News: Obviously this has taken a little longer than a week (Mea Culpa) but I try to update when I can. My story "Totally Munk'd Island" Is long and will probably take longer to do than expected (but voting has now officially opened for it) and What We Have is close to it's end so I'll update it later than expected. Happy Reading and Happy Writing. :)
Simon's Point of View
There was never a time when I wished I could be back in my own body than the minute Brittany dragged me away. With her robot strength grip, I was pulled (forced) into the washroom and practically tied down, bound by a toilet paper roll. The room smelled of fruity perfume, choking me further, and rather than it being messy as usual, the only thing out of place was a heap of clothes in the middle of the room. I prayed they were Brittany's, but I doubt she owned three different colored tuxedos in my size… Alvin's size. This wasn't looking too good for me; whatever Brittany had up her sleeve, it involved me, several outfits, and my endless praying I wouldn't have to do anything drastic.
At first it wasn't so bad; she twirled around in the outfit she had on -a pink leather jacket and skirt- asked me what I thought of it, and switched into something else. It was only half an hour -and almost a dozen other outfits- later that I began to understand what Alvin meant by a woman's torture.
"Which one do you think I should wear to the dance?" She asked after each outfit. I couldn't remember half the names of the numerous amounts of clothing, if I could, I'd have been out of here half an hour ago, agreeing to the first outfit. I honestly didn't care what she wore, it didn't change the fact that I still had to go with her or the fact that no matter what she wore, she'd still get noticed.
"Man, she's strong." I thought, trying to struggle my way out of her cardboard deathtrap. Was she going to such great lengths to torture me or was this how she and Alvin actually acted around each other? I don't recall either of them actually going on any dates, but for all I knew, Brittany tied Alvin up for fun all the time. All of this could have been avoided, however. At first when I was thrown in here, I was allowed to roam free and just follow her instructions of how to help her.
"I need help picking out an outfit for the dance." She had said, with no remorse or notice that she took me away from my work. Being in Alvin's body was like being on a roller coaster in a foreign carnival, you never knew what to expect. The groan I gave to her sounded like a no to me, but was a yes to her, and after she switched outfits for the first time, I tried to get away, but I was no escape artist. I made my attempts not once, but twice, and after the second time of catching me, I was bound by the roll with no way of getting out. It constricted my body enough to make it a pain to breathe. How did Alvin handle situations like this? Obviously I couldn't run and, not being as smooth-talking as Alvin, I couldn't talk my way out. Besides, with Brittany's… fearfulness, and constant yammering, I doubt I could have gotten a word in anyway. Did Alvin always just take whatever Brittany had to dish out? The next question: did he do it as a safety precaution, or was he just protecting Brittany's feelings?
"Um, Brittany," I breathed through the vice of cardboard roll and stopping her mid-sentence about how she loved her latest outfit, but thought it might be too dressy for a high-school dance, "Do you think that maybe you can let me out of this thing?" Knowing Brittany, she would have given a sinister giggle or even just ignore the question altogether, what I didn't expect was the saddened expression spread across her small face.
"I'm sorry," She squeaked as if she were in trouble, "Is it hurting you?" She hopped off her little catwalk -the floor mat- and ripped the roll off like it was nothing, like a tiny mosquito. I sympathized for her; she was upset for some reason and I felt that I caused it.
"Just my lungs." I laughed awkwardly, hoping to lighten the mood. I sucked in a deep breath of perfumed air and exhaled.
"Don't go." She said, wrapping her arms around me as I turned toward the door. Was that desperation I heard in her voice? Sadness? Loneliness? "Can't we spend some time together before the dance?" I wanted to tell her no, that I couldn't afford to do anything like that with her, but the sweet little puppy dog face she presented made me give in. I was stuck with her, whether I wanted to be or not. We were pretty good friends, but having her try to be romantic to me felt weird. Not in the good way. I wish I could have told her that I wasn't Alvin, but I didn't need her thinking he was a nut.
"Okay," I said, planting my feet firmly on the ground, "I'll stay, but why are you trying so hard?"
"I just want the dance to go perfectly." Her tone was the same as when she and I privately spoke, but it was somewhat more timid. This was not the Brittany that I saw every morning at the breakfast table. This Brittany was more timid. She thought she was telling Alvin her innermost feelings for the first time when really she was just telling me again. And why, out of ALL the opportunities to romanticize with my brother, does she choose that night of all nights? With my luck, I answered my own question, and that made me feel even worse about taking Alvin's spot. Of course the one time she decides to really make her move was the worst possible time. It's like the two times purposely synchronized to mess with me.
"Twelve outfits for one evening?" I asked without the understanding as to why she was going over the extra mile. My eyes flashed to the pile of outfits that she'd already tried on and rejected.
"What good is a dance if my date doesn't think I look good?" She looked down at her body, wearing a simple pink dress over her light brown fur, "I thought you'd like helping me."
"I do," I explained, "when it's voluntary." Was that something Alvin would say? Whatever, if it got me out of trouble with Brittany, I'd go with anything. She looked up as if realizing for the first time that she'd dragged me here against my will. I didn't receive an apology, but rather she just laughed. And laughed. And laughed. And laughed.
"Sorry." She laughed and I sensed it wasn't very sincere. "Here, try this on." She threw one of the tuxedos at me and then widened her eyes, "I mean, if you want to." It wasn't exactly an option for me. I rolled my eyes and put the red outfit on. I wasn't used to it being my color, but it fit nice and snug. "Hmm, that looks rather… dashing." Brittany cooed and I couldn't help but blush. She wasn't talking about me, but it was a rare occasion for a compliment to come my way. If she was this smooth-talking with Alvin, was Alvin the same way back?
"Thank you," I smiled, "Thank you, Brit. Surely you know you're pretty without having to go through all this trouble." Maybe being Alvin was easier than it seemed… around girls anyway. You just had to be nice to them, tell them things that would boost their self-esteem. It was true, Brittany was pretty, but I wish I could have been this easy-going with Jeanette. If I weren't Alvin right now… who knows what I'd be doing. I watched as Brittany's furry cheeks turn a light shade of red. She moved close enough for me to feel her hot breath and I had to use my full concentration to not pull back. This was too much. How could Alvin think I'd be able to tolerate going to a dance with her? She had no idea I was me; how far was she willing to go?
"You really think the dance will go perfect?" She whispered.
"Depends on what you consider perfect." I thought, but nodded out of instinct. That was enough to get her to smile, enough for her to set me free. "That was disastrous." Alvin was supposed have it easy, but I guess being pegged by teachers as a slacker, and being in an awkward stage with the girl he liked had it's stresses.
I stepped into our room and found the wrecked part to the transmitter. No sign of Alvin, no sign of anyone. Of course it was Alvin who did this. Theodore, Eleanor, and Jeanette were too sweet to do something this evil or careless and I was with Brittany. My heart ached as if I'd just been dumped; what was his problem?! Was he trying to stay in my body forever! Did he have any idea how complicated this all was? The ways he infuriated me… He was lucky to be my brother.
"ALVIN!" I heard Dave's scream echo through the walls. What could I possibly be getting blamed for now? I grunted down each step, tripping on the last, but catching my balance. Dave and the others were at the table, ready for an early dinner. I found Alvin amongst them and glared at him, mouthing a few selective words. He sunk down in his spot on the table and grinned at me, guilt all over his face. Having everyone's eyes laid on me as I was the last to arrive was unnerving. Brittany's smile was still on her welcoming face from our previous conversation and Theodore's and Eleanor's eyes pleaded for me to hurry up. Jeanette's own heartbreaking eyes were dim as she dipped her head to her plate in an attempt to hide her crying, but I could see the little droplets. My heart lurched and my head ached at the very thought.
"Nice of you to join us, Alvin." Dave remarked as I gradually hopped up to my spot on the table.
"Sorry, I wasn't hungry." I lied, tired of dealing with everyone for today. I still had to yell at Alvin for making me have to redo the processor for the transmitter. I just wish I could sleep. Being Alvin was hard, and I wondered how he did what he did on a daily basis.
"Are you feeling sick?" Dave asked, concerned quickly for his son.
"He can't be!" Brittany burst out then quietly sat back. Lately our family dinners were starting to get disturbing with all of these outbursts. Oh, how I longed for everything to return to normal. "I mean… We have the dance in two days, he can't be sick for that."
"Can we please just eat?" Jeanette piped up and with that, sat back with the authority of having said the last words through the main course of our meal. Awkward…
"Alvin?" Alvin spoke up, breaking the deathly silence. I gave him a deranged look; did we not have a plan of laying low, only talking when it was necessary? "I was thinking that maybe we could play a video game later in our room." He winked at me and my eye twitched, what the heck was he talking about?! "You know, that one where that one guy and the other guy switch bodies? Clueless. Whatever he was wanting, he wasn't good at asking for it.
"Since when do you play video-games, Simon?" Brittany asked with an edge in her voice, making Alvin the center of attention.
"Oh, uh," He fumbled, "just trying to spend some bonding time with my brother." It was instantly quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Was he out of his freaking mind?! Way to make me sound sane! "Er, one second." He rolled his eyes and grabbed my arm, pulling me off to the edge of the dining area.
"Don't you know Morse code when you it?" He whispered viciously.
"In what world is that Morse code?!" I argued, "This is Morse code!" I tapped on the wall, paused, and tapped again. "How the heck do you get video-game brother bonding from Morse c ode?!" He stopped arguing for a second, looking back to see if everyone was staring at or ignoring us. Five pairs of eyes pierced our way, making my skin crawl, and I got the feeling that after all of this me and Alvin would be forced into years of therapy.
"Whatever!" He said, turning his attention back to me, "That was supposed to be a cue, a way to get us alone upstairs so we could get more time to work on the machine."
"You mean the machine that you broke AGAIN!" I pointed out, "And how was I supposed to get that from playing video-games? We don't even have any in our room!" Did Alvin ever think about something before letting it out to the public? We dragged ourselves back to our seats and smiled at our confused family.
"I want you both to stay home from school tomorrow," Dave announced, "You're clearly ill with something and I want you to rest." Perfect! Even when Alvin didn't know what he was doing, he still knew what he was doing. Finally we caught a break! Dinner was almost pleasant with the great news, something that hadn't been felt since before our switch. A nice dinner with almost no flaws. Jeanette's feelings still hung in my mind, though. Was I making the right decisions? Was I being selfish? I couldn't let her go on a date with someone in my body who wasn't me. And I certainly couldn't tell her. She'd think I was a nutcase. I'd find some way to make all of this up to her, even if it cost me my life. Dinner quickly ended at six and by five after, me and Alvin were "playing video-games" in our room.
"Do – Not – Touch!" I ordered my brother over and over again, "You touch the neurotransmitter again, and I will kill you."
"Okay okay, I get it." He replied, "Any way I can help speed things along?" I thought about it. I didn't want him anywhere near the transmitter, he wasn't aloud anything to do with it, but maybe something else? Something that would help us both in this sucky experience.
"Guide me through what you want me to do at the dance." I said, "Better yet, show me how to be you."
"What do you mean?" He asked, "As long as you stop acting so uptight you should be fine." Ha! If only that were true! If that was all it took, I wouldn't have asked for help.
"Alvin, you and I both know I suck at being you, and goodness knows you're terrible at being me." He nodded as if this were old news to him, "I suggest acting lessons."
"Acting lessons for what?" Brittany broke in, striding into the room cheerfully, "I knew you two weren't playing video-games. Simon, you liar, you're starting to act like Alvin."
"Told you." I smirked and ignored Brittany's presence.
"Okay, fine, but only if you help me too."
"What are you two talking about?" Brittany examined our faces with her own questioning look and stepped back from the machine.
"Nothing." My brother and I replied.
"So transparent," She muttered with a smile and turning to me, "Alvie," She purred. Alvie? Oh, jeez, "remember our little chat earlier about how the dance would be perfect?" I wanted to laugh at Alvin's new nickname, but being Alvin, that would probably just backfire.
"Oh, um, yeah, Brit, I remember." I tried to say in a cool I-don't-care sort of manner without sounding hurtful. "What about it?"
"Oh, nothing," She smiled brightly, practically lighting up the whole room, "I was just thinking that there's probably going to be plenty of time to kiss." I choked on my own breath and pride of almost sounding like Alvin.
"W-What?" I gulped and faced my brother, who was readjusting his glasses out of shock. Brittany strolled out the door, almost too happily. "W-What?" I repeated, asking more the air around us than Alvin.
"I think you're going to need a lot more than acting lessons." He muttered.