The following day at school, Alvin felt like a million dollars, in more ways than one. As he accidentally mentioned to Theodore, he was going to blow money on the new girl, Roberta. Roberta had shiny, dark brown hair, with rich, chocolate-colored eyes, and a simple black outfit. Something about her seemed rather mysterious, and Alvin liked it, and figured he should have a chance to personally denounce any rumors that may have surfaced about him being a bit of a swinger.
"Hello, Roberta." Alvin said, as he approached her at her locker, while fiddling with the bill of his beloved red cap.
"Oh... Alvin, hi..." Roberta responded, surprised to see him.
"And how does this day find you?" Alvin asked.
"Oh... pretty good." Roberta said.
"It's rough moving to a new school, isn't it?" Alvin asked. "Having to adjust to new teachers, new friends, a whole new environment..."
"Does it show that bad?" Roberta asked.
"Huh?"
Roberta sighed. "It always takes me forever to get used to a new things... I just... don't adapt well to change..."
"Why you don't tell me more about it over lunch?" Alvin asked.
"Um... well..." Roberta began.
"My treat!" Alvin said.
"Can you afford to pay for two lunches?"
"Are you kidding? I'm independantly wealthy!"
"Wow... I heard you came from a well off family..."
"Family has nothing to do with it, so what do you say?"
"Well... okay... I suppose..."
Later that afternoon, when the lunch bell rang, Alvin carried two trays of food towards the only table he could find where no other kids were already sitting. "Allow me..." Alvin pulled a hankerchief from his pocket, and wiped down Roberta's seat for her.
"Thanks..." Roberta said, intrigued by Alvin's gesture.
"So, tell me about yourself!" Alvin said, as he took his own seat.
"Why?" Roberta asked.
"I'd like to hear about you," Alvin told her, "I'd like to get to know you."
"Why?" Roberta asked.
"Why not?" Alvin asked.
"Well..." Roberta began.
"Alright, if you don't want to talk about yourself, you don't have to, fine with me..." Alvin said, really drawn to Roberta's mysteriousness.
"Ugh, Alvin's spending time with another fluzy?" Brittany asked, observing the two from another table.
"That's not a nice thing to say, Brittany." Jeanette said.
"Figuring every other girl in this grade, let alone this school has already rejected him, Alvin's only alternative is Roberta, considering she's new and everything." Simon said.
"Boy, Alvin must be desperate," Brittany continued, "she's not even pretty to begin with."
"Oh, she's beautiful." Jeanette argued.
"You don't have to be preppy and outlandish to be attractive, Brittany," Eleanor added, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
"These smiley faced fries taste terrible." Theodore said.
"They should be frowney faced fries then." Brittany remarked.
Back to Alvin and Roberta, Alvin was still trying to strike up a conversation with Roberta, but she was being so standoffish, Alvin was beginning to grow a little annoyed. "So, what's your favorite subject here?" Alvin asked her, running out of ideas to talk about that don't involve himself.
"Reading". Roberta said.
Alvin tried not to groan, reading was one of his least favorite subjects, as far as reading is concerned, he'd rather read something like an issue of Sports Illustrated, or the comic books he was still waiting for in the mail.
"You?" Roberta asked.
"Gym class!" Alvin said. "Matter of fact, I happen to be on the basketball team, we have another game Friday night if that's of any interest to you."
"Um, not really." Roberta said.
Alvin almost had it, Roberta was dull. Duller than dirt. "Well... um... you... you want to get together after school and hang out?" Alvin asked.
"Are you asking me out?" Roberta asked.
"Yes." Alvin said, before he realized it. "No."
"Um, look Alvin... you're quite the local celebrity here..." Roberta said.
"Well..." Alvin said with a smile.
"But... I um... I don't... really... go out..." Roberta said.
"I see..." Alvin said, frowning, "parents won't let you, huh?"
"Partly," Roberta said, "but it's more something else really."
"What?" Alvin asked.
"It doesn't really matter." Roberta said, anxiously waiting for the bell to ring again, dismissing everyone from lunch.
"But I'm such a nice guy!" Alvin said, assuming Roberta didn't like him, and wasn't saying so.
"It's not you, it's me." Roberta said, just as the bell rang. "Bye." Roberta grabbed her tray, and left the table, leaving a bummed Alvin to sulk over the food he hadn't even eaten, since he was too preoccupied trying to converse with her.
"Six dollars down the drain..." Alvin moaned, in reference to buying both his and her lunches. "Oh well, I'm good for it."
After school that day, Alvin was sitting on his bed, counting the money in the box once again.
"I don't see why you feel we should be surprised Roberta 'rejected' you." Simon mentioned.
"What woman wouldn't reject me?" Alvin asked. "Besides, it wouldn't have worked out anyway."
"Why?" Simon asked. "Because Dave told you to stop flirting with girls at school?"
"No, she was dull." Alvin said.
"Dull?" Theodore asked.
"Like talking to a brick wall," Alvin said, "I tried to act like I was interested in her, but she wouldn't talk about herself."
"Bringing back to mind the fact that you were reduced to an extra in the school play." Simon remarked.
"And she's not interested in nothing!" Alvin said.
"That's she's not interested in anything." Simon corrected his brother.
"All she likes to do is stay home and read!" Alvin said.
"What's wrong with that?" Theodore asked.
"Nobody reads anymore!" Alvin said.
"Only you." Simon said.
"Like I said..." Alvin said.
"You know Alvin, did it ever occur to you that not every girl has the same interests as you?" Simon asked.
"Good, it's still all here." Alvin said, as he closed the box, and slid it back underneath his bed.
"But you spent some of it already." Theodore said.
"I mean what's left is still all here!" Alvin said. "Now what were you babbling about, Simon?"
"Not every girl shares your interests, Alvin." Simon said.
"So?"
"So, you can't expect every girl to be interested in what you're interested in... as a matter of fact Alvin, it wouldn't hurt you to show some interest in another's interests as well."
"I would, if it didn't involve reading." Alvin said. "But, what's the point? She even agreed she wasn't my type."
"You said she said 'it's not you, it's me'," Simon pointed out, "that doesn't necessarily mean..."
"Oh Simon, you don't know beans about girls!" Alvin said.
"Maybe she already has a boyfriend." Simon said.
"I'd feel sorry for any guy that'd be her boyfriend." Alvin said.
"Either way, that's just a possibility." Simon said.
"I bet she's bald and has to take her wig off every night." Alvin said.
"That imagination of your's never sleeps, does it?" Simon asked, sarcastically.
"Not at all." Alvin boasted.
Elsewhere in town, the strange man who had dropped the box on the Sevilles' doorstep was trying to calm his nerves at a Starbucks shop, by drinking one coffee flavored shake after another. If he was an extremely paranoid person, he had right to be, because as it happens, two men were waiting in a tinted SUV in the back parking lot, both of them were wearing sunglasses, despite the fact that it was dark inside their vehicle, and it was cloudy outside. Moments later, an accomplice of their's met up with them, as the man in the passenger side rolled down his window.
"He in there?" He asked.
"Yeah," the accomplice said, "when do you want me to take care of him?"
"After he steps outside," the driver said, "make sure he doesn't have a change to get into his car."
"Right." The accomplice said, as he walked away.
The man inside the shop finally decided he had enough, and prepared to leave, but before he did, he looked around carefully to make sure nobody was looking in his direction. Seeing that he was clear, he made his way to the door, and focused his attention of his little car. Looking both ways, casually, as if he was checking for traffic, he made a break for it, only to discover someone had emerged from their hiding spot and took off after him. The cowardly man was inches away from his car, when he was tackled to the ground.
"You know the score," his attacker said, "just keep your mouth shut, or I kill you right here, right not!"
The man was promptly bound and gagged, and later shoved into the back of the waiting SUV, as it took off for parts unknown. All he did know, was that this was probably going to be the last day of his life. As for the money he abandoned, Alvin was already making out his own personal shopping list.
"Maybe now I can afford one of those limited edition regulation NBA Cavaliers basketball autosigned by LeBron James?" Alvin asked himself, as he was going over his list.
"Does the phrase 'money can't buy happiness' ring a bell, Alvin?" Simon asked.
"Oh, don't start that again!" Alvin moaned.
"You're just asking for trouble spending that money." Simon warned.
"No, I'm asking you to put a lid on your whines of me spending that money!" Alvin barked.
"Um, Alvin?" Theodore asked.
"Don't start with me, Theodore, I'm concentrating on my shopping list!" Alvin said. "I wonder how much a custom jet skateboard would fetch?"
"I was just going to ask if I could borrow twenty?" Theodore mentioned.
"Theodore, not you!" Simon said.
"Well, I have been wanting to take Eleanor to the movies for a long time now..." Theodore said, innocently.
"Maybe now you wish you didn't spend all of then money you were saving on that fondue maker, huh?" Alvin asked, with a smirk.
"Please Alvin?" Theodore asked. "Simon and I have loaned you money in the past, and you're so rich now and all..."
"Theodore..." Simon began.
"Oh, why not?" Alvin said, as he reached under his bed for the box. "Here's an extra five, in case either you or Eleanor want extra popcorn."
"Thanks, Alvin!" Theodore squealed, as he took the money from Alvin, and left the room.
"Oh shut up." Alvin said, before Simon even opened his mouth.
"You're taking me to the movies?" Eleanor asked, when Theodore came over.
"Sure!" Theodore said. "I even have a little extra for more popcorn!"
"Well, this is a nice surprise, Theodore!" Eleanor said, almost blushing at Theodore's gesture.
"So, you want to go?" Theodore asked.
"Of course," Eleanor said, let me just tell Miss Miller where I'll be..."
Shortly after that, Theodore and Eleanor were at the theater, where Theodore bought both of them each a large bucket of popcorn, and two large sodas with the money Alvin loaned. After the movie had ended, Eleanor thanked Theodore once more for the surprise.
"Thanks alot Theodore, this was a really great night!" Eleanor said.
"I had fun, too!" Theodore agreed.
"How did you come up with the money, though?" Eleanor asked, out of curiousity.
"Alvin loaned it to me." Theodore told her.
"That's funny, just yesterday he finally payed up for the bet he lost last week," Eleanor said, "he also gave Brittany fifty."
"Yeah, Alvin found this box full of money, he's rich!" Theodore said.
"Where did he find it?" Eleanor asked.
"He said he found it out on our front porch."
"And he's just doing with the money what pleases him?"
"I guess." Theodore shrugged.
"Theodore?" Eleanor began. "What if the money is stolen?"
"Idon't know... if someone stole money, why would they just leave it on someone else's front porch?"
"Beats me." Eleanor said.
While Brittany and Jeanette were waiting for Eleanor to return home, Brittany continued to complain about the new girl at school.
"What is your issue with her, Brittany?" Jeanette asked. "What has she ever done to you?"
"She weirds me out is what..." Brittany said, "she's in my math class, and she's always staring at me."
"Maybe you remind her of someone," Jeanette said, "we got along fine today."
"You?!" Brittany asked.
"Yeah, she's in my reading class, she's really nice, very friendly." Jeanette said.
"I heard Alvin said she was dull and standoffish." Brittany said.
"Well, Alvin's said the same about me before," Jeanette reminded Brittany, "I guess the booky type isn't for Alvin."
Within a matter of seconds, Eleanor came into the room. "You girls are never going to believe what Theodore told me..."
"You told Eleanor what?!" Alvin asked, nearly choking Theodore as he shook him.
"Settle down, Alvin!" Simon said, helping Theodore loose.
"Eleanor simply asked me where I suddenly got the money to take her to the movies, I told her I got it from you, she asked where you got it, so I told her about the box, and..."
"And now she's going to tell her sisters, and the next thing you know, they're going to be coming over here wanting to see the money, then they're going to constantly be asking me for handouts, and the next thing you know the money'll all be spent before I have a chance to spend any myself!" Alvin complained.
"You already bought yourself, and Roberta lunch today." Simon reminded Alvin.
"Besides that..." Alvin continued, "man Theodore, you really do have the world's biggest mouth!"
"I'm sorry," Theodore said, sadly, "I didn't know you didn't want me to tell anybody."
"Apparently Alvin assumed you'd automatically keep quiet about it." Simon said.
"Now what am I going to do?" Alvin asked. "I've got to keep this money in a safe spot where no one can find it!"
"You could always ask the police to look after it for you." Simon suggested.
"Nice try Simon, but I am not giving up this money!" Alvin said. "I've got to find someplace to keep it."
"What about the bank?" Theodore asked.
"What if the bank is robbed?!" Alvin asked.
Suddenly, it hit Simon. "That's it!"
"What's it?" Alvin asked.
"Someone must have stolen this money from a bank, and in order to get rid of the evidence, left the money on our doorstep, figuring whoever finds it would probably spend it." Simon deduced.
"Swell," Alvin said, "so in other words, if the cops find it, I'll get blamed."
"I told you spending this money could bring you trouble." Simon said.
"What are you going to do Alvin?" Theodore asked.
"Obviously, I have two options... either I can go ahead and spend all of this money now, so if the cops coming looking for it, I won't have..." Alvin began.
"Or...?" Simon asked.
"Well, there's more money here than I can even count," Alvin continued, "it'll take me forever to spend it, so I'd have to find some simple-minded sap to guard it for me!"
"Well, now I've heard everything," Simon said, "I'm going into my lab to finish on my projects".
Simon left the room, as Alvin dove under his bed, grabbed the box, and ran out as well.
"Where are you going, Alvin?" Theodore asked.
"To see a simple-minded sap about guarding my money!"