Dave was woken up around one in the morning by the sound of party horns and giddy laughing. Alvin had come home with another girl, fondling her on Dave's favorite armchair. The girl was around fifteen, Irish presenting and very drunk. Every time his brothers told the couple to get a room, Alvin obnoxiously blew his party horn for close to three minutes.

Dave was trying to find the sound while the younger two chipmunks made their way to his room. They accidentally crossed paths.

"Fellas," Dave asked. "Where is that noise coming from?"

"Alvin," the two brothers said in harmony.

"The woman had the noisemaker for sometime, right?" Theodore asked.

"Yes, the woman used it, but Alvin started it, and she's drugged," Simon replied.

"What?" Dave replied.

"Don't worry, we called the police," Theodore said.

"You called the police?" Dave asked, very surprised.

"Yes, because Alvin is raping a woman on the sofa," Simon replied. "If he uses your bed, we will have to get a hotel room until the investigations end."

"Go in my room, you need sleep for school tomorrow," Dave said, the brothers immediately obeying. He looked disgustedly at his furniture, then asked Alvin to explain the previous night.

"What are you talking about, I'm cool," Alvin replied. "Bec here said she could make me go wild, so I took her home."

Dave found the girl's ID card on the table, which read Christina O'Brien. It showed a blonde teen with green eyes and a terrible sunburn. He had no idea where Rebecca came from, but Alvin had a terrible time remembering names.

The house was a major mess the next morning. The police set up grids in the bedroom and living room, leaving only the home office, Dave's bedroom, and the kitchen spared. Alvin had been imprisoned with bail, the girl Christina sent to the hospital for several injuries. Dave did not want to bail out Alvin, despite the fact that he could afford to do so.

Simon and Theodore went to the Chipettes' tree house so they could get a peaceful sleep, since Ms. Miller was away. Simon complained that it was the second consecutive day they were absent, and his school bag was in the living room grid, leaving his homework. Brittany was the only one home, since Eleanor was in the hospital, and Jeanette had already left for school. Simon, already irritated, decided that now was the best time to tell Brittany about the incident with her youngest sister.

"Brittany?"

"Yes"

"Since you are home, there is something I would like to talk to you about."

"No problem, tell away"

"Your sister Eleanor is in the hospital due to something that happened two nights ago. Alvin-"

"Yeah, Dave is going to get payback for calling the police and ambulance"

"You know what happened"

"Yeah, she asked me to save her little ass, which wouldn't be right"

"When did she call"

"That night at seven"

"Why didn't you help her, you know Alvin better than anybody"

"Because it wasn't the right thing to do"

"Your morals are twisted backwards, try putting them forward"

"Okay, so I want a solo career, but the manager won't let us"

"Your sisters like singing in a group, so you are outnumbered"

"Yeah, he likes Ellie's voice, so I have to push her out somehow"

"So, instead of asking her to join another girl group or retire, you decided scandal would be better?"

"Yes, so much better."

"I don't understand your logic"

"My original plan was to leave her to bleed to death after. Alvin did it at your house because he wants a solo career, so to taint your reputation"

"Couldn't you two have talked to the record label instead? And is that why Alvin did it on Theodore's bed?"

"The media doesn't like civilities, so I wanted to give them a juicy story with twists and turns"

"Couldn't you just have made it up instead of trying to make it reality"

"No, it is so much sweeter to have revenge"

"I will tell your sisters"

"And ruin a perfectly good sabotage? No"

"Then you will be a co-conspirator in Alvin's trial"

"I know that I'll be a witness in his defence"

"Good luck trying"

Simon, tired of bickering, called the hospital to see how Eleanor was doing. Brittany nearly pried the telephone out of his hands once it started to ring.

"This is my house"

"Didn't your sisters help you build it?"

"Who cares?"

"They'll have to live out in the streets. My solo career will make money tight"

"It's a tree house. You don't have to pay property taxes or a mortgage"

"But I never enough money to spend on clothes"

"Aren't your sisters more important than your closet?"

That last question threw Brittany off guard. She wanted to say yes, but he'd know that she was lying. If she said no, he'd explain the psychology behind family bonds for the rest of the day. Instead, she looked at herself in the mirror while Simon took the call. Was she too short? Was her hair too unruly?

The boys left after the call, to Ms. Miller's house. Simon picked the lock, since even the Chipettes did not have keys. Theodore, tired from the past two nights, took a nap on the couch while Simon called the school.

"Hello, Nikola Tesla Junior High, how may I help you"

"I need to speak to guidance"

"Are you one of the freshmen"

"Yes"

"Any scheduling questions, or class information"

"No, I need to talk directly with my guidance counsellor"

"Last name?"

"Seville"

"She's in a meeting, but she'll be available after school"

"It's time sensitive, I need to talk to someone now"

"Is it about attendance?"

"Yes"

"I'll transfer you to the assistant principal"

The transfer music was much more annoying than a music box, but Simon had reached his peak level of annoyance already that day, and it was not even past noon. While waiting, he stroked the middle of the receiver.

"Hello, secretary's office. How may I help you?"

"I was being transferred to the assistant principal's office"

"Sorry, he's busy"

"Are you in charge of attendance, or should I speak to his secretary"

"You can ask general questions, like tardies here"

"I'm trying to explain the absences of myself, my brothers, and my friends"

"You should ask your father to do that"

"He's at work"

"That's too bad, you're not allowed to do that for another two years. The handbook states that minors under fourteen cannot speak directly to administrators via telephone or perform tasks via telephone that were forbidden in elementary school"

"It's very serious matter. Can I tell you to pass the message along to the assistant principal?"

"No, you are not allowed to do that. What would be serious to a twelve-year old?"

"Alvin committed aggravated rape on one of our friends"

"Why would a twelve-year old do that? It's not a crime. He's twelve"

"What about support services for the victim?"

"Wait until high school"

"She was raped the other day, and you're telling me to wait three years?"

"How old is the friend?"

"Same age"

"They can't consent"

"She refused. Is that enough?"

"How?"

"She was tied up, and there is severe rope burn, which indicates that she was trying to move away from him"

"They were just playing"

"Just playing? She was tied to a bed, naked and profusely bleeding"

"You're just exaggerating"

"Most of the bleeding was coming from her genitals"

"How dare you use that word"

"You signed us up for health. Remember? And there's a unit on sexual health"

"Tell you father to call me. Handbook rules"

With the final beep, Simon felt discouraged. He just wanted to help Eleanor, but why was it that hard? He looked at his younger brother sleeping on the couch, and decided that he needed to sleep as well.