Simon's Point of View
"Achoo!" I sneezed as I lay down for bed, shivering. I've been shivering endlessly since getting home and it was more annoying than sickening.
"Bless you." The three Chipettes said in sync. I'm sure Alvin and Theodore would have joined in, but they both already fell asleep even before Dave entered to say goodnight.
"Simon, are you feeling okay?" Dave asked, "You've been sneezing a lot, let me feel your head."
"I feel fine, Dave." I sniffed and sneezed again; way to help my case. Surely I couldn't be sick; I was only out in the cold rain for half an hour, and with Jeanette to warm me up afterwards I was perfectly fine, the exact opposite of sick! A minor headache was the only pain I felt, nothing to qualify as even a cold.
"Well you feel fine." Dave said with a hint of doubt, "Get a full nights rest and we'll see how you feel in the morning." He said goodnight to everyone left awake and patted my brothers who snored peacefully. My head was spinning and despite having a headache I couldn't help but think that the spinning was from kissing Jeanette.
"Goodnight, Simon." I heard Jeanette say through my heavy eyes, "Have a pleasant sleep." I thought I said goodnight, but I really had no memory of it when my eyes flew open and all I could see was darkness. Sitting up, I felt sweat drip down my forehead and stain my blue pajama shirt. I breathed heavily as if waking up form a nightmare, but I don't remember dreaming. Sleep eluded me and no amount of simply lying down and closing my eyes would bring me to dream-world. The only thought that inhabited my mind was what the construction worker said back at The Gardens. One month, thirty short days was all we had to save every acre of that land, otherwise it would be gone forever, dead. With such a short deadline, I had my doubts, but I knew what I was signing up for. I could do it, I just had to treat it like a school project. The only difference: I was working, fighting for something much more important than grades.
My mouth was desert dry and without water, it was tough to even sit up; did this make me weak? I slid off my bed and landed awkwardly. Water; that was my mission right now. The door creaked as I opened it, begging to wake everyone, that would only cause problems and questions. My well-being was important, but no one needed to know I was feeling a little under the weather.
Down the stairs, a short walk to kitchen, and a climb up to the sink nearly brought me to my knees. I couldn't move much without the threat of falling, the kitchen seeming miles away. I turned the faucet and was welcomed by cool water. I dipped my head in, slurping for mouthfuls of the tasteless liquid. Rather than wanting to drink more, it felt better on my head, cooling me down. Just a cold, not a fever. I should have been telling myself this, but I liked being welcomed by something late at night. I dove in the streaming false waterfall, showering, hydrating my body. This was peaceful, I felt neither hot or cold.
"Simon?" A voice not unlike Jeanette's yet completely different startled me. I stepped out of the streaming water and redressed then tackled the odd shaped faucet back into place, to turn off the water.
"Brittany?" I thought out loud, "Why are you up at this time?" I looked over to the clock with it's hands giving the time of midnight. Odd, Brittany was never up past nine or before seven, and that was on a school night!
"I could ask you the same thing; even you get at least eight hours."
"Oh I was, uh just getting a glass of water." I tried my best to tell the truth but panicked, climbing up out of the sink to greet the chipette dressed in pink.
"Uh huh, that must be one big glass." She said sarcastically and looking at my matted fur.
"And cooling off." I added, probably a little too late. Brittany wasn't stupid, she could tell something was wrong. I was glad she decided to leave it.
"Well since you're up, I need to talk to you." It sounded like an interrogation with her words out and no way to avoid it.
"What about?" I asked in a kind, cooperative manner, holding back a cough. Already I could feel myself getting hot again. I hoped this wouldn't be a long talk.
"Jeanette." She stated, "Are you being good to her? Treating her right?" This was sudden, did she know about our kiss in The Gardens?
"Of course!" I answered, a little offended. Jeanette deserved that, didn't she? Her protective sister was just watching out for her and I needed to show that I was worthy of Jeanette's friendship at least. "She's like a flower."
"A flower?" Probably not the answer Brittany was expecting.
"Yeah," How would I word this without making it sound like I'm in love? "She's delicate, innocent." Brittany glared at me; she didn't know what I was getting at, the riddle was being brought up all over again. "If you're bad to a flower, it'll wilt and die, you won't get to enjoy everything it has to offer. When you're good to it, it will blossom and brighten your world, even when you think nothing can." I liked the way my own words were flowing, I just couldn't shut up, "Jeanette is special, she's a rare flower and deserves extra special care." This little speech seemed to make Brittany happy. Was she picking up what I was putting down?
"Thanks for being good to her, Si." She smiled and turned towards the staircase to bed, forgetting about the reason she came down in the first place… I think. "Oh, one more thing," She turned back, "has Alvin ever talked about me?" I thought about it, back to all those arguments I had with my older brother, had he once ever even mentioned Brittany?
"No I don't think so, sorry." I felt bad making her ears drop and her suspense-filled excitement killed. "But," I quickly stammered, looking for something encouraging to say, "He was telling me about your surprise concert earlier." This was a lie, but I couldn't send Brittany to bed upset.
"Really?" She perked up and in a softer voice said, "Yay… I still can't believe he did that. Goodnight, Si." She ran up to bed, allowing me to finally cough and wheeze. I felt more like choking, but the after-feeling was nice and calm. I wet my fur once more and went up; laying my damp, now pounding head on soft blue pillow gave me no satisfaction. I yawned and shifted sides restlessly, waiting for sleep to come. No luck, no matter what I did; not even humming a tune in a desperate attempt to gain some comfort. I sighed and lay back staring at the ceiling. School, work, sleep. This was my schedule for tomorrow and probably the days later. Could I do all that while being sick? No, if I believed I wasn't sick, if I behaved like I wasn't sick then I wouldn't be sick.
My eyes closed themselves and I bordered between sleep and wakefulness. My mind said sleep, you need it while my body said move around, you can sleep later. I wished Jeanette was here beside me; maybe it would be a bit awkward, but I knew I'd be able to sleep peacefully, comfortably. I looked over at her bed and coughed. I needed her. My mouth was dry and my tongue cracked, I had no energy to drag myself back down to the sink. An earthquake began in my head and on top of all my thoughts the symptom of a headache (which is an understatement) made it impossible to sleep.
"Come on, Simon!" I thought, "Suck it up and push through it!" Despite my low food intake, my stomach twisted and turned. This night would never end! I secretly prayed someone would wake up, anyone; even Alvin, I just want company, not to be alone this painful night. This was no cold, this was a running fever, but I had to stay positive, "This is just a one-night thing." I made a commitment to Jeanette and The Gardens to be there for them and I was not willing to break that commitment, especially on the first day because I was sick! How horrible would that be?
I sat up, dizzy without even moving. Too tired to move, but I did so anyway. Slowly climbing down the bed, I tip-toed to Theodore's secret stash of snacks under his bed.
"Please have something to drink." I begged. Throughout the bags of chips and nuts and old sandwiches I found only one juice-box. "Thank you." I whispered to my sleeping brother.
"Mm, Simon, is that you?" Theodore mumbled, his eyes groggy and barely open.
"Shh, back to sleep, Theo, you're dreaming." I touched his shoulder and he breathed.
"Oh," He yawned, "Okay." Back to snoring.
I shivered and sipped the juice in bed. No warmth came from the blanket around me. The water that stuck to my fur had turned to sweat and there was no way of changing that.
"You need sleep!" I told myself, "Long hours in the heat tomorrow, no way can I miss that!" I can't let that happen, that would bring pain and the flowers would die. I figured the most sleep I would be getting was the rest from passing out in the hot sun, so much for a full nights rest. "Sleep! Sleep! Sleep!" I angrily yelled at myself as the clock struck one.
Jeanette's Point of View
Simon didn't wake up early like he usually would have; he didn't make his bed, he was barely breathing by the looks of it.
"Wake up, Simon." I cooed, "Time for school!" He was usually so excited to get to school, but today he slept in. When he sat up I wondered what had gone on in his sleep. His shirt was black with either water or sweat and clung to his body along with his fur. "Are you okay?" I frowned.
"Hm?" He replied rubbing his eyes sleepily, "Oh, I'm fine!"He smiled at me and we hopped off his bed together. He quickly changed in his dresser and accompanied me down the stairs. Having no time to eat breakfast, I asked Theodore if he could grab a little something for Simon; gladly, he agreed and we sat in the car waiting for West Eastman to appear. I looked beside me to Simon, who ate nothing and kept his eyes closed the entire ride. Something was seriously wrong; I figured he ha a cold with all of his sneezing, had it gotten worse? Simon never got sick though! After everything he did to prevent getting ill he really didn't deserve it.
"So, Simon how are you feeling?" Dave looked in the mirror back at him and everyone stared.
"I feel great, Dave, healthy as a horse." Simon replied but showed no matching emotion for his words. He looked at his brothers and then me with a reassuring look and mouthed the words "I'm fine" to me as I gave him a scared look. I could feel the pounding in his head as he tilted it back, pain streaked across his face.
"I know you're not feeling well." I whispered, "Why don't you just tell Dave? I'm sure he'd let you stay home and rest."
"No no," He reassured, "I'm fine, besides, The Gardens can't take care of themselves." If this was an attempt to make me feel better, it didn't work.
Late to all of his classes and he expected me to think he was fine?! The day was slow, the classes endless as I watched Simon slowly suffer, knowing I could do nothing for him.
"Simon!" I pleaded as we walked to The Gardens with a bucket in each hand, "You need to rest!" My voice cracked on the first word, I choked on the rest and still Simon insisted that he work today. There was nothing I could do, he was too determined, too stubborn.
"I promise I'll rest when we get home." He said; knowing this only left me with a fraction of the comfort I would be feeling if he'd stayed home and rested in the first place.
Collecting weeds in the sun may not seem like much, but it was hard! Millions of weeds to pick and we had to be careful with the thorns. The dirt was wet and muddy and at times we started to sink up to our waists. It was tiring work, but it was fun. If Simon didn't stop to catch his breath I'd have forgotten he was sick. From four to eight we pulled weeds, just managing to go through the fifteen acres and filling almost fifty buckets!
"We're done, Simon." I panted, "We're done for today."
"Ugh." He sighed and I let him lean on me, not that I didn't enjoy it. His arms wrapped around me but he kept his face away.
Simon kept his promise; he made and kept that same promise the following day, but I saw no change in his actions, he still seemed ill. It was good to know that his creative mind wasn't affected. After the second day of work, we figured that having to water the plants and pull the weeds would take all evening and night to do; so Simon came up with the idea to fly. Okay, not flying itself, but he was able to work on one of Dave's old toy airplanes, giving it the ability to fly while carrying large buckets of water! My brilliant Munk! I couldn't believe he was able to do this while being sick.
"He has so many talents." I fantasized.
The school week was over and we were both exhausted! Friday evening we were nearly finished work. It had been a hot day, almost like a heat wave and with all the time and effort we put into the welfare of The Gardens I really hoped someone would notice how well it was being cared for; with about three weeks left before the scheduled demolition date, we could use the support. I've been thinking of ways to gather followers and helpers, but with little rest I wound up with nothing.
"Simon, I think we should call it a day." No reply, only a groan. "Simon? Simon!" I rushed to the fallen bespectacled chipmunk. He was breathing, thank goodness, he must have passed out from exhaustion. I couldn't carry him home, impossible. I looked around desperately, was there no one around to help?
"Help!" I called out.
"You okay, Mis- Wait, what?" A man wearing a tie and hard hat ran up to us.
"Please, sir. Help us." I bent down on my knees next to Simon and begged, barely able to fight away tears, "He's passed out and I don't know what to do."
"Er, okay." The man said and pulled out a cell-phone, "Who do I call?"
"Dave!" I screamed. I stuttered while I gave him the number and after only a few minutes of listening to the man talk I felt safe knowing that Dave was on his way.
"What are you kids doing out here?" The man asked kindly.
"W-We're taking care of the flowers…" I couldn't speak anymore, I choked on my own breath and cried. I let this happen to Simon.
"You're wasting your time, kid." The man sighed, "This land gets demolished in a week-and-a-half; nothing's gonna change that."
"W-What?" I gasped, tears pouring down my dirty cheeks. Was all our hard work for nothing? Did Simon risk his health for nothing? Dave's car pulled up at the nearest road and I witnessed him jump out of it. I couldn't move, couldn't speak. I let Dave carry me and Simon to the car that immediately took us home.
My fur was now clean, my thoughts were non-existent. I sat at Simon's side as he lay in his bed, waiting for him to wake up. Brittany and Dave tried to talk to me, but I just shooed them away. I couldn't look at them, the guilt they would make me feel. Dave, being our adoptive father, would be concerned and say "It wasn't your fault." Brittany would be herself and say gossip that would just add to the stress. They both meant well, but they weren't the right ones to talk to now.
"Jeanette?" I turned and found Alvin and Theodore standing in the doorway.
"G-Go away…" I said halfheartedly, focusing more on Simon.
"We were thinking." Theodore began shyly, ignoring my words.
"Since Simon's kind of incapacitated." Alvin continued.
"Watch it, Seville." I growled to myself.
"Maybe we could help you care for your flowers or something." Did they really just ask to help…?
"R-Really?" I couldn't believe it, "We could use all the help we can get, especially with our time cut short. Thank you." I gave each chipmunk a hug and returned to Simon's side; how was I going to tell him that we had even less time? He worked himself out enough as it was.
"We know that The Gardens mean a lot to you two." Theodore stated.
"Thanks guys…" Simon's dry voice was weak and frail, but he smiled nonetheless.