Simon's Point of View
"Alvin!" I begged, I need your help asking a girl out!" We stood alone in the living room; Alvin playing a video-game and acting as though I were never here asking for his help. The living room was clean by Dave's standards, but I always found a little something out of place.
"What for bro?" Alvin laughed, pausing his game, "You planning to do something special for Jeanette on the Chipette's birthday?" I was too embarrassed to admit it, but my expression must have said enough. Mixed emotions started piling up in my gut, and I knew annoyance was going to join them. This wasn't something Alvin was going to let go, but I was desperate for his help (not that I'll ever admit it).
"What's wrong?" Theodore asked clueless of the situation at hand. Theodore was my younger brother and the most sensitive living being on the planet.
"Simon needs help asking Jeanette out for her birthday." Alvin announced with no regard for secrets, but I guess there were no secrets among brothers; it was obvious to mine that I was crushing on Jeanette.
"Oh, well I'm making Eleanor a big breakfast, and then an even bigger lunch, and then the biggest all-you-can-eat dinner!" Theodore, the food enthusiast expressed using his hands and arms to make "big" movements.
"Brits going to the spa, I think." Alvin said, "I'm sure I'll have something for her when she gets back." always so irresponsible, never planning ahead, "What were you wanting to do for Jeanette?" I planned the answer to this question through my head all morning, during breakfast and staring longingly at Jeanette (I could have sworn she looked back once or twice). It was now evening and after giving it a lot of thought, the best I could come up with was to fulfill a promise; if everything went according to plan, Jeanette should be quite satisfied on her birthday.
"I want to take her to The Gardens." I answered, having second thoughts about whether telling Alvin this would be such a good idea, no matter how much he knew about girls. Too late to take it back now. He was charming, but Jeanette was special; I had only one chance and I could not mess this up.
"Well, you could always surprise her, trick her into going out." Alvin suggested. Surprising her wasn't that bad of an idea, a rare occasion for him. "Yeah, you could blindfold her, tie her up and drag her there in a wagon!" So much for a good idea.
"T-Tie her up…? Theodore shivered.
"He's joking, Theodore." I said, trying to calm him down by putting my arm around him.
"Or am I?" Alvin mused with an evil twinkle in his eye.
"Yes you are!" I raised my voice, "Stop scaring Theo." It took half an hour to finally get Alvin to stop his nonsense and throughout all of that time, I got an idea. Alvin said that I should make it a surprise; perfect, but how? I snapped my fingers, "That's it!" I hugged Alvin quickly, "Thank you."
"Blah! He toughed me." My red-sweatered brother tormented as I scurried up the stairs to find Dave, who I guessed was in his room getting ready for tomorrow; the girls' birthday; I needed his help. Climbing the railing, I wondered if I would really be able to pull this off. Then again, if I could handle Alvin and all of the trouble he's gotten me into I could do almost anything. Almost. I passed our room and after giving a quick glance at Jeanette talking with her sisters I slowed down to a walk. What could they be talking about? The snippet of conversation that I heard disturbed me, it made my cheeks go warm and my knees slightly weak. No time to think about it, I only had what I estimated to be half a day to plan this.
"Oof!" I groaned as I bumped into Dave's large brown shoe.
"Are you okay, Simon?" He asked, picking me up and giving me the concerned look only he could give.
"Heh heh, not really." I pushed my glasses back up on my face.
"Are you hurt?" He always went to physical injuries first.
"No, but I need to ask you something."
"Okay, what is it?"
"Um, well, I wanted to take Jeanette to The Gardens for her birthday tomorrow, but I need supplies to surprise her."
"You're free to use some, Simon, just nothing sharp and don't let Alvin touch any of it." He warned. I promised him that I wouldn't and that no harm would come to anyone.
Confusion inhabited my mind; the topic of Jeanette's conversation bothered me, not that it was any of my business. The part that I heard made me want to know more; curiosity may have killed the cat, but it wouldn't kill this chipmunk, would it? I sat on the reclining chair in the living room writing an instruction sheet; actually, it was more like a riddle. Alvin and Theodore were who-knows-where doing who-knows-what. So close to finishing the riddle; I don't mean to boast, but it was clever. Over the course of one riddle I'll have told Jeanette her destination for the day and more with only the suspense of wondering what was going to happen.
"Hey, Simon." Jeanette's wonderful voice rang from the doorway behind the chair. Where the heck did she come from?!
"Oh, hiii, Jeanette!" I spit out nervously trying to cover up the paper by stuffing it in the chair.
"C-Can we talk?" Her voice was quiet and I almost wondered if she was actually saying something and it wasn't just my imagination. I've never heard her sound this shy before; she was stuttering after nearly every word and she was even acting different, constantly keeping her face down. It was impossible to make eye-contact.
"But of course," I said coolly, "What do you want to talk about?" She blushed and looked around as if panicking, hoping for something to happen.
"Um, do you maybe want to…" Her voice trailed off. Something was wrong and last time I ignored it. I reached out to touch her shoulder
"Is everything okay?" I whispered closely, her cheeks burning bright red through her fur.
"Umm," She stuttered, "D-Dave mentioned that h-he had some new songs f-for us to perform…" she was beginning to break down; lifting her chin and looking into her teared-up eyes I waited for her to calm down patiently. "Sing with me!" She blurted then dropped her head again. I smiled, knowing that Dave was thinking of getting us to try out duets and singles in hopes of getting our fans to connect with us better, but I never thought that I would be able to sing a duet with Jeanette, especially before Dave approved for concerts!
"Jeanette, of course I'll sing with you." I squeaked. Her eyes lit up and in that instant her sad, indigo pearls shone brightly complimented by her smile. Without a goodbye, she ran off; I could still see her smile, envisioning it everywhere I looked, happily knowing that I caused it. I pulled out the riddle from the chair. Was singing the topic of her conversation? I thought back to what she and Brittany were talking about, analyzing what connection it could have with what just happened.
"Well, what is it that you want?" Brittany had asked.
A one-word reply from a quiet Jeanette, "Simon."
Jeanette's Point of View
"Brittany, I did it!" Excitedly, I gave both her and Eleanor a hug. It was impossible for me to stop smiling; Simon agreed to sing with me! Only me! My sisters understood how I felt, I've confessed my feelings for Simon to them before gathering up the courage to speak with him (although something tells me Brittany already knew).
"Told you he liked you back." Brittany teased.
"He never actually said he liked me." My voice dwindled, "he only agreed to sing with me."
"I thought you were going to ask him out." Eleanor stated. We were back in our room talking again; we've been talking a lot lately.
"I wanted to, but I panicked and ended up accidentally screaming in his face." It was embarrassing to even think about how I approached the question.
"It's not the end of the world, you still have a chance with him." Brittany tried to encourage me. I nodded unsure whether that was true or not.
"What song were you wanting to sing?" Eleanor asked hopping up and down with excitement.
"I don't know." This wasn't entirely true and I didn't like lying to my sister, but the truth is that I had a few in mind. It seemed like singing a duet with Simon was only a dream. It was dark and getting darker, time for bed. Maybe I would experience the perfect duet in a vivid dream world.
Dave softly tucked me and my sisters in; he always treated us like princesses when our birthday came up.
"Goodnight girls." He said. I don't know if I was imagining or not, but I thought I saw him wink at Alvin as he turned out the light and closed the door.
I don't remember falling asleep; one minute I could hear my own breathing, slow and even, and see my own thoughts, happy and unrealistic, the next I'm being shaken awake by my sisters.
"Happy birthday!" They both screamed.
"I smiled and yawned, "Happy birthday to the both of you." this was without a doubt the best way to wake up on my birthday. I looked to the other beds and they were empty.
"Get dressed!" Eleanor said cheerfully, "Dave said he had something for us, something special!" She was always so excited on our birthday. I dressed quickly and followed my sisters out the open door. What did Eleanor mean by something special? We hopped down each stair when we were stopped by Dave.
"Hold it, Girls!" He held out his hands and kneeled down so we couldn't enter the kitchen, "Theodore isn't done yet." If Theodore was cooking, we had something delightful on the road ahead; today was going to be good.
"Is the breakfast the special gift?" I asked with my mouth watering. Theodore always made such delicious delicacies.
"No," Dave laughed, "close your eyes." We did as we were told. "Now open." We all gasped at what lay before us; three silk sundresses; one different shades of pink with sparkles trimming the bottom, one different shades of green with a jewel in the middle, and one light blue on top shading darker as it went lower and fading into purple at the bottom; that is the one I instinctively reached for.
"Now these are pretty." Brittany stated mesmerized by the sight of her pink sundress.
"I thought you might say that." Dave pointed out, "Why don't you three go try them on, Theodore will be done soon." Before the long climb back up the stairs the three of us jumped up on Dave and gave tiny hugs.
"Thanks, Dave."
"Thanks, Dave"
"Thank you."
"Happy birthday, girls." He responded with a large smile.
"It fits you perfectly!" I heard Eleanor compliment Brittany outside the room.
"I know." Brittany boasted, "Wait 'till everyone sees it!" Her excitement could be felt through the door; she really wanted to show herself and the dress off.
"Come on, Jeanette." Eleanor said, "Lets see you now." I slowly opened the door in the delightful sundress and was greeted with my sisters' mouths hanging open and their eyes sparkling.
"Wow." They said together. I felt so light moving in the dress, so comfortable. Where in the world did Dave find these perfect dresses? My sisters continued to stare and I blushed awkwardly.
"Well give us a twirl!" Brittany ordered. A twirl? I started spinning as I was told and stumbled after the third rotation. I balanced myself on Eleanor's shoulder and gave looks to the Chipettes that smiled at my little ballet.
"So, um," I muttered, "what do you think?" Brittany took my hand and then Eleanor's and we started walking to the staircase to enjoy a sweet-smelling breakfast.
"I think Simon won't be able to take his eyes off you." She said.
"Where's Simon?" I asked, giddy to show him my sundress. I noticed his absence as soon as I entered the kitchen, which, despite Alvin and Theodore surrounding us and wishing us a happy birthday, still seemed slightly hollow.
"He went out." Alvin said nonchalantly, "He told me to give you this." He handed me a note. I sank into disappointment; how could he not be here on my birthday? My eyes lowered down to the note, getting lost in his written words:
"Dearest Jeanette,
Please excuse my not being here the morning of your special day, something important came up. I'd wish you a happy birthday in this note, but I'll be seeing you later today if you guess the answer to this riddle.
"You're light as a feather and bright as the sun,
You're soft and innocent, but know how to have fun.
You are a flower." Where am I?
"A flower, huh?" Brittany questioned behind my shoulder and making me jump.
"Don't scare me like that!" I breathed heavily.
"A flower?" Theodore asked, filling our plates with the first course of our meal.
"A flower." I whispered. The Gardens.