Chip opened his eyes. He found himself half way over the bed with one arm almost touching the floor and a little bit of drool leaking out of his mouth. The sunrays bursted through the window and onto his half awake face. He tried sitting up by using his left arm, but in vein as he fell back onto the mattress. -Must've slept on it weird.- he thought. Chip rolled onto his back and allowed his left arm to regain proper circulation again. He sat up looking around his room, nothing was changed still. Then a snore came from above him. -How is he still asleep?! I went to bed after he did.- Chip questioned in his mind. Chip's arm was now awake again, so he got out of bed and climbed up onto the bed frame above so he could wake up Dale. "Hey, get up. Its- *Looks at the clock behind him, and then looks back to Dale* It's 8:19 Am. And about time we get breakfast here." Chip said while shaking the chipmunk in his slumber. Dale slowly opened his eyes and yawned. He looked at Chip with confusion. "Did ya have to wake me up? We don't eat at our house till ten atleast." Dale tried to argue. Chip crossed his arms. "Well, this is our house. And if you want to eat, you'll have to follow our rules." Dale sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh alright. I'll get up." Chip Smiled in victory as he watched his roommate fully get up and out of bed before he himself jumped down from the top bunk and headed downstairs.
(3 minutes later) As Chip was enjoying a nice bowl of cereal in the living room as Dale showed up in the doorless doorway between the staircase and the very room he was in. The living room itself was a large box with a high ceiling with a homemade chandelier as the proud jewel. A little table stand to the right and a little bookshelf to the right of a black leather couch with 3 seats, all in front of a tv that the family made from scraps. A wonderful round brown and black striped rug sat just behind the couch. Along with an entire mini kitchen with counters, cabinets, a mini fridge, and a sink just below a window in the back left corner and the main or 'front' door in the back right corner. "Oh, and uh. If you want something simple we have a mini kitchen over here. I can point out where stuff is to you if you need help." Chip said from the coffee table in the mini kitchen. Dale finished taking in the scenery of the living room before walking to the mentioned mini kitchen. Dale's first thoughts where to check things for himself. Chip finished munching on a spoons worth of cereal and rose an eyebrow. "You looking for something specific or-?" Dale shut a cabinet door and looked back to Chip. "No, just seeing what interests me. Say dontcha have eggs or somethin?" Chip put down his spoon and stood up, then walked over to a little fridge next to the sink, then opened it while grabbing two eggs from a 12 egg carton container. He handed the eggs to Dale. "Uhh, thanks." Dale said feeling dumb that he didn't check the fridge. "Like I said, if you need help. Just ask." Chip said as a reminder before sitting back down to enjoy the remains of his breakfast. "Hey uhh, Chip?" Chip looked up with a mouthful of cereal and rose an eyebrow to tell him to go on with the question since he couldn't talk. "Do ya know where I could get a pan?" Dale asked feeling a bit stupid. Chip pointed to a corner piece cabinet and went back to his breakfast. Dale opened the cabinet to find a few small pans on a rack stacked neatly on top of eachother. Dale knew he only needed a smaller pan since it was only two eggs.
Dale tried pulling the pan in the middle, the stack refused to move. So Dale put more effort into it, and then it still refused his efforts, then he tried even harder. Chip looked up once more from his cereal to see Dale struggling to get the pan out. "Dale, you have to pull up then out!" Chip tried saying with a mouthful of cereal. But Dale didn't hear nor stop. Chip forcibly swallowed the clump of cereal and got up out of the chair while saying: "Dale! Stop you're gonna-" Dale's grip on the pan was lost and he flew back, hitting his head on the table corner behind him, the table was then pushed back making it run over Chip's foot. "YOWCH!" Chip yelled as the un-smoothened table leg ripped at Chip's foot. Chip didn't waste anytime moving the table off of his foot. Chip pulled out the chair he just sat at and fell onto it while coroasing his bleeding foot. Chip watched in awe as his middle toe bled, why they didn't finish sanding the table legs Chip didn't know, what he knew now was that he would have to clean up his foot to not risk infection. His mind then drifted to Dale. "Dale, you alright?" Chip asked with concern in his voice. Dale groaned a little before stumbling onto his feet. "No, I think I hit my head." Dale said rubbing the back of his head, then he checked his hand for blood. But to his luck there wasn't any. Chip stood up and limped his way to the open cabinet, then pulled out the exact pan Dale struggled to get out and handed it to him. "Next time, don't do something stupid like that. Ask for help. It could've saved my foot." Chip lectured with a hint of anger before limping his way to the bathroom to clean up his injury.
Chip washed his foot in the sink. Once all of the blood was off of his toe he could see how much the table had really done. There was 3 paper thin but deep gashes and the table leg had scraped away a lot of top layers of skin. Chip questioned why a table leg could do this, but continued to clean up his injury. Chip then wrapped toilet paper around his torn up toe and then tied it off. Chip opened the bathroom door and turned right to go into the living room. "What are you doing!?" Chip called out to Dale who had managed to set the pan on fire. Chip ran next to the door opened a little door which had a homemade fire extinguisher. He ran over to the now half on fire stove and let the fire extinguisher loose. A white foam/water like substance was sprayed all over the stovetop until there was no sign of fire. Chip set the fire extinguisher down, then he scowled at Dale. "What's the big idea!? To burn the who tree down?" Chip said angrily. Dale looked down in shame knowing that he'd messed up, again. Chip sighed and crossed his arms. "Well, you can still have breakfast, just-.. Here, I'll give you some left over omelets, alright?" Dale smiled and nodded. Chip walked over to the fridge and pulled out a plate with leftover omelets with ceramic wrap covering the plate, Chip handed it to Dale and said: "They're a bit cold, but better than burning the whole place down." Dale nodded in agreement before sitting down at the table across where Chip was. Chip looked to the cereal bowl only to find the 1/4th that remained of the cereal all soggy. Chip picked up the bowl and looked at it for a second. Even though the cereal itself was soggy, that didn't stop Chip from drinking the milk that was left since it was a tradition in his family to waste almost nothing. Upon finishing whatever was left, Chip put the bowl in the sink and wiped his mouth to remove any possible milk mustaches. "Well Dale, I have chores to do, and now that I have a roommate. I think you'll be helping me, so when your done, clean up the mess right here. I'll be sweeping the place and doing some laundry." Dale was shocked and looked at Chip with confusion. "Why do I have tah clean up the place?" Dale wasn't used to doing chores since he always had a parent home to help him out, but he got the general idea. "Because this is your mess after all." Chip said while grabbing the collapsible broom from under the sink. Dale grunted, rejecting the idea he had to the adult's jobs, and went back to eating the leftovers. Then unexpectedly Chip playfully whacked Dale on the head with the broom and asked: "Hey after we're all done, do you want to play cards?" Dale was confused, but shrugged it off. "Sure, cards aren't my kinda thing. But what else is there to do." Dale said with a mouth half full of omelets. Chip only shrugged back. "Well, there's a lot you can do If you can put your mind to it." Chip said while walking downstairs to start sweeping. Dale mocked Chip before going back to his breakfast.
"Well. That was the last of it." Chip said as he threw the last shirt in the dryer and shut the door, then started the drying cycle. Chip he rubbed his hands together to signify he was done and went to the staircase to go upstairs and check on how Dale was doing. As Chip walked step by step up the stairs he thought to himself. - I hope he's not burning the whole place down again. But he can't be that clumsy, can he? I mean, he is new here after all, and as far as what he told me his parents took care of him for the most part. Whatever it is about him, I'm sure he'll work it out, he just needs some time. You can't change overnight, so why should he.- Chip was now at the top of the stairs and about to enter the living room. "Well, let's see how much he di-d…" Chip froze, Dale sat on the couch watching tv. What show he was watching Chip didn't know. But what Chip did know was that there were wrappers on the floor, books tossed about and in the kitchen was very mess he told Dale to clean up nearly an hour ago, and it wasn't even touched. Chip was furious, his face turned a red gumball and balled up his fists. If he did this and his parents saw what he did, he would be grounded for 4 months or so. And to see somebody not just lazy but a slob angered him. His parents always reminded him to look down on people who stole, lied, killed and those who couldn't live by themselves. Dale fitted 2 of those 4 or 5 things.
Chip stormed his way over to the unaware chipmunk couch potato, he then stood directly between him and the tv with hands on hips, his eyes coldly staring at Dale. Dale took a look at the now infuriated Chip, then he checked over his shoulder and saw that he'd done nothing to clean up the mess and he had made more of one just recently. Once Dale figured out what he did wrong, he grew nervous and turned his attention back to Chip. He gulped before speaking: "Oh yeah, that. I-I forgot about it, I-I was planning to-to do that, h-honestly." Dale said tugging at his t-shirt collar while sweating. Chip pinched the bridge of his nose before jabbing Dale with his index finger. "Your *Jab* excuses are good to nobody!" Chip stated coldly. "Hey what's your prob-" Dale tried saying in defence. "I don't care where you come from. In this house you do as your told and not only have you not Cleaned, *Jab* but you've also managed to make more of a mess! Now tell me why you think that was a good idea?!" Chip finished assaulting Dale. Dale didn't answer, but instead looked down at the floor in shame. Chip wasn't in the mood to be wishy-washy and felt like it was his job to fix Dale before his parents stepped in and actually punish Dale. "Well, are you going to tell me or what?" Chip asked impatiently. Dale continued to stare at the wooden floor. This only gave Chip the wrong idea that he was being ignored, so Chip grabbed Dale by his collar and lifted him up onto his feet. "Ignoring me either isn't going to help you! Now tell me why you did this!" Chip demanded. Dale flinched at Chip's anger. "I-I don't know, why are you being so mean over somethin like this?" Dale asked nearly in tears. "What do you mean you don't know?! And don't even start crying, you're not a baby!" Chip demanded once more. This only made Dale cower even further, he'd never been yelled at like this before. "Hey! What's going on here?" A voice shouted from the door. Chip let go of Dale and the two chipmunks looked to see Chip's father in the doorway and now walking up to them. "Why are you home so early?" Chip asked sounding a bit nervous on what his father might do. Seeing that what was going on was pretty bad. But once he saw his father looking around the place, then brought a dead stare onto Chip. He knew he was in trouble. "That's nothing you need to know. Now, would you like to explain why Dale looks like he's going to cry, and why this place is a disaster?" Chip was internally panicking and his first reaction was to call out Dale for what he did. "He made this mess! I did my chores, but he almost set the kitchen on fire and threw all of these wrappers all over the place. I was just yelling at him to-" Chip's father then smacked Chip upside the head and ordered: "Go to your room, you don't do that to family members! You understand!?" Chip was stunned, his father had never hit him like that before. The only thing he could do was rubbed the side of his head and did as he was told. As Chip went up the stairs to his room he could hear his father lecturing Dale, but not yelling at him.
Chip was both infuriated and jealous. He didn't understand why Dale could get away with being not only lazy, but making a mess and not even be yelled at. Let alone with the fact he got Chip in trouble, even though Chip did everything he was supposed to, and was trying to only help Dale, since he thought if Dale couldn't take being yelled at by him, he could only imagine his parents, but apparently the world has lost all of its logic in Chip's eyes. Today was the day that Chip lost almost all his patience for Dale and learned what he was really like. The bad part is that these two would be living together for another 5 years atleast. Chip was now at his room door, opening it switfley with anger and then lightly slamming the door, making sure his parents didn't hear it. Chip stomped his way over to his desk before yanking the chair from under the desk and plopped his rear onto the chair. He then reached to one of the cabinets with his journal and pen and began to write. But then he paused, he didn't know how to write what just happened, Or why he should. The inability to think clearly and write something made Chip irrational and angry, so he stood up before hurling the pen onto the floor making it explode into 4 pieces, then he kicked the chair. Chip immediately stumbled backwards in pain back into the desk behind him, he held his foot up with his arm and was reminded that just an hour ago it was ran over by a table. His foot was now bleeding again since the kick displaced the clotted portions on his foot. "Oh great. I might as well just let it bleed for now. Stupid chair." Chip remarked. Just as Chip set his foot back on the floor the door opened with Dale now in the doorway. He didn't look angry or happy but apologetic. Chip changed his stance to look relaxed and neutral as if nothing happened. "I'm uhh, sorry about me gettin' you in trouble. I shoulda' never made that mess and not do as ya asked. Can you forgive me, Chip?" Dale said rubbing his arm out of shame.
Chip stood there, conflicted on whether or not to forgive Dale or tell him what he really thought. He knew this very moment would judge how the two interact between eachother for the upcoming years, and if he was going to be stuck with this guy for that long. It'd be in his best interests to atleast have a friend. So Chip let out a sigh and said: "Alright, I forgive you. But don't do that again or next time I won't forgive you. Got it?" Dale nodded and then turned to close the door before heading over to Chip's bed and sat down. Chip sat on the desk he was leaning on and unfolded his arms. "So, what did Dad tell you?" Chip asked. Dale twiddled with his thumbs and darted his eyes across the room, unable to make long-term eye contact with Chip. "Well, he said I should call him by his first name, Mark. But he told me to be more responsible and all of that stuff, but I heard him askin' himself what got into you. Sayin' you'd never do anything like that. He didn't like hurtin' you like that, but he said he had to." Chip understood that Mark would never intentionally hurt him without a reason, but why he did it so quickly perplexed Chip. "I mean, he isn't usually like this. But ever since you've been here he's been a bit. Irritable to say the least." Chip said with a shrug. "Are you sure Chip? Should ya really say that after Mark hit ya once?" Chip extended his arms and shook his hands. "No no no. Not just that, but they haven't been teaching me for awhile now, and they haven't been talking about their jobs for a while. They've been tired this entire month. Something's got to be wrong." Dale rolled his eyes. "Do you always think somethin's wrong? I mean, your parents seem fine… And what's all the rush for? We're gonna be in here for a while until Mark says we can come out of ours rooms again. That's why I'm gonna go to sleep until he does." Dale said climbing up to his bunk. Chip shook his head at Dale, thinking he was being just ignorant. Then Chip grabbed the very chair he kicked earlier and set it infront of the desk before sitting down, resting his head on a hand and tapping the desk with his other hand.