Chapter 13- The Not so Grand Opening
Tuesday
July 17th, 1990
7:32 am
Dave Seville stared at the keys of his piano. A couple of days ago, Ian gave him permission to write an original song for the Chipmunks and Chipettes for the first time in forever. After finally getting the chance to do his favorite thing, the man realized that he had no clue what he should write. A love song, a song for parties, one that discusses important issues? He didn't know where to begin. He fiddled with the keys for a bit, hoping some inspiration would finally appear, but his mind was blank. Dave slumped onto the piano in frustration, how was he going to write a new song for Ian by the end of the week?
Just then, his "nephew" (he guessed), DJ coughed behind him. "Good morning, Dave" DJ greeted awkwardly "Are you busy right now?"
Dave lifted his head up feeling quite drowsy "I should be, but I guess not"
DJ found his grandfather's behavior quite concerning "Is everything alright? You seem a bit down"
"Oh I'm fine" Dave answered unauthentically "It's just Ian is finally allowing me to write an original song again, but it's been two days, and I have come up with nothing! And it's due at the end of the week!"
DJ found the news surprising, especially because he was sure that his family's bands were done performing original songs by this point. "Wow, that great!" DJ said "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something. You're a great songwriter, after all!"
"Thanks DJ" Dave responded, feeling a bit better "But it needs to be a hit, you really think I can come up with one in less than a few days?"
Then it hit DJ, Dave wasn't going to succeed in writing a good enough song by the end of the week. If he did, then the song would've existed by DJ's time. But it didn't, and DJ felt a bit of guilt because of it. "I know you can" he lied, kicking himself when he said it.
"Thank you, DJ" Dave smiled "I really needed to hear that"
"Oh, by the way" DJ remembered why he came to see his grandfather in the first place "What time are we leaving for the grand opening?"
"Oh that isn't until 10" Dave answered "Though we should get the girls to come over to rehearse. It was sudden news after all. To think that that Mall is finally opening. I thought my hair would turn grey before that happened"
"I'm new around here so I wouldn't know" DJ said, which was opposite from the truth. He had been to that mall plenty of times; he never thought he would get to see the grand opening of it "Cool that the girls are coming over, though. Theodore too, I'm assuming"
Dave nodded his head, "I have to say, it was kinda strange how abruptly he wanted to sleep over with the girls by himself. Usually him and his brothers would do it together, it seems like he is scared of this house at night for some reason. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
DJ shook his head "I don't know anymore than you do". He had noticed that his shorter uncle had been acting strange, and his aunt too. He didn't have the time to figure out why though, as he was too focused with his parents.
"I guess I shouldn't worry too much. I doubt Theodore is up to anything bad" Dave sighed as he got up "I'll call Ms. Miller to send them over"
Just then, Alvin and Simon appeared. "The girls are coming over?!" Alvin cried.
"Of course, Alvin" Dave responded sarcastically "They were invited too. Brittany has already forgiven you, what seems to be the problem?"
Surprisingly, Simon was the one to answer "You see Dave, me and Alvin regretted how we treated Jeanette and Brittany, yesterday"
Dave was flabbergasted "What do you mean? You literally saved their lives!"
"Yeah" Alvin began as he cringed a bit "But I still basically told Britt that I was only treating her nice for selfish reasons"
"And I haven't been the most considerate of Jeanette's feelings" Simon added somberly "What we're saying is that we had hurt their feelings"
"Boys" Dave chuckled "After what you did yesterday, there's no way the girl are still mad at you about that. They have definitely have forgiven you by now"
"Yeah" Alvin's head slumped over "but we haven't forgiven ourselves".
Simon nodded in agreement.
DJ was listening the entire time, and let out a big sigh. Maybe this was the thing was preventing his existence. "Guys seriously, don't worry about it" DJ assured "If anything, I bet that Brittany and Jeanette can't wait to see you"
Meanwhile at the Miller redesidence, Brittany and Jeanette were frantically running around their messy kitchen. "God, why do we have to see the boys so soon" cried Brittany as she stirred in a bowl a little too fast, causing the batter to spill.
"Yeah, how are we supposed to finish in time" Jeanette said as she was carefully carried a carton of eggs. And to the surprise of no one, she tripped over a cup on the floor, causing the eggs to fly upwards and fall right onto her.
"Jeanette!" Brittany yelled. She then dropped the bowl on the counter and ran over to her sister, and she slipped on a stick of butter that had mistakenly ended up on the ground. The pink chipette knocked right into the purple chipette, and both of them felt dazed. Brittany then looked down to her dress and shrieked when she saw it was a completely dirty. "Oh, my dress!" Brittany sobbed.
Just then, Ms. Miller, Eleanor, and Theodore came running in. "Girls" Ms. Miller panicked "What's wrong?!"
They all gasped when they saw that not only was the kitchen was all messy, but that Brittany and Jeanette were messes as well. "Hi Miss Miller..." Brittany greeted nervously.
"What's going on here?" Miss Miller asked in a sassy tone.
Eleanor then gasped "My cooking equipment!". The light green chipette then went around the room and grabbed all of her dirty equipment. "Jeez, see why I'm the one who cooks in this house?!" she asked her sister sarcastically.
"We're sorry, Eleanor" Jeanette said softly "We didn't mean to make such a mess"
"Why are you two cooking anyway?" Theodore asked innocently "Is it a special occasion?"
Brittany let out a sigh as she got up and helped Jeanette onto her feet "Yesterday, you guys saved us from the rollercoaster, and we want to show our thanks"
"Especially Simon and Alvin" Jeanette added as she poked her index fingers together "We feel bad for lashing out at them, thinking that they didn't care about us. So we thought we could bake a cake"
"Emphasis on 'thought'" Brittany scolded herself as she covered her face in shame "The boys save our lives, and we can't even give them a simple treat. They don't deserve friends like us". Jeanette gave her a hug, feeling shameful as well.
"Oh" Ms. Miller muttered sympathetically as she knelt down to give her messy daughters a hug "You don't need to feel guilty about anything. I believe you two being safe is all that the boys want". The two chipettes weren't completely convinced, but they felt a bit better. "Now go upstairs and clean yourselves up" their mother commanded "Can't be looking like that for the grand opening"
"Don't have to tell me twice" Brittany muttered. She and Jeanette then dragged their feet upstairs.
Eleanor was washing her cooking equipment in the sink, looking quite crossed, while Theodore stood next to her "I swear to god, Teddy. Ever since that DJ showed up, trouble seems to be springing left and right"
Theodore nodded in agreement, everything was fairly normal until the maroon chipmunk showed up "I know, Ellie, but what are we going to do about it? We don't even know how or why he is causing all of this"
"Then we're going to find out" Eleanor turned to her boyfriend, throwing the last equipment she washed on the drying rack "Whatever he's planning, we'll put a stop to it!"
About a half an hour later, Theodore and The Miller's arrived nextdoor. After Miss Miller rang the doorbell, Dave came and opened the door "Good Morning, ladies. And I hoped Theodore wasn't much of a hassle, like he ever is"
"Oh, Theodore was a saint as per usual" Miss Miller sang "He's a real gentleman, especially to his little sweetheart, Eleanor"
"Sweetheart?" Dave asked in a happy tone.
Eleanor had taken her manager's tone the wrong way. "That's right, Dave" she said sassily as he wrapped herself around Theodore "We're getting married too, and there's nothing you can to stop us"
Dave was a little taken aback by the blonde's mood, but found it cute. "Okay, Eleanor" He smiled as he patted her and Theodore on the head "Just promise you'll wait until both of you finish college"
"Very well" Eleanor agreed as she stuck up her nose. She then escorted Theodore inside, who was confused to what just happened.
"Um, Dave" Jeanette asked as she tugged on the man's shirt for attention "Where is Simon and Alvin?"
"Oh, They are in the living room" Dave answered.
Brittany let out a sigh and started to drag her sister inside "Come on, Jeanette"
Dave scratched his head as the girls disappeared around the corner "Is everything alright with Brittany and Jeanette, Miss Miller?"
"Oh, they're just nervous to see the boys again" Ms. Miller answered "They feel like they owe them for saving their lives"
Dave let out a chuckle "Funny you said that, Alvin and Simon feel guilty for how they treated the girls"
Miss Miller let out of laugh "They may be the oldest, but they sure are silly"
In the living room, Simon was pacing back and forward while Alvin sat on the couch silently. DJ was standing in the corner, patiently waiting for his mom, uncle, and aunts to show up. Meanwhile, Theodore and Eleanor were peeking at him from the hallway.
"What are you planning, you E.T want to be" Eleanor whispered.
Theodore decided to look around, and spotted the door to the garage. "Ellie, him and Simon were working on the strange machine" whispered Theodore "We should check it out". The blonde nodded and the two small teens then made their way to the mysterious contraption.
Back in the living room, Brittany and Jeanette finally entered. "Hello guys" Brittany greeted sheepishly.
"Girls!" Alvin yelled as he shot up from the couch. He and Simon then ran over to the chipettes.
"Come with us, you must be exhausted" Simon greeted as he and Alvin escorted their respective counterpart to the couch, and sitting them down.
"Can we get you two drinks?" Alvin offered. Brittany was going to decline, but before she could even get the chance, the brothers ran off to the kitchen and quickly returned with glasses of water. They passed them to their best friends, who just accepted them awkwardly.
"Thank you?" Jeanette muttered, trying to be polite. Simon and Alvin smiled, feeling like they did a good job. They then sat next to their best friends.
"Oh" Brittany gasped "How rude of us, we should get you something as well"
Then the sisters went over to the armchair and grabbed a couple of pillows that were placed there. They then returned to the couch and fluffed them and placed them behind their counterparts' heads.
"There, comfortable?" Jeanette asked as she sat down again.
"Yes" Simon nodded "Thank you". Then all 4 teens smiled at each other awkwardly.
DJ looked onwards in confusion "Okay?...". He felt like he was missing something, and it frustrated him. Let the drama pursue once more.
Theodore and Eleanor entered the garage and slowly crept up to the concealed machine. "What do you think it is" Theodore whispered "Simon said it's dangerous"
"Then we better be careful" Eleanor responded. Theodore nodded, and then they stood only a couple away from the mysterious object. The two of them then gently placed their hands on the tarp and pulled it up. They were shocked to see it was a car, but it was curvey and strange looking. It didn't look like any car they had seen before.
"What is that?" Theodore asked nervously.
"If I have to guess, it's DJ's spaceship" Eleanor answered.
"Spaceship?!" Theodore yelped "But why does it have wheels?"
"I don't know, Teddy. It's alien technology" Eleanor responded.
Just then, they heard Dave yell out "Kids!". It sounded like he was calling them from his studies.
"Come on, Teddy" Eleanor beckoned as she placed the tarp down "We can't let DJ know we found his spaceship"
All the chipmunks arrived at Dave's studies at roughly the same time. Dave and Miss Miller were already there, and there were instruments set out. "Alright kids" Dave began "I got a call from Ian and apparently you all are going to perform at the grand opening. I already picked out a couple of songs, so we can start rehearsing now"
"You better not have picked Yankee Doodle" Alvin sneared.
"Of course not Alvin" Dave answered, annoyed with his troublemaking son as per usual "Since it's a celebration, I thought we could perform, well, Celebration"
"Oh I love that song" Brittany sang "Remember we sang that together when we first transferred to your school, Alvin"
"I sure do" Alvin smiled back, he then shifted his eyes "Would it make you really happy if we performed it?"
Brittany coughed nervously "Well, only if you want to"
Everyone looked at them confused. "Not to be rude but we're going to perform it regardless if you want to or not" Dave said bankly.
This was when DJ decided to cut in "Hey Dave, what should I do?"
"I'm not sure DJ" Dave shrugged "Can you play any instruments?"
"Not...really" DJ answered as he scratched the back of his head.
"Well I'm sure we can find something for you to do" Dave assured. Hearing that caused the maroon teen to look at the ground, feeling guilty that he couldn't help in anyway.
Miss Miller saw this, and she patted him on the back "I know how you feel, deary. But being there to support our family is as important as everything else". DJ just nodded somberly.
After an hour of performing, they felt prepared. They made their way to the garage to the van. DJ could see that his parents, and bespectacled uncle and aunt were still acting weird around each other. But that wasn't the only thing he noticed, as the tarp to the Tesla looked lopsided. And Theodore and Eleanor noticed that he noticed, and for a moment they felt nervous. But DJ decided he was seeing things and shrugged off, to the relief of the small teens.
This time, all of the chipmunks were paired up with their counterparts (except for DJ, of course), but everyone was completely silent. They drove all the way to the Bagdasarian Mall in about 10 minutes. Once they arrive, all there was a crowd of people were already there, as well as a stage. And Behind that was the entrance to the brand new mall, which was blocked off by a long ribbon. Dave drove around the back, and once they all exited, they were greeted by a familiar face.
"Whatsapp, my chips!" Ian said enthusiastically. "Uncle Ian!" almost all the chipmunks cheered.
Alvin couldn't stand still, and ran up to his producer "Hey uncle Ian, did you see what I did yesterday?"
"I sure did" Ian smiled insincerely "To think the public went from hating your guts to loving them in a span of two days"
"Here that, guys" Alvin turned to his co-stars "the public loves my guts"
"Phrasing Alvin" Simon sarcastically remarked "phrasing"
The red capped teen rolled his eyes at his brother, it wasn't surprising to him that Simon would give him a comment about his ego. He then realized something, "Wait, so would Brittany!". He then went to check on the pink chipette. "Of course, the public loves you too, Britt"
"Well, duh" Brittany whipped her hair in arrogance. She then realized what she did and tried to turn it around "But thank you for saying that, Alvin"
"Okay" Ian uttered in confusion "regardless, it's great that you guy's popularity is back on top"
"It's also great that Alvin and Brittany are being nice to each other" Dave added, feeling annoyed that Ian was yet again only concerned about the successes.
"Yeah, that too" Ian pretended to agree "Oh Simon, though you're not getting as much attention, everyone did notice how you saved Jeanette"
Simon just rolled his eyes, not even wanting to be around a crook he once trusted.
"Um, Simon" Ian asked, yet again Simon seemed to be mad with him, and he didn't know why. Because of his poor character, he was determined to pry it out of the chipmunk "Hey Simon, I'm talking to you. Simon!"
"He doesn't want to talk to you" DJ spat as he comforted his uncle. Everyone was quite shocked that Simon was acting so rude to Ian.
"Simon, what's going on?" Dave asked in a demanding tone. His bespectacled son refused to answer. No one was sure what to do next.
"Welp" Ian decides to break the silence "Whatever you're mad with me about, I'm sorry. Are you guys ready to perform?"
"Yeah" almost all the children cheered. Simon was still refusing to speak.
"Simon" Dave asked "Are going to perform?"
The blue teen sighed "Yes, Dave"
"Alright!" Ian cheered "I'm going to answer some questions for the news. We'll start the show in five minutes". Ian then ran off, leaving everyone to turn their heads to Simon.
"Jeez, Si" Brittany put her hands on her hips "What's yanking your tall?"
"I'm sorry, Simon" Theodore began to say "But I'm going to have to side with Brittany. You should really apologize to Ian"
Simon looked away from everyone, feeling crossed. DJ was the only person who knew why Simon now hated Ian. He remembered that his uncle told him to not tell anyone the truth about their producer, to not alter the timeline. He could see that Simon was in a morally ambiguous situation, and felt bad dragging him into it. So DJ decided to help him out "Look, Simon is still mad that Ian said that he and the others weren't as big as stars as Alvin and Brittany"
Simon was surprised to hear his nephew had answered for him, but he was thankful nevertheless.
"Oh I see" Dave said "I see why you're mad Simon, I'll talk to Ian about it later. For now, let's get on stage"
As they walked to the stage, Jeanette decided to approach her best friend, as she was fully convinced with Dave's explanation "Simon, are you really just mad at Ian because of what he said?"
Simon was done trying to pretend that he wasn't hiding anything from her so he gave in "To be honest not really. Don't get me wrong, I didn't like it when he said that, but there's a lot more to it than that. Unfortunately, I can't tell you"
Jeanette sighed "Oh. I just wish you could tell me why you're keeping secrets"
"Yeah, me too" Simon said softly.
Meanwhile, Ian went to the left side of the Mall. He looked around to see if anyone was around before continuing forward. There he walked up to a news van. Crystal Cameron then came out of the van with Fred holding the camera, while Gary exited from the driver's seat. "So, mind telling me how your goons failed so horribly on getting dirt on those chipmunks?" Ian asked rudely.
"Sorry for my employees' incompetence, Mr. Hawke" Crystal said, afraid of losing his trust "But to make up for it, we do have a plan, and I think you're going to love it"
"Yeah, Mr. Hank" Fred nodded "Our boss always have great ideas"
"Shut up, Fred" Crystal glared at her cameraman "Like I was saying, have you noticed their cousin visiting?"
"Yeah" Ian responded bluntly "He's not nearly as talented as the others, but he's harmless"
"But have you noticed how he looks exactly like Alvin?" Crystal argued.
"I mean yeah" Ian continued "The boys look very identical. I don't know why, but the girls have like hair, and they don't. What's up with that?"
"That's not important" the reporter continued "What's important is that boy looks exactly like Alvin, and we can use this to our advantage"
Ian looked at her in suspicion "like what?" She then began to whisper something in his ears "Oh, I like that". He then smiled evilly.
Back by the stage, everyone waited patiently for the show to begin. Then finally, William Bux came onto the stage and began to speak through a microphone "Hello everyone, thank you for coming to the grand opening of the Bagdasarian Mall!". The crowd started to cheer loudly, and it caused the billionaire to chuckle "Now we all know how long it took to build the damn thing"the crowd laugh "but I'm happy to say it's all done and ready for all your needs. There's a movie theater" this grabbed Alvin attention "A JC Penny" then Brittany "A shop for science equipment" then Simon "A book store" then Jeanette "An ice cream parlor" then Theodore "And a toy store" and lastly Eleanor.
"Hey!" A man rudely yelled out from the crowd "Where're the Chipmunks?"
"And the Chipettes" a woman also yelled out.
"Ah yes, the Chipmunks and Chipettes" Will said as he tugged on his tie nervously "They certainly have been making the rounds lately, and I see no better way to celebrate the grand opening than to have them perform and be the first visitors of my brand new mall. Everyone, The Chipmunks and the Chipettes!"
And right on cue, the teens (minus DJ) came running on stage. They waved to the crowd, who were cheering like crazy. Theodore set himself up into the drums, as Alvin grabbed his electric guitar, and Simon grabbed his bass guitar. Jeanette also took her keytar, and Eleanor took her tambourine. Finally Brittany took her sparkly microphone. Theodore tapped his sticks together "1 2 3 4". And they started to play and Sing:
Yahoo! This is your celebration
Yahoo! This is your celebration
Celebrate good times, come on!
(Brittany)Let's celebrate
Celebrate good times, come on!
(Brittany)Let's celebrate
There's a party goin' on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you
Come on now
Celebration
Let's all celebrate and have a good time
Celebration
We gonna celebrate and have a good time
It's time to come together
It's up to you, what's your pleasure
Everyone around the world
Come on!
Yahoo! It's a celebration
Yahoo!
Celebrate good times, come on!
It's a celebration
Celebrate good times, come on!
Let's celebrate
We're gonna have a good time tonight
Let's celebrate, it's all right
We're gonna have a good time tonight
Let's celebrate, it's all right, baby
We're gonna have a good time tonight (Ce-le-bra-tion)
Let's celebrate, it's all right
We're gonna have a good time tonight (Ce-le-bra-tion)
Let's celebrate, it's all right
Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Celebrate good times, come on!
(Brittany) Let's celebrate
Celebrate good times, come on!
It's a celebration!
Celebrate good times, come on!
(Brittany)Let's celebrate
Come on and celebrate, tonight
(Celebrate good times, come on!)
'Cause everything's gonna be alright
Let's celebrate (Celebrate good times, come on)
(Let's celebrate)
(Celebrate good times, come on!)
Celebration
They finished performing and everyone started to cheer. The teens then bowed, and eventually the cheering died down. "Excellent performance!" Will congratulated.
"And Thank you for inviting us, Mr. Bux" Alvin announced on his speaker.
"Please, call me Will" the billionaire requested "Alvin you have gone from being the most hated person in America to hero of the summer. And for your growth of becoming a better person, I think you should do the honor of cutting the ribbon". He then handed Alvin a pair of giant gold scissors, who found it quite heavy for someone his size.
"Wow, really?!" Alvin grinned. He looked over to Brittany, who gave him an assuring nod. They gave each other a warm smile, and Alvin went over a cut the rope.
"The Bagdasarian Mall is officially open!" Will cried. Everyone cheered and immediately shoved themselves inside. DJ was the only one not eager to enter. Afterall, he had already been in there thousands of time, or at least will. Once everyone else managed to get inside, he started to make his way as well, until he heard someone calling for him from behind.
"Hey kid" DJ turned around and saw it was Ian "How have you been liking America so far"
The maroon chipmunk felt nervous, wondering why the bald man wanted to talk to him "Um… I've been having a wonderful time, great country you got here" (As if a real Canadian would ever say something like that).
"Glad to hear it" Ian said, then he knelt down to DJ and started to whisper "Listen, you can be honest with me. Why did you suddenly decide to meet your cousins, if you even are their cousin?"
DJ backed away "What are you saying?"
"Come on, kid" Ian taunted "We both know your just posing as the Chipmunks cousin so you can get some of that dough"
"Screw you, you bald boomer" DJ spat "I am so related to them. How come I look so much like Alvin then?"
"What cousins look like twins?" Ian objected "Alvin's brothers sorta look like him, but Simon got glasses, and Theodore is fat. Face it, I know you're just a look a like"
"You don't know anything about me!" DJ fired back.
"Well how about this?" Ian began "I want to strike a deal with you, I can give you more money than your cousins could ever have"
"And for what price?" the headphone wearing teen asked angrily.
Ian then snickered, "I'll give you a million dollars if you help me frame David Seville by posing as Alvin. How does that sound?"
DJ was absolutely applauded "You are disgusting. And for the record, I know what you did to Theodore's drawing, I even told Simon. And now I'm going to tell everyone about who you're truly are"
"Oh yeah…" Ian said, who was surprisingly unfazed "And who are they going to believe? The Canadian they just met, or the uncle they have known for years. I'll even accuse you of being a faker. Are you sure you want to go down that road?"
DJ clenched his fists, as much as he hated to admit it, Ian was right. "I'll stop you, I don't know how, but I will stop you, no matter what". He then turned around and walked right into the mall.
"God damn it" Ian cursed. Sure he was able to threaten the kid, but now he was at more risk of losing the chipmunks.
Crystal and her goons showed up "How did it go?"
"Horribly" Ian answered bluntly "Because it was a horrible plan"
"You mean he actually turned down a million dollars?!" Crystal said in disbelief.
"Yeah, and apparently him and Simon already know about my true nature" Ian frowned "No more screwing around. We need to bring the big guns, and keep an eye on that damn maroon chipmunk. He's going to be trouble"
Ian is now pulling no punches, what are the bad guys going to do? And what shenanigans will the Chipmunks and Chipettes will encounter in the brand new mall? Find out next time, where we'll explore the mall!