Resume At Last Scene
He knew immediately that the new guy was bad news. The way he looked, the way he talked, made Alvin suspicious. How Theodore and Eleanor were intently listening to him. How Simon and Jeanette were intently conversing with him. How Brittany was intently looking at him.
Alvin, however, didn't know how to approach the table. The table was full—it could only hold six. There were many ways he could deal with the situation, but he didn't have confidence in any of them:
He could ask the new guy to leave nicely, but Alvin knew that he would say no. Plus, if Alvin was going to hold his ground, he would have to take action, not be passive.
So he could try to bully the guy out, but that wouldn't work either. There was no way, judging by the chipettes' and his brothers' faces, that they would allow Alvin to kick him out.
He could just go over and try to squeeze in. However, that would be very awkward. There's a chance that he could squeeze in, but even if he could, there would be no place for his food. Plus, he would just feel weird.
He could stand up on the side of the table, but not only did having to stand up suck, a teacher might also yell at him to find a seat. Plus it also made him seem nerdy.
And people say Alvin ain't smart. Look at his planning.
What Alvin did know, however, was that he couldn't stay in the middle of the cafeteria, so it was either act like he just got up to get something, or fully commit to the chipmunks' table and hope something works out.
He chose the latter.
Though he immediately thought that he shouldn't have. He was thinking of a plan for when he got to the table, but when he got to the table, he had no plan.
So there he stood like an idiot holding up his lunch by a table that was already full. He was just praying that no one else could see him, because from the outside eye, it looks that Alvin had been replaced, and being replaced by someone lower in the social ladder is never a good thing.
Little did Alvin know, though, that that already happened.
It was a standard table—three chipmunks on each side. One side had Jeanette, Simon, and Theodore, in that order. The other side had Brittany, the new guy, and Eleanor, in the order. He approached the side of the table that didn't have Brittany—how awkward would that be.
The chipmunks said their greetings to him—all except the new guy and Brittany. Very quickly, whatever conversation existed beforehand ceased to exist. A very awkward silence filled the air, just as Alvin expected. No one was talking, and the longer Alvin stood there, the longer he made a fool of himself.
"So, uh," Alvin started, "I guess you're the new chipmunk I've been hearing about?"
The new guy nodded his head and smiled at him, but it wasn't a friendly smile. Yet it also wasn't a villainous smile. It was a forced smile.
The new guy replied, "That would be me, unless another chipmunk joined this school."
Then, Brittany started to laugh, and what the heck?!
Alvin had told jokes that were infinitely more funny that never got any reaction out of Brittany—not a giggle, smile, or chuckle—much less a full on laugh. So why was she laughing for him?
The new guy also wore a smile on his face. That guy! Laughing at his own joke that he knows isn't even funny, how arrogant!
"But in all seriousness," the guy said, "my name's Albert."
"I guess you must be super smart then," Alvin joked, but got no reaction. Figuring they just didn't understand it, he continued, "You got any relation to Einstein?"
Once again, no reaction was given. What's worse, he got an eye roll from Brittany. Now, he didn't want for anyone to laugh, because if they were laughing, they weren't laughing at the joke: they were laughing at him. And for the first time, Alvin realized he was falling off the end.
This new guy, Albert, was making Alvin beg for a laugh, something Alvin never had tried before. Of course he had tried to impress others with a joke, but never before had he felt like he was just in the peanut gallery, trying to make it on stage.
At this point, Alvin was so deep into a hole, that he knew he must show Albert who's boss around the school.
"Hey, so, Albert, I know you're new around here and all, but normally...ya know...I'm sitting where you are."
Alvin could've sworn he got the death glare from Albert, but his attention was quickly diverted to someone who definitely gave him a death glare: Brittany.
"Alvin, you are unbelievable, you know that?"
Those were the first words Brittany had spoken to Alvin since their fight. And even though Alvin was expecting nothing less from Brittany, it still hurt him. Don't you see I wanna sit there because you guys...you...are there?
He still really cared about her even though they fought a lot. After all, it's only because they're together a lot that they're able to fight a lot. And of course he cared for the chipettes and loved hanging out with his brothers.
But it wasn't just Brittany. Even though Brittany was the only one who said it, everyone else was thinking what Brittany had said.
"What?" Alvin said in defense. "It's just that...well...this is kinda my seat."
Instead of letting Albert, the one who took his seat, respond, Simon went on the attack. "Actually, it's not. You chose to sit with your football friends over there; he chose to come sit here with us."
And just like that, Simon took sides with the new guy instead of his own brother. Brittany, he had expected...but Simon?
The other chipmunks nodded their heads, and Alvin felt his whole world being shaken up. Everything as he knew it was changing, and not for the better.
"It's alright, guys," Albert sighed—a fake one, in Alvin's opinion. "I can sit somewhere else."
"No!" Brittany yelled. "I invited you here, and I won't let Alvin ruin your first day here by making you eat alone!"
Wow, she never stuck up like that for me. And rarely has she invited me anywhere.
He understood them—it was a new kid in school, a chipmunk at that, and they wanted to make friends. But they had to understand him too. They were family, weren't they?
And when he looked at his brothers and the chipettes, they were all giving him the cold shoulder as well. Albert just shrugged and stayed in his seat—showing he clearly had no intent to leave, despite his offer.
Were his brothers and the chipettes over Alvin? He knew that he could sometimes be a little...overbearing, but to treat him like this? Was this Albert guy Alvin's replacement?
Alvin, being kicked out, looked back at his old table to find his spot was taken. At least when he came back, his friends created room for him. They asked why Alvin went over there, but he just said that he wanted to "introduce" the new kid. No way would he say what just happened. And when they asked why he took his lunch, he just said that he was hungry and wanted to snack in the progress.
They bought it, and soon enough, lunch had ended.
The tension, however, had not.
