Seymore grinned. "So, how did you fool your parents?" he asked the other people on the bus. It had been on the road for some time. At least that was what it had felt like.

"I told mine that I was going on a stroll in the park," Brianna mumbled, barely audibly, from the floor.

"We did, too," Molly and Thomas agreed together.

Seymore groaned. "Now they'll all be expecting you back within a few hours, and when you don't come, they'll be furious! If you'd asked me. I could have had my permission slip copied, and they wouldn't have suspected for weeks!"

Simon placed one last book in the pack he had for the trip, and kissed Jeanette goodbye.

"I'll miss you, sweetie," he told her with the kiss.

"I'll miss you, too, honey," she responded with another kiss. "I still don't see why you wouldn't let me come."

"I don't want anything to happen to you while we're gone," he explained again. He hefted his (rather heavy) pack and walked out the door with one last look at Jeanette. Then he went to gather his brothers and get their kids back.

The bus screeched to a halt, and the four Chipmunks/ettes got out, relieved to be off of the "borrowed" bus.

Outside, two kids were waiting for them. "Hey, Claire and Clark! Good to see ya!" Seymore greeted.

"Hello, Seymore," the children greeted in turn, first the girl, Claire, then the boy, Clark.

"What about those hot-air balloons?" Seymore asked. He wanted to travel in exactly the same fashion as his dad did.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Claire apologized. "I thought you said you wanted airplanes! Those hot-air balloons have already been rented out!"

"I guess we'll take the airplanes..." Seymore grumbled. The kids showed them to the two airplanes. "Don't forget the little 'wager'!" Claire reminded them.

"So," Seymore asked, "who's in what group? Thomas and I are the two people to choose from." As if they didn't already know.

"I'm going with Thomas," Molly said shyly.

"I guess that means that I'm going with you," grumbled Brianna to Seymore. They boarded the airplanes and settled down for a long trip.

Simon stared. "These were the people who sold you the balloons?" he asked incredulously. He stared at the two people in front of him. "But they're- they're just kids!"

The children seemed to bristle at this remark. "You know, the kids do have names. I'm Claire, and this is Clark," the girl snapped.

"Pleased to meet you," Simon politely said.

"Just out of curiosity, why do you need the balloons? We usually sell to- well- kids who belong to rich parents who don't keep track of them." Clark asked. Apparently, they had not heard of the Chipmunks, which was a relief to them.

Simon straightened at this remark. "Did you happen to sell to four kids who look just like us?" he asked.

Claire leaned in. "We usually keep the identity of our clients secret," she told Simon. Alvin, having heard, rolled his eyes.

"You know, these clients just happened to be our kids, who ran away without our permission," he snapped. "Mind telling us whether you sold to them?"

Both of the children appeared startled by the sharpness in his voice. "We- we might h-have sold to people who met your description," Claire stammered. "Let me check the Records."

'The Records' turned out to be a three inch long book. She turned to the end. "Yes," she murmured. "Here they are!" She turned the book around.

There, in the book, were the pictures of Seymore, Brianna, Molly, and Thomas. The names, however, were not theirs. They were John, Katrina, Blake, and Jane. The transaction, according to the document, had taken place that morning.

Simon groaned. "We found them." He faced the kids. "How much for the balloons?" he asked.

"Um, there is something you might want to consider," Claire hesitantly said. She pointed out a mark right next to the bottom of the page.

"What's that?" Simon asked.

"That means that they have taken the wager," Claire informed them.

"What wager?" Simon asked, suspicious.