty-o, Si. I'm the master of my own brain….for as long as it lasts. Hopefully, all day." He put a little bounce in his steps.

I took my arm off his shoulder and walked beside him, in a much straighter stance with less sway. "And you truly have no control over how long you spend in "Supermunk" mode?"

"Not one iota." Alvin groaned. "It is a real drag. It's why I burn out so bad trying to do everything on my to do list in a single day or less. Gotta use the brainy brain when it works properly."

"I see….." He gets more and more confusing by the day.

By this time, my brother and I had almost made it to our school. As we walked up the sidewalk that led to the huge doors, I gave Alvin a wide and encouraging smile.

"You've got this." I told him.

He pushed open the doors and stepped inside. "Thanks for the faith, bro."

As we walked to class, I had a sudden thought. Maybe I could figure out what triggers Alvin to have control of his mind. I could learn how to make Alvin's memory work properly. Then, I could make sure he stayed triggered for the entire competition. I felt hope again! Our team wasn't completely sunk. After school today, my mission would be learning exactly what makes my rambunctious brother tick. It had to work! I was running out of options….and fast. There was only a week until the competition. Seven days. Was that enough time to complete this Herculean task? We would find out.

Alvin's POV

Finally, a day where my head didn't feel like a cloud of fog. It was refreshing! I had to make it last! I still had to push a little more than the average person to make myself concentrate, but it wasn't like trying to push a heavy boulder up a steep hill or anything. I felt awesome!

I didn't even mess with Miss. Smith much in my first few classes. Maybe she marked me absent because she didn't even realize I was there. Oh well, not like I'm concerned with perfect attendance anyway.

Lunchtime rolled around and I met up with my pals at the dweeb table. Man, I really need a better name for it. They're a lot less dweeby than anyone thinks. I opened my lunchbox and ate as fast as I can. Fish sticks were the main part of my lunch today. I was taking Cheesy's advice and trying to eat more "brain food." Hopefully, it would sharpen my mind. It was worth a try, at least.

"I'm gonna be pretty busy after school today." I told my teammates as I finished eating. "Think we could run through some practice right now so I don't have to stay as long later?"

Kevin looked surprised. "Sure. Yeah. If you want to. I'll go grab my flashcards…"

"No need." Warren smiled at Kevin. "I have mine right here." He pulled the deck of flashcards from his pocket.

"Awesome!" I cheered, loud enough that I'm sure the table of popular kids heard me. I caught a few of them giving me judgy glares akin to the ones Simon gives me. I didn't care. I was not embarrassed. "Hit me with some questions!"

And they did, and I gave them as many right answers as I could come up with.

"Relative speed is a scalar quantity!"

"The principle of moments states that a total clockwise moment equals a total anti clockwise moment."

"The unit of a moment is a Newton metre!"

"False! An object is generally not stable if it has a narrow base. It needs a wide base and low center of gravity."

If Brittany overheard me say that, she'd definitely have a comment like "you'd be the expert on a low center of gravity. Haha." I'm not even gonna bother explaining that joke further. If you get it, you get it. If you don't, then you don't.

Simon's eyes were so wide that I could see white all the way around his irises. "How…..How the….but you….I…."

"He's got every one of those right." Warren seemed impressed. "I guess your weekend training session worked."

"Ehhhh." I hated to break it to them, but they deserved to know that the training session really didn't do much. "Not exactly."

"Seems like it did." Cheesy commented.

Kevin stroked his chin. "It was like some kind of delayed reaction."

I shook my head. "No. No. No. You've got it all wrong. Think of our brains as a giant mixing board. You guys have dimmers that can be slid up and down on a sliding scale depending on what you need to focus on and when. My brain doesn't have that ability. It turns on and then off and then on again and then off again….entirely randomly." I frowned. "Just because it's ON today, doesn't mean it'll be ON for the competition."

Simon raised his hand politely. "If I may, I have a suggestion."

"Shoot." I told him. "Unless you're gonna say "try harder" in which case I don't wanna hear it."

"I think there must be something that triggers you to be "off" or "on." Simon reasoned. "It cannot possibly be entirely random."

Kevin looked at Simon with a slight smirk on his face. "Would there be a way to install brain dimmer things for Alvin? Temporarily?"

Simon nibbled his top lip. "There's ADHD medication. Unfortunately, Alvin's against that."

"I don't know how well that would work on a chipmunk." Warren folded his hands and rested them on the table. "Plus, depending on the company, the side effects are….pretty bad sometimes."

I glared at Simon. "I am NOT taking ADHD medication just so you can win a contest." I growled.

"Right, yes, obviously." Simon tried to diffuse the tension. "I wouldn't expect you to."

"Then why did you say it?" I furrowed my brows at my brother in blue.

Simon rubbed his forehead. "Because I was answering Kevin's question."

"Yeah. You're getting defensive way too fast." The redhead with hair so bright it made mine look dull in comparison told me.

"You guys! I've got it!" Cheesy exclaimed. "He just ate before answering those questions. He didn't eat right before practice. Maybe food is the trigger!"

Simon considered this option with a smile. "It does work that way for Theodore. Perhaps it's a trait they both share."

I tried to think back to the days when my brain was working without much hassle. I wasn't sure food had anything to do with it, but I also couldn't think back very far at the moment. I'd need to be looking at photos or watching home movies to jog my memory.

"So this time, we're gonna start practice with snacks and then answer questions." The lighter reddish-haired boy with the hilarious name said.

"I'm all for it." I squeaked.

Later that day, while on my way to Physics Bowl practice, I encountered Bocarter's team again. Before they could see me, I quickly slipped off my T-shirt and crumpled it into a ball which I held in front of me. Simon had told me I could NOT let them know I was Warren's replacement or they were likely to arrange an accident for me. I shuddered at the thought. The lengths Bogus-carter Dumbphrey and his cronies will go to win is frightening.

"Well, well, well,..." The blonde in the stupid navy blue suit commented upon seeing me. "...Where are you heading, Einstein?"

"T….To uhhh…..see Eleanor….for sports stuff….errr….basketball." I stammered. That's the downside of when my brain is "on." My expert excuse creating part is completely shut down, causing me to fumble for words and use a lot of filler. It's as if all my brainpower is so devoted to remembering facts and stuff, there's none left to improvise.

"You still play basketball?" Jamie looked surprised.

"Yeah." I responded. "I do tons of things. Too many to name, so, uhhh, if you could step aside and let me pass, that'd be great." I figured they wouldn't. My improvisation skills were beginning to resurface. Aw nuts! That meant my memory was about to be messed up again...and just in time for the Physics Bowl practice.

"Do you know who Simon has found to replace Warren?" Bocarter asked me, bending over and putting his stupid face as close to mine as he could.

Oh gosh. Not that question! Anything but that question! I had no choice but to lie. "No. Why would I know that?" I took a step back from him. "It's not like Simon and I are joined at the hip." Actually, lately that's been EXACTLY what it's like.

"You liar." Alexa scoffed, flipping her deep chocolate colored hair. "I saw you answering questions at lunch today. He's the alternate, Bocarter. I know he is."

I sneered at the girl. "Good to know you're just as despicable as your sister." Then, I darted to the side and slid between Jamie's legs. I was definitely going to outrun them. I'm a very very fast guy.

"ANDREW! ARTHUR! AFTER HIM!" Bocarter snapped, causing Andrew and Jamie to run after me at the same time and trip over each other.

"You are useless. I'll get him myself." Bocarter started to chase me. I cast a glance over my shoulder. He was really far away. I made sure to take a lot of twists and turns to make sure he didn't know where I was heading.

Once I had lost sight of the rich….uhhh...word that rhymes with rich and starts with B, I skidded into room 202 and slammed the door with all my might. It was a large door for someone my size.

"Okay, so…..Bocarter knows I'm on the team now." I said, slipping my red T shirt back over top of my cyan colored one.

"Oh man!" Kevin groaned.

"Couldn't be helped." I jumped up onto a desk and scampered over to Cheesy. "Got any snacks?"

"Simon should be coming with them any time now." The green eyed boy replied.

Right on cue, Simon knocked against the door and Warren let him inside. He was followed by Theo who was wheeling a cart full of delicious fruit pies and homemade veggie chips. I could feel my mouth water. It all looked DELICIOUS!

After eating as much of the healthy-ish food as I could fit in my teeny little chipmunk stomach, I felt ready to answer some more physics questions.

Cheesy patted his stomach. "I think my idea might actually work."

"I sure hope so." Kevin and Simon said at exactly the same time.

Theodore watched me with curious eyes. I know he thought Cheesy's idea was bound to work.

Sadly, it didn't. They asked me several questions and I missed all except for one. My teammates and Theo exchanged confused and worried glances.

"Why didn't it work?" Cheesy asked aloud. "It always works for me."

"Yeah, what gives?" Kevin asked. "You were a genius at lunch today."

"Give it up!" I screamed, jumping down from the desk and racing toward the door. I had to get out of there. Kevin was RIGHT! I was definitely a liability. "'m clearly not a genius at the moment!"

Cheesy got up from his chair to grab another fruit pie. "Maybe you're stressed and you need a break."

"It's not that." Simon looked devastated. "It's his memory. Some days it's decent and some days it's completely shot."

Kevin sighed. "I guess we really don't stand a chance without you, Warren." He said to the teen in purple.

Cheesy wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet. I admired that a lot. "Maybe we can still find a way to beat them."

"How?" Simon asked the chubby boy. "Alvin's missed all but 1 question and you can only get questions involving math right."

"There's always a way. In the movies underdogs win." Cheesy reasoned.

I hung my head low as I slumped against the door. "Not if the underdog's name is Alvin."

Theodore came over to comfort me. "At least there's still lots of other stuff you're good at."

I smiled a little at my younger brother before frowning again. "I wish I was good at this."

Simon sat on a desk dangling his legs over the side, looking down at Theo and I. "We've still got 6 days." He said. "Cheesy's right. We can't just give up. I'm sure you can do this. We've been going at it from the wrong angle."

I blinked and scampered over to the desk, looking up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we could TRAIN your brain to be on for longer periods of time."

I gulped. "So….mega nerd training course time?" It was the thing I hoped this would never come to. I almost went through it the weekend before, but Kevin has saved me by suggesting an obstacle course instead.

"Yes." Simon leaped down from the desk and looked into my eyes. "I'm going to teach you how to think like me."

Exactly what I had been afraid he'd say. I knew it would never work in a million years. Looking around at my friends' and family's faces though, they all seemed so hopeful. I couldn't decline the offer. It would seem like I wasn't willing to put in effort.

"S...Super." I agreed, faking enthusiasm.

Besides, there was always a slight chance the training course would work. The problem was, I didn't WANT it to work. I didn't want to think like Simon! That would be a nightmare come true!

"I'm gonna go….do the other stuff I told you about." I informed the group. "So I'll see ya later."

And before they could stop me, I was gone. Off to enjoy the rest of my day and try to forget about the dark cloud looming over me. I liked the way my brain worked. It was unreliable and irritating and unpredictable, but...that's what made me the nutty guy I am. Could I change that temporarily for a few days and change back? Or would I wind up stuck thinking exactly like my brother for the rest of my life? Maybe I was overreacting. Still, this was a bad situation either way. If the training worked, I'd lose what I've struggled so much to keep. If it didn't, I'd cause my pals to lose the physics contest thing. Either way, I lose. Who knew being a nerdy good kid wouldn't actually improve my quality of life? It's not fair. It's so not fair.