Resume at Last Scene

Alvin, by the end of the day, found himself at the bottom of the social ladder.

When the school saw how Alvin fell out of popularity within the band, he quickly fell out of popularity within the school. It's crazy, Alvin thought, how quickly one's status can change. Alvin's friends soon unfriended him because he was "no longer the cool dude" he used to be.

Albert, on the other hand, quickly rose in popularity. He was now the center of attention after winning the "social-standing" fight against Alvin. He was now free to use the same tricks he used on Alvin's brothers and the chipettes. The same tricks Alvin used to be popular. The same tricks many use to be popular.

Did Alvin think Albert was an evil mastermind? No, because Alvin is no evil mastermind. While it may sound like Albert plotted his whole "rise to popularity" out, he probably didn't. Many people on the high-ends of the ladder didn't plan anything; it's just that, with the wrong motives, people do wrong without realizing it.

Albert probably didn't even plan to replace Alvin at first, but it was quickly in Albert's best interest to make "friends" with Alvin's brothers and the chipettes. And ultimately, through the fault of Alvin, Albert replaced him, just like Simon said.

Alvin quickly found out the lies of the social ladder. He realized too late that he had no true friends. To be popular or to remain popular was like Battle Royale. If you try to help someone going down, you're going down too. It's every man for himself, so Albert and Alvin's friends could be in "good" conscience with themself even after what they did to Alvin. I have to look out for myself instead of others first.

It's a cold, sad reality that Alvin had to face at his school, but that's what happens when you want to be popular: you become self-centered and don't think about much else.

Just as Albert and Alvin were deceitful, self-centered, and indifferent of others, so too were his friends. Andy, Knox, Julian, and Xavier...sure, he love to hang out with all of them, but there was something missing that caused their friendship to be incomplete: caring.

Alvin's friends didn't help him when he needed help with Brittany, just like how Alvin wouldn't help Dave when he needed something done.

It was no wonder his brothers and the chipettes didn't like him. Just as he hated Albert for being deceitful, self-centered, and indifferent to others, his brothers could also hate him for being the exact same.

Now, all that Alvin was left with was the question of: Why would they replace me with Albert if Albert is the same as me?

Whatever it was, Albert did something to them. It was like they were new people. Alvin would, surprisingly, get his answer from Brittany, but that would be much, much later.

But as for now, Alvin could see his brothers and the chipettes rise to fame.

Simon and Jeanette were able to climb the ladder by showing cool science experiments. Rarely, Simon told him previously, did he use his science abilities to impress others. But here he was, doing what he said he never would.

Theodore and Eleanor were able to climb the ladder by helping on tests and homework. It was really frustrating, Alvin thought, to see Theodore and Eleanor being taken advantage of, especially when they think they're doing something good.

Brittany was able to climb even higher after rumors about her and Albert dating started to fly. He couldn't tell for sure if it was true, but his heart acted as though it was true. He wanted to tell Brittany to not fall for his lies, but then again, had he been much different?

As for Albert, he was able to climb the ladder by replacing what Alvin was. He had already done so within the band, but now, he was doing so within the school. He was no different than Alvin, only using different approaches to impress others like Alvin had. Still though, no one realized, except for Alvin.

Alvin was no longer "the cool one." He wasn't even an average student anymore, he was worse. He was a loser, at least according to many. And Alvin deserved it. Albert deserved some karma too, but Alvin didn't even have a voice—socially speaking—if he wanted to speak up about him.


Two Weeks Later

Dave figured it out pretty quickly. He noticed how Alvin and his brothers were always at odds with each other. He noticed how they rarely talked, much less played, with each other anymore. He noticed how his house was divided.

He was the most concerned about Alvin. Dave noticed how Alvin would always be thinking about something that made himself uneasy. It was like Alvin wanted to do, to say, so much more than he could. This was not the Alvin he knew.

So Dave finally decided to step in and put his son on the right path forward. It was a Saturday night, and Simon and Theodore were out of the house—which, by the way, they would never tell Dave about anymore, but that would be another conversation. With them gone, there should be no arguing in the house.

Dave knocked on Alvin's door. "Alvin? Can I come in?"

He heard a "yeah" in reply, so he opened the door. At least whatever was happening to Alvin didn't seem to affect him too much. His son didn't seem depressed: he wasn't overeating, he was still doing his normal grades at school, and he was still getting his exercise.

It was more like Alvin was just constantly lost. It was like something had been taken away from him, but could not be gotten back.

"Has everything been alright?" Dave asked. "I've noticed you and your brothers aren't hanging out as much anymore."

Dave knew that no, everything was not alright. But it was a good introduction to get to know what was going wrong for Alvin.

The look on Alvin's face was not one of worry or panic, so Dave expected to hear the truth from Alvin, which is something he couldn't always say about Alvin. After a minute of silence, Alvin spoke.

"We've just…" Alvin sighed, not knowing how to say it, "I don't know...we've just drifted away, I guess."

"But how do you drift away from your brothers at your age?"

Alvin, who was sitting on his bed and not even looking at Dave, rubbed his eyes with his hand. He didn't know how he would tell Dave, but he deserved to know. He wanted to get Dave's help, but he didn't know how to do it.

He sat up on his bed and faced Dave. "Grab a seat, it's a long story."

Dave grabbed a seat, immediately realizing that this would be a father/son moment. Rarely did he get those from Alvin, so he was excited but still very nervous about what Alvin was going to say.

"Did you know we have a new chipmunk at our school?" Alvin asked once Dave got a chair.

Dave gave Alvin a look that seemed to imply that Alvin was crazy, so Alvin took it as a no. He was shocked to see that his brothers never told Dave.

"Do you know a guy named Albert?" Alvin asked again.

"Actually," Dave mentioned, "now that you say it, I have been hearing your brothers saying that they are hanging out with Albert a lot lately."

Alvin nodded his head. "Yup, that's the chipmunk."

"Wow, uh, alright, but what does that matter?"

"Si, Theo, and the chipettes are really good friends with him, but I don't really like him that much."

Alvin wanted to tell Dave the truth, but he would do so simply. There was a lot of drama to tell Dave about, but Alvin didn't want to tell Dave everything quite yet. It could be overbearing on him.

"Oh," Dave said.

"Yeah," Alvin replied. "They hang out a lot, but I don't want to hang out with him."

Dave understood Alvin's troubles. "You'll meet many people in life, Alvin. Some folks seem good, but are actually bad. Some folks seem bad, but have a good heart. And some good folks are actually good, and some bad folks are actually bad."

Dave looked at Alvin and realized Alvin was confused with all the "good" and "bad" he was saying. "Basically, Alvin, it's up to you to sort through the good and bad, and choose the good."

"There's a lot more to the story, Dave," Alvin confessed, "than a person being good or bad. But it's so complex, I don't even know how to start."

"That's alright, Alvin."

He looked up at Dave, who wore a smile on his face. He had expected Dave to want to know everything, but he didn't.

"I'm here to help you," Dave said, "so I'll always be ready to help. But remember: Good people make good friends."

Dave left the room, closed the door, and sighed.

"Kids," he said to himself, "so much drama."


Monday Morning

Dave was right...Dave was so right!

He needed to sort the good from the bad. His friends had all been bad. Maybe they weren't bad people, but they were bad friends. They were uncaring, unhelping, and deceiving friends. It was no surprise, though, since Alvin never looked for true friends: he looked for popular friends.

Alvin knew he had to make a change. He needed to get the good friends in life and get rid of the bad. Fortunately, he already had no more bad friends. Unfortunately, he also had no more good friends. He would be starting from scratch.

He also knew that he himself had been a bad friend—a bad son, bad brother, bad boyfriend. He had to change his attitude for the better—he couldn't be what his friends were to him.

He and Albert could no longer be the same.

"If I can't win being friends the wrong way," he said to himself, putting on a shirt, "I'll have to be friends the right way."

And hopefully, Brittany, Simon, Theodore, Jeanette, and Eleanor will all see the truth of Albert, and see the change of Alvin.


Hey guys! Normally, I don't do any A/N's because I feel it's a little pointless at times, but I wanted to say to all of you that in these next chapters, we will see a lot more of Alvin in action, instead of just Alvin in thinking. In case you haven't noticed, we've covered all the events that were said in the summary of this story. Now, we'll see how Alvin makes a change, and how he could possibly fix his relationship with his brothers, the chipettes, and dare I say it, Brittany. Especially with Brittany... I say that this is the informal end of Act I!

(Any questions or comments are welcomed, either by review or PM.)