Her classes passed as they usually did, nothing special. She only saw Eleanor and Theodor, since they all had the same Social Studies class. She wished she were as smart as Simon when it came to Social Studies and Science, so they could see each other in school more. She could barely contain her excitement during her class before lunch. As soon as the bell rang she bolted out of her seat and ran to her locker. She put her backpack away, and got out the box with the cake Theodore had made. It wouldn't take her long to find Simon, his locker was just down the hall and around the corner. She hurried past the other students, not really seeing them. She turned the corner and there he was down the hall…..hugging Brittany. Brittany leaned in and brought her lips….Without knowing how, Jeanette was suddenly halfway across the school from her locker.

She didn't remember running, but she must have. She looked at a clock, and saw that only five minutes had passed since her math class had gotten out. She wasn't sure what to do, there must have been an explanation for what she saw. Maybe Simon had caught Brittany when she tripped, like he'd done with her dozens of times. Maybe Brittany hadn't kissed Simon, maybe she'd only…..only what? She knew what she'd seen, she just didn't understand. Well, she could understand why Simon would kiss Brittany, she was the prettiest girl in school after all. What she couldn't wrap her head around was why Brittany was suddenly attracted to Simon. All Brittany had ever talked about was Alvin…and whatever other handsome boy was popular that week. Then again, Simon was so handsome, and sweet, and smart…no wonder Brittany had fallen for him. There was no way she would let Brittany steal Simon from her though, so he decided she would find out what was going on. She headed for the lunch room, since that's where they would be by now. On her way she passed a supply closet, and heard the sound of someone crying coming from inside. Jeanette stopped and listened at the door for a moment, and decided to see if she could help. She'd never forgive herself if she didn't. She knocked and opened the door a little.

"Hello? Do you need some help?" She called into the darkness.

"Jea….(sob)….Jeanette?" She heard from the darkness. She recognized the voice immediately.

"Theodore? What's wrong?" She asked as she opened the door a little more. Theodore came sobbing from the darkness of the closet, and hugged Jeanette close.

"Jeanette….Eleanor…..she…she…" was all he could manage, his sobbing was so strong.

"Shhhh, it's ok Theodore, I'm here." She said, stroking his hair to try and calm him. She didn't want him to know how scared she was now. If something had happened to Eleanor….

"Tell me what happened, please? Is Eleanor okay?" She asked quietly, stroking his hair. His sobbing slowed, and his breathing became less ragged. He leaned back, and ran the sleeve of his shirt across his nose, and sniffled loudly.

"El….Eleanor is….is fine. I….I was going….to see Lunch Lady Jenny…" Theodore said between his sobs.

"I wonder what treat Jenny will have for me today." Theodore wondered to himself. He'd walked to the back entrance of the kitchen to meet Lunch Lady Jenny, one of his best friends at school.

She was waiting with a paper sack in hand, looking back and forth. She was a woman in her mid-twenties, with shoulder length hair the color of strawberries, and light green eyes that always seemed to shine. She had started working at the school not long after the chipmunks had started there, and she and Theodore had quickly hit it off. Theodore thought she was the best cook at the school, and she was a huge fan of the Chipmunks, Theodore in particular.

"Theodore! Over here!" She whispered loudly, waving him over. While not against any policy, it was frowned upon to give students special treatment. Theodore hurried over and gave her a quick hug.

"Hi Jenny, how are you today?" He asked as he let go of her.

"Well, they let me make the main course, lasagna, so I'm doing great. Here's your treat, now what do I get?" She asked with a grin. This was their usual ritual, she would give him extra snacks, and in return…

"Eh hem…"Theodore said, clearing his throat.

If you change your mind, I'm the first in line
Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down
If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown
Honey I'm still free
Take a chance on me
Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie
If you put me to the test, if you let me try

"Oh Theodore, that was wonderful!" Jenny said, clapping, "You've more than earned these." She handed him the paper bag. He opened it and looked inside, and saw that it was full of chocolate chip cookies.

"Cookies! Thank you Jenny!" He said, and hugged her again.

"Anything for my favorite Chipmunk. You know, there might be enough in there for two, maybe you could share them with a friend." She said to him with wink.

"Do you want some?" He asked, holding the bag open for her.

"You're sweet Theodore, but I was thinking you could share them with that girl you're so sweet on. Bye cutie." She said, and turned to walk back into the schools kitchen, leaving Theodore wide eyed and blushing.

How did she know about Eleanor? He wondered once he had regained control of himself. He turned and walked away from the Kitchen's exit door, clutching the bag of cookies close. It was almost time for lunch, what class did Eleanor have before lunch? He thought for a second…Gym, which meant that she would be down at the soccer field with Alvin and any other member of the soccer team in that gym period. Since they were competing for the county championship this weekend, all gym classes had essentially become soccer classes. This was fine with Theodore, since it meant he could do whatever he liked while the coach worked with the team members in his gym class. He made his way to the soccer field and as he turned a corner he almost ran into Tommy, the other soccer team member in Alvin and Eleanor's class. Tommy side stepped Theodore and hurried past him, not even stopping to say hello.

He sure is in a hurry. Theodore thought to himself, continuing on. He could see the soccer field from here. He started to jog a little, something he hated doing, but he wanted to talk to Eleanor before lunch started. There she was sitting on the bleachers with Alvin…..holding his hands….now she was leaning her head to his. Was she…..were they… Theodore turned and ran, not caring where he was headed. He ended up running into the closet that he used when he wanted to hide from Nathane.

"That….(sniff)….that was a little while before you showed up," He finished. He'd stopped crying, but his nose continued to run a little.

"I'm sure that's not what was happening…there must be some reason…" Jeanette kept trying to come up with some way to console him, to let him know that it would be alright. She kept coming back to what had just happened to her, what she had seen. How could this happen to the both of them, how could their brothers and sisters do this to them.

"I mean….Eleanor and I aren't….we don't….I just thought…." Theodore kept trying to say something, but the words wouldn't come.

"You thought that if she kissed anyone….it would be you?" Jeanette said.

"Yeah…" Theodore said. They sat in silence for a few moments, when Theodore's stomach growled.

"Jeanette….isn't it lunchtime? Why aren't you eating with Simon?" Theodore asked, looking down at the bag of cookies still in his hands.

"Simon…..He….." Jeanette sighed, deciding that honesty was for the best. She told Theodore exactly what she'd seen in the hall just a few moments ago. His eyes started to water again, and she feared he would start crying again.

"Simon would never….." Theodore started, then clamped a hand over his mouth. Jeanette gave him a quizzical stare, tilting her head a little.

"Would never what, Theodore?" She asked.

"He made me promise not to tell," Theodore whispered.

"Okay Theodore, you don't have to tell me," She told him with a pat on the arm.

"…if I told you what Simon said, would you tell him?" Theodore asked, not looking up at her.

"Theodore, I don't want you to break your promise to Simon, but if you want to tell me what Simon said, I promise I won't tell him."

"….after we met you, in those months before the three of you came to this school, you were all Simon could talk about….at least, when he wasn't talking about school work or science," Theodore said.

"He did?" Jeanette said, a hint of wonder in her voice.

"Yeah, he said he liked the way your glasses framed your eyes, and the way your ribbon kept your hair in….um, 'chaotic order', is what he said."

"He said that?!" she said, felling herself blush. She didn't know Simon had ever looked at her that way.

"Yeah, all the time. He and I would talk about you and…..and Eleanor," He said, a blush coming to his cheeks.

"Want to know a secret?" Jeanette asked, with a smile.

"A secret?" Theodore asked, looking up at her for the first time. His eyes were wide with curiosity.

"Uh huh, but you have to promise not to tell anyone I told you."

"I promise Jeanette," Theodore said, making a cross over his heart.

"Eleanor and I did the exact same thing. We talked about you and Simon all the time. Brittany would talk about Alvin sometimes, but she was attracted to someone different every week it seemed."

"Alvin was the same." Theodore said with a grin, then his smile faded again, "So what should we do?"

"….I don't know," Jeanette said, looking down, "If Eleanor and Alvin want to be together, what will you do?"

"I'll…..I'll be happy for them," Theodore said, "All I want is for everyone to be happy, and if Eleanor is happy with Alvin….then….then I'll be happy for them," Theodore said with a nod, "What will you do if Simon wants to be with Brittany?" She thought for a moment, wondering what she would do. Could she just be happy for them?

"I don't know….I have to talk to Brittany," She decided, with a firm nod of her head. Theodore's stomach growled again, and Jeanette's answered in kind. Theodore giggled, and opened the bag of cookies.

"Would you like some? We've missed lunch…" Theodore said as he took one from the bag and bit it in half. Jeanette reached in and took a few cookies from the bag and joined Theodore. After a few moments the cookies were gone, and Jeanette remembered the cake Theodore had made. She put the box between them, and opened it.

"My offer still stands, want the other piece?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Theodore cried, and took the piece closest to him. Jeanette picked the other up and took a bite. It may have been the best cake she'd ever had.

"Theodore….this cake, it's…wonderful!" She got out between chewing and swallowing, "Thank you so much for making it for me."

"It…(burp)…was no problem Jeanette, you know much I enjoy baking…..especially cake." Theodore said, patting his tummy. There was no clock in the closet and neither of them knew how long they had been in there. Jeanette knew they couldn't spend the rest of the day hiding in a closet, so she went to the door and opened it a crack. There was a clock on the far wall, and she could see that lunch period had been over for ten minutes. She felt her heart fall, she had never skipped a class before, and now the others would be wondering where they were.

"Theodore, we're late for class," She whispered to him.

"We are!? I didn't hear the bell ring!" Theodore cried, jumping to his feet. He brushed the cookie crumbs from his sweater and wiped the corners of his mouth on his sleeves.

"We need to hurry, everyone will be wondering where we are," Jeanette said, and grabbed Theodore's hand. They walked quickly (but quietly) to their grammar class. Thankfully they missed the hall monitors. Jeanette looked in through the small window in the classroom door, and saw that everyone was busy writing…and then Simon looked at the door and saw her. He smiled….and she felt her resolve break. She turned and ran as fast as she could, not bothering to turn back when Theodore called after her. She ran down the hall, out the door, and all the way home. She couldn't lose him, she couldn't. She'd left her house key back at school in her back pack, which was in her locker.

Thankfully Ms. Miller had insisted they keep a spare under the welcome matt. She threw the matt out of the way and snatched the key. She quickly unlocked the door and ran inside, slamming it behind her and ran to her bed upstairs. She threw herself onto it and screamed into the pillow. Screaming felt good, and she continued for a few minutes, until she wore herself out. That was when she finally realized what she had done. She, Jeanette, had skipped school….she was suddenly sick. She rolled on to her back, and hoped that lying on her back would keep her stomach from roiling. She felt so drained, there was just too much happening…why couldn't have happened some other day….any day but today. A tear slid from her eye, and landed on her pillow. She didn't cry for long, she fell asleep too quickly for that.

Theodore stared after Jeanette, unsure what to do. He called after her once, but knew that he would never catch her. He looked at the door and noticed Mrs. Dorian looking through the window at him. He smiled and waved at her….she didn't look happy.