The short break was very much needed. Hope you enjoy this chapter! It sets the scene for what's to come! And it's very Alvinette heavy!

Genius-Alvin's POV

I'm back again! It's been about a week since I visited the science museum with Simon and Jeanette. I enjoyed it a TON! There's something I never thought I'd say. It did help that the museum had several interactive exhibits. Things are a lot less boring when I can touch them.

Let me see if I can remember some of my favorite exhibits there. They had this prism thing where you could bend the lights and see a rainbow. That was pretty awesome. There was also a virtual reality space walk, a wall with a bunch of gears that you had to fit together, and a display of a bunch of circuits that each powered a different light-bulb.

Jeanette really liked the model of a human brain. I wonder if my half-human and half-chipmunk brain works more similar to a human one. Kinda feels like it does sometimes. Jeanette has been studying psychology stuff really hard lately, so it makes sense any psycholoco…psychological…whoah! I said that correctly! exhibits would appeal to her.

Simon was into all the chemistry and archeology things. He dug out pretend dino bones in this sandbox thing, then he played around with an exhibit on balancing chemical equations for, like, a whole hour. I tried that one out too. I thought that since I'm better at math now, I could do it no sweat. I was wrong. Guess I've still got a lot to learn.

I remember just yesterday I brought this up to Simon. I was very eager to share what I'd realized. It's like every single day was a whole new discovery. I understood why Simon and Jeanette throw themselves into their studies so much. The urge to continue to grow my mental ability was restless.

"Ya know, when this first started, I felt like I suddenly had all the knowledge in the universe crammed in my skull." I began. "Then, I started thinking about all the stuff I still don't know. Because the more you know, the more you realize that you can't know everything. Which means, are ya with me?, you can NEVER run out of stuff to learn! You can just learn new things forever! Isn't that cool? I think it's pretty cool."

He rolled over and glared at me from his bed. "Again, Alvin. It is 2 in the morning."

I hadn't even noticed the time. I'd been trying to fall asleep since 10pm, but my brain wouldn't shut up. "Sorry, sorry, I'll sleep."

He smiled at me before closing his eyes again. "But it IS incredibly cool." He agreed.

I think Simon was pretty happy with how well I'd been progressing. I didn't talk people's ears off about physics nonstop anymore. I'd learned to hold back a lot of things actually. Sometimes, I still slipped up, but overall I was improving faster than I expected to.

Even though I'd learned to hold things back and be less of a show off, I'd also learned to be more honest and open with people I trust. That was all thanks to the "How to Be Less of a Jerk" lessons from Jeanette. She didn't call them that. I did. She called them, uh, what was it… "The Road To Self Betterment" or something like that.

Jeanette and I, or Netta as I enjoy callin' her, talked about a lot of very interesting things. I found out she's also read the entire My Teacher Is An Alien series, although she started with book 4 and read the entire arc in reverse. That blew my mind.

"You can do that?" I asked, as we sat in her room on the floor.

She nodded happily. "I have always been able to read things out of order without getting confused. I chronologically re-organize the events in my head."

"I had trouble understanding bits of the story even reading it forward." I admitted. "Like….humans are telepathic? What? That just comes at ya out of nowhere." I rubbed my cheek. It was itchy for some reason. "Do you think that we could be telepathic too? Just like humans are?"

She finally explained it to me, when the book itself wouldn't. "It's a metaphor, Alvin. Humans aren't naturally telepathic. Telepathy represents your willingness to learn about another person and their willingness to learn about you. It's all about being open minded, compassionate, and understanding."

I looked at her, still not fully grasping it yet. Sometimes I learn fast and other times I need to be hit on the head a few times, ya know, metaphorically. "Huh? Really?"

"Yes!" She leapt to her feet and grinned that adorable grin. "Because think about it, if you spend enough time becoming good friends with a person, being open with them, sharing each other's triumphs and struggles, you begin to feel as if you can read their mind."

That did seem…accurate. "I sometimes feel like I can read Theo's mind, but that's just cuz he thinks about food a lot." I joked.

She sat on her bed and fidgeted with the pencil she was holding. "I'm not naturally good at reading people's emotions or their reasons for their actions." She told me. I thought she was better at that than I was. "I prefer it when people tell me why they do the things they do. That's why I get along so well with Theodore. Neither of us keep secrets from each other. We are entirely open book people. Because of this, he knows what I'll say and I know what he'll say at least 75% of the time."

"Like telepathy?" CLICK! Now I finally fully understood. "And that's like….the same thing happening to me and Simon? We know each other more now, so that's why we finish each other's sentences?"

She nodded, excited that she'd managed to teach me. "Yes! Do you understand now?"

"I think so." I stood up and leaned on Britt's vanity. "Do you want there to be no secrets between us? Ya know, cuz, that's what makes you comfortable?"

She stuck the pencil behind her ear. "If possible."

I smiled. I wanted to keep her as comfortable with me as possible. I couldn't lose her by being a jerk. "I can try! It'll take practice, but I do feel like I can tell you almost anything already." I said. "Now, I just gotta get those pesky head voices to shut up." By which I meant Nerdy Alvin and Classic Alvin. I named my voices to differentiate them.

"Pesky head voices?" Jeanette looked baffled.

I nodded. "Yeah, you know, the ones that say "don't tell her this!" "Don't tell her that." "She's gonna think you're insane in the membrane." That better explain it. I don't have another way of telling her.

She frowned. "I…..don't have those." Cool. She clearly thought I was crazy. Maybe I WAS crazy.

I tried to play it off like I wasn't worried. Head voices that tell you two completely different things are totally normal! "That's good. You're super lucky." I squeaked playfully. "They're a real drag."

"Oookay." She grabbed her giant psychology book and sat it in her lap. "Let's get on with the lesson. I know you could discuss alien books all day, and I would love to as well, but we have work to do."

"Technically, according to the laws of physics, every move we make is work. So we're already doing lots of work." I grinned playfully. "Want me to calculate the work we've been doing in joules?"

"Maybe later, Alvin." She opened the psychology book and flipped through the pages. "This is really important."

I snapped back into learning mode. "Okay, okay. I'm listenin''."

Jeanette looked down at me as I sat on the floor, eager for her to fill me with useful information. "I'm going to teach you how to understand feelings and why other people might feel the way they do." She squeaked.

I frowned. "Yeah, that's not my problem." I revealed. She did say to be more open. "I know why people feel how they feel. And I know how to tell what people are feeling. I just….uh, how do I put this?" I racked my thoughts for an eloquent way of saying it. And I got…nothin'. So, I improvised. "Sometimes I don't think about how they feel because I'm too busy thinking about how I feel. I see a situation and an immediate solution and then nothing stands in my way until I realize how much I screwed up and how many people I've hurt by accident." Wow, hearing that out loud made me feel….guilty.

"Oh….hmmm." I can tell that threw Jeanette's entire lesson plan out the window. "That is a whole different problem than I thought we were dealing with." She pursued her lips.

I stood up again. "Is there any way I can be LESS impulsive?"

"You have to be impulsive!" Classic Alvin's voice ranted in my ear. "It's an Alvin thing."

"He can train himself to be less impulsive." Nerdy Alvin responded.

"How?" I thought to him hopelessly.

He wasn't overly helpful. "No idea. I just know it's possible."

Jeanette flipped through the psychology book. "Maybe there's a chapter in here about controlling your impulses. Fingers crossed."

"And if there isn't?" I questioned.

Her midnight eyes shined with confidence. "Then you'll have to just really practice over and over until you've got it."

I flopped backwards onto Brittany's bed. "That sounds impossible!"

Jeanette's little white mouse scurried over to stand on my chest. She put her tiny little paws on my chin, trying to tilt it up.

"Nothing is impossible." Jeanette insisted. "I think I found something."

Pippi continued to tickle my chin, so I gently lifted her off and held her in my hands. At least she didn't nip me this time.

"What did ya find?" I slid off Britt's bed and went over to get a closer look at the book.

"It says that whenever you get impulsive, you should stop and ask yourself why you are doing what you're doing." Oh, sweet Jeanette. That's never gonna work.

I felt defeated. "I want to do it because I want to do it. That's it. That's the only reason I need."

"It also says to know your triggers. Is that helpful?" She asked.

I shook my head. "My triggers are EVERYTHING."

"Think about logic more than emotions?" She wasn't getting desperate yet.

I, on the other hand, was. None of this seemed like it would change my behavior. "Nope. Because every single crazy scheme I cook up is totally logical to me."

"Really?" Now she was beginning to realize what an absolute mess of a person I was.

I explained it more. "Yeeeeah. Starting to think my logic's different from most people's logic."

"Oh man." She nibbled her pointer finger nail. "That makes this so difficult."

"This is what I've been dealin' with my whole life, Netta." I laid down on her bed with my head on her pillow. "Also, I don't GET impulsive. My impulsiveness is a constant state of being. It never shuts off."

"Never?" She studied me with intrigue. "So whenever you want to do something, anything, you just….do it?"

"Well, I think about it a little." I frowned harder. "But my conclusion I come to is always, act now, deal with consequences later."

"I've got it!" The Chipette in the purple jacket snapped her fingers. "We've just gotta teach you to think of the consequences enough to scare yourself into making better decisions."

I sat up with a startled expression. "What? Your solution to solve my anxiety of being a horrible screw up is to….give me MORE anxiety!?"

"Oh…I suppose, yeah, that….that won't work either." She flipped through more pages of the psychology book. "What about positive reinforcement?"

"Thinking positive? I think both positively and negatively at the same time." I stared at her bookcase. We were getting NOWHERE. I was so bored!

"No. I mean, what if every time you succeed in holding back an impulse, I give you a reward?" She proposed.

My tail waggled. "I do like rewards!" I replied.

"Great! Then, that's what we'll do." She flipped the book closed and put it back on her shelf. "We're going shopping."

"How is shopping going to help me be less impul…..ohhhh." I realized her plan. "You're gonna make me window shop and see stuff I want and not buy it?"

"Exactly!" The eccentric girl slipped her beloved mouse into her backpack. "And you can bring Warbie along if you'd like."

I was a little nervous about this idea, but I figured it was worth a shot. Besides, having Warbie there would help. I always feel calmer with him around. Probably cuz he's such a wild card that he MAKES me feel calm in comparison. Silly bird.

A little while later, the yellow warbler in question was perched on my shoulder while I strolled into the toy store with Jeanette. Yep. The TOY store. She was playing hardball right off the bat. I admired her for it. She knew I needed some tough love.

"Wow, this place is bigger than I was expecting." Netta opened her purse so that Pippi's head could stick out.

"Holy guacamole!" Warbie exclaimed. He flew off my shoulder.

I gave him a stern look. "Don't get lost, Warbie. We have to stick together."

"You sound like Simon." He teased.

"I do not!" I folded my arms angrily. "My head has a totally different neurochemical makeup than Si…" And then, I got distracted by something shiny. "Hey, look at that cool motorcycle!" I rushed over to the crimson and silver colored toy.

"Oh boy! I could ride on that!" Warbie landed on the box.

Jeanette peered down at the box as I held it. "Why would Warbie need a motorcycle when he's got wings?"

"Uh, because I wanna go speeding around at 50,000 miles per hour!" My little bird pal sure has an attitude.

"Physically impossible." I said, entirely automatically. "I'm pretty sure it cannot exceed probably 25 miles per hour, maaaybe 30."

The yellow and orange bird with the mop of blue feathers that looked like hair started to grumble. "I thought you had the physics thing under control."

"He's working on it." Jeanette gave me an encouraging half smile. I loved that little half smile of hers.

In fact, I loved it so much that I'd been copying it without thinking about it. It was slowly replacing my smirk as my default smile. It looked fantastic on her, but it was really dorky looking on me. It just didn't fit my cool guy vibe. Oh wait, I'm not cool anymore. Okay, I guess the mimic smile can stay.

Anyway, back to explaining things to Warbie. "Physics and I are currently on a need to know basis." I adjusted my cap. "If I need to know something, it tells me. If I don't, then it stays quiet. Occasionally, it still breaks into my head when I'm doing stuff I don't absolutely need the knowledge for, but not as much as it used to."

"Right, so…" Warbie pecked gently at the box. "Can we get the motorcycle?"

I looked at Jeanette, who gave an ever so slight shake of her head. Getting the motorcycle wasn't what we came here to do.

I sighed. "No, we can't."

"Why not?" Warbie complained. "Why tempt us with stuff we can't have?" He ruffled his feathers and glared at Jeanette.

"It's part of Alvin's training." She said softly.

Pippi wriggled her large ears and then stuck her little pink tongue out at Warbie.

Dang it! I really REALLY wanted that motorcycle. I tried to put it back on the shelf, but my hands wouldn't let go of it.

"I know it's hard, Alvin. You're doing great. Just let it go." The girl in purple was still talking in that same whispery sweet voice, but with firmer undertones.

Fighting harder than I have ever fought before, I put the motorcycle back on the shelf. Warbie perched next to it.

"I still want it." I said glumly.

Jeanette patted my back. "I know you do, but you can't always have what you want when you want it."

"But what are the consequences of getting it? Warbie's happy! I'm happy! We have fun remote controlling it around the yard! I see no downside!" I told her.

"Except that it costs 60 dollars. Which is 60 dollars you could use more responsibly." Jeanette scooped Warbie off the shelf and put him in the bag with Pippi.

Both the bird and the mouse looked at each other uncomfortably. Well, they better get used to hanging out together, because Jeanette and I were gonna be spending a LOT of time together from now on.

"Okay, um, d…don't….don't laugh, but…" I stammered.

Netta put her hand over her heart. "I would never laugh at you. Unless you wanted me to."

I took a deep breath. Why was this so embarrassing? "How do I use it responsibly? What do I buy? Like….staple refills? Binder clips? Notebooks? a sweatervest?" Sweatervest? Where did that thought come from!?

"You'd look cute in a sweatervest." She responded in her usual soft tone. "But really, you could buy any of those things…or anything else that would help you accomplish your goals."

"My goals….hmmm." I rubbed my chin. "Well, aside from become the biggest nerd in school, I don't really have any goals." I joked. WAIT A MINUTE! Since when was becoming a full nerd on my list of goals!? I was perfectly happy being half a nerd!

We walked into another aisle and Jeanette looked confused. "Isn't becoming less impulsive a goal? Getting your grades up in all your classes? And becoming a more compassionate person?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. All that falls under "become a nerd," Jeanette."

"Why do you want to be a nerd?" Warbie moaned. "You were so awesome before. You're still half awesome. Hold on to the half."

I felt that weird barfy feeling again. "What's the point? If the school's gonna treat me like a full nerd, I might as well be one." Okay, maybe I had listened to my Nerdy Alvin side a little too much.

"Alvin, you can be whoever and whatever you WANT to be." The amazing girl in purple reminded me.

I sighed. "I don't know who I wanna be. I just wanna be better, I guess. Alvin but better. Alv-improved." I chuckled at my lame pun. Because making lame puns is a thing I do now. Maybe it was always a thing I did. I don't even remember.

"And that's exactly what we're going for. Now, let's challenge those impulses some more!" She declared

We strode into four more aisles. I saw so many things I wanted. Videogames, remote control planes, cars, monster trucks, even some new sports equipment. (Although, let's be real, Eleanor has a ton of sports equipment to lend people anyway.) My brand new nerdy side that was growing stronger by the day even found a few things that it wanted. A build your own rocketship kit, a rock tumblr, (Whoops, I mean tumbler. Tumblr is a social media site.) and a a mini mad scientist kit. The third one was calling to me the strongest, but I refused the call because I'm not a scientist. Just liking physics doesn't make me a scientist. Plus, sorta promised Simon I wouldn't be one.

It didn't matter anyway, Netta wouldn't allow me to get a thing, no matter how much I begged and pleaded. It was torture. I was very quickly getting tired of this stupid idea of hers. I wanted to get out of here. The temptation was EVERYWHERE!

Eventually, we returned to the treehouse totally empty handed. I sat through a couple more lessons on how to think about the consequences of my actions and then I pretended to fall asleep.

"Alvin, are you awake?" Jeanette shook me gently.

I yawned. "Just barely."

"No offense, Jeanette, but you are super boring." Warbie blurted out.

"She's not boring." I defended her, even though I was bored, I knew it wasn't her fault. It was just late and I was tired….and annoyed. "Holding back my impulses wore me out." It wasn't entirely a lie. That certainly contributed.

"I guess it's probably time we finish up for today." Jeanette slid a box out from under her bed and grabbed a jar of golden glitter. She sprinkled some over my head. "Before you go…"

"What are you doing?" I asked, the glitter causing me to sneeze.

She screwed the lid back on the jar and tucked it away. "Pixie dust blessing. For good luck. Because I have noticed you seem to have very rotten luck."

I stared at her. How could someone be so wise beyond her years and yet also act like a tiny child? She made no sense. I made no sense. If I wasn't already fated to eventually end up with Britt, which I wasn't thrilled about, we would be the perfect match.

"I don't think that'll work." I said, remembering she wanted me to be open and honest with her.

She winked at me. "It will if you believe."

Warbie giggled at the ridiculous scene from his spot on Britt's vanity. Pippi elbowed him and then squeaked angrily. I guess she didn't like him laughing at Jeanette. Or maybe his laugh just annoyed her in general. I don't know what that mouse thinks.

"You're adorable, you know that?" I chuckled to my close friend.

She blushed. "Just trust me. The pixie dust works wonders." She grabbed something else and held it in her hands. "One more thing before you go." She grinned. "Mr. Snugglepet wanted to say hi. He likes you."

I felt that chill in my spine again. THE SPIDER! I don't like spiders, especially not big fuzzy black ones that look like they're gonna eat your face! "H….Hi, Mr. Sn…Snugglepet."

Warbie decided to be a thorn in my side. "Don't just say hi to him. Touch him."

"No. No no. I'm not there yet." I put my hands behind my back.

"Why? You chicken?" Warbie started making chicken noises. "Bawk bawk baaaawk!" I am very embarrassed to admit, I taught Warbie pretty much everything he knows, including that.

I growled softly. "Knock it off, Warbie."

"Okay, dad." The little bird sassed me. I mean, I guess I am technically his dad. It's WEIRD, okay?

"Boys, that's enough." Jeanette looked at me. "You don't have to touch him if you aren't comfortable with it."

"Nah, ya know what? I'm in the mood to face my fear head on." I said proudly.

Warbie did a little dance on the vanity. "You da munk, Alvin!"

Pippi danced along with him, tail twitching excitedly.

I gulped. "Bring him closer." I told Jeanette, my voice trembling.

She looked unsure if this was a good idea, but she stepped closer to me.

I reached out a very shaky hand and inched it closer and closer to the spider.

"Almost there." Came Warbie's voice.

"I don't need a play by play." I grumbled.

Finally, my hand connected with the gross creature in Jeanette's hand. His back was furry, but not furry like mine. I hated the feel of it. But….he wasn't trying to eat my face off.

"You did it." Jeanette beamed at me. "I knew you could."

I gave Mr. Snugglepet two more tiny tickles and then took my hand back. "Yeah. It wasn't actually that bad."

"You know, trying new things could be very good therapy." She put the arachnid creature on her shoulder.

I picked up Warbie and let him perch on my cap. "Whoah whoah…therapy? Is that what all this is?"

"Kind of." Jeanette revealed. I had no idea this was THERAPY! I hate therapy. "It's behavior training combined with helping you cope with being less popular."

"Well…." I mulled it over in my head. Jeanette wasn't hurting me like my past therapist, who wouldn't allow me to fidget, had done. Maybe I could still handle this. "I'll keep getting therapy, but ONLY from you."

She stuck a gold star sticker on my cheek. She was a very odd girl. I liked her a lot. I guess the gold star was my positive reinforcement. She really should get better rewards, like candy. She could basically train me like a dog if she gave me candy.

The next day, after my training session with Netta, I had school again. Time to try and practice what I learned, right? Be less impulsive. Think about consequences. Think about how other people feel, instead of how I feel. Be more open and understanding.

"You're blocking my locker, weirdo." Brittany's voice shook me out of my thoughts.

"My bad." I moved out of the way.

She grabbed her textbooks. "So, I hear you and Jeanette hung out AGAIN last weekend."

"Yeah, but I also went to see that movie with you. Remember? The one about the girl….and that guy….and the gift box." I blabbered.

She sighed. "You can't even remember the name of the movie. Shows how much you enjoyed it."

"I did enjoy it though! Really, I did!" I stuck my hands in the pocket of my cyan hoodie. I had chosen to wear it to school today for the first time. It was unzipped so that my red shirt with the yellow A could be visible.

"Stop lying to me." Brittany started to walk to class.

I frowned as I followed her, grabbing my books from my own locker. "My memory is all spotty again now that you guys made me stop talking physics all the time." Wait, Why was I blaming my family and friends for my shortcomings? "I mean,…" I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I really did enjoy the film. I don't remember it well, but that's all on me. It's something I'm working on."

Brittany's eyes went wide. "You're not supposed to say that." She replied.

"What am I supposed to say?" I asked.

"I dunno." Brittany was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. "Something, anything, that sounds like Alvin."

"Sorry I didn't enjoy your crummy chick flick?" I questioned. That wasn't the truth though. I did enjoy it. Which surprised me because it was in fact a chick flick.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. You're still in there." She gulped. "For now anyway."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, taking a seat at my desk.

"Alvin, look at me." She stood in front of my desk. "You've still got time to back out of this. I talked to Jesse and Tracy. They said you could turn everything around in a few days if you drop this nerd act."

"I HAVE turned everything around." I said forcefully. "I just haven't turned it in the direction you wanted me to. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to triple check last night's math homework." I slid my reading glasses down from the cap brim and over my eyes.

She walked back to her desk, looking distraught.

"So you're really a nerd now?" John, another random student, asked me. "Like Kevin and Cheesy?"

"Ah ah ah. I'm HALF nerd." I insisted. "And half cool. I'm playin' in the soccer championship this week. If ya watch me, you'll see how incredibly cool I still am."

Amber and Annie laughed. "You? Play soccer?"

"I thought you only cared about physics now." Derek teased.

"That's enough, you guys." Simon sat down at his desk. He'd come to my aid, once again. "Leave my brother alone. He's had a very stressful couple of months….Mostly, thanks to you."

Annie laughed harder. "I guess that, like, totally proves it. Nerds defending nerds. Love to see it."

"Don't get too close, you'll catch Alvin's geek cooties." Ray Ray commented.

I held up my math book in a threatening manner. "Keep it up, fellas. You're cruisin for a bruisin."

"Alvin, no!" Jeanette took the math book from my hand. "Violence is not the answer."

I sulked. "Fiiiine. I won't hit them with any more textbooks." I promised.

"Alvin actually DOES play soccer, you idiots." Eleanor was coming to my defense too. Wow. "He's one of the best players."

"Yeah! And I am totally going to win the championship!" I boasted. Wait, no, did that sound too arrogant? "I mean, I'm totally gonna try my best to win the championship, but it doesn't matter if we win or lose. It's how much fun we have doing it that matters!"

"What?" Eleanor got out of her seat and rolled, yes rolled, to my desk like a super spy on a secret mission. "What do you MEAN it doesn't matter if we win? We have to win, Alvin. It's the championship!"

"Jeanette said winning isn't everything, and she's kinda right. I mean, sports are fun and all but whenever we get too competitive things usually go south. People get injured." I babbled, quite impulsively.

Eleanor stomped back to her seat and looked angrily at Jeanette. "Nice going, sis. You've wrecked my best player."

"She's done more than that." Brittany whimpered.

I raised my pointer finger in the air. "I actually think not being as competitive gives me an edge." Although part of me still had that competitive spirit, it was like a blazing inferno. I was the volcano and it was the lava, but currently I was a dormant volcano. I wouldn't erupt anytime soon.

Brittany blew her nose on a tissue. She was clearly still under the impression that Jeanette was on some mission to take away everything that made me Alvin.

Theodore was also in the room, but he was busy listening to his headphones until Miss. Smith arrived and started class. I don't think he heard anything going on, and if he did, he did a great job ignoring it.

"Get in your seats, right now." Miss. Smith strode into the classroom. "And take out the headphones." She looked directly at Theo.

He slipped his earbuds out and shoved them into his hoodie pocket, looking frightened.

I raised my hand high in the air.

"What is it now, Alvin?" My teacher rubbed her forehead. I could tell she was exasperated with me already. I hadn't even DONE anything.

I cleared my throat. "Would it be okay if I walked everyone through the homework? But, but, not in a showoff-y way, in a teachable way?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Are you saying you want to teach math class?"

"Uh…just like….a fraction of it." I squeaked. "If that's alright."

Kevin and Cheesy both snickered at my math joke and Simon rolled his eyes.

Miss. Smith looked from me, to the lesson plan, and then back to me. "Sure. Whatever. Go for it." She stepped aside to allow me to jump up onto her desk. "I didn't feel like teaching algebra today anyway." I heard her mutter.

Britt raised her hand.

I didn't know if Miss. Smith was gonna call on her, but it didn't look like it. I called on her instead. "Yes, Brittany?"

"I need to go to the office. There's been, uh, an emergency and the principal needs me." She said.

Hahaha. I knew that was a lie. She was tryin' to get out of having me be her teacher for one class period. Eh, I'll let her have this one.

"Alrighty, well, see ya. Tell Principal Meadows I said "hi." I told her. I hadn't seen the principal in a while. Well, actually only a week, but that's still abnormal for me.

Brittany left the room with a horrified look on her face. She slammed the door pretty hard on her way out.

"Okay, guys, who can tell me the first step towards finding x in problem number one?" I asked my classmates. Many of them, aside from Jeanette, were staring at me in surprise. It finally dawned on me what I was actually doing. All I intended to do was prove I could walk people through parts they didn't understand without being a condescending jerk about it. Unfortunately, my nerdy impulses had turned me from teacher's pet into the teacher. This was NOT scoring me cool points.

And now I was stuck. I agreed to do this, so I had to see it through until the end. I managed to get through the algebra homework and the scariest part is, I enjoyed every minute of it. Okay, so, maybe Britt was right about Jeanette warping my personality. Why else would I be doing this?

"Because you want to." That nerdy voice in my head echoed. "You want to share your knowledge with everyone. I'm so proud of you."

No, stop. Get out! Think about less nerdy things. Like sports! Like soccer! Yeah, that's it! Just think about soccer! Only soccer! I could break free of this hold that my nerd side had on me! All I needed was practice turning it on and off.

SIMON: Man, I forgot about that until just now.

ALVIN: With your super memory? Really?

SIMON: You just took over the class from Miss. Smith and she LET you!? It doesn't feel REAL!

ALVIN: At least that didn't become a normal thing. It was only for one day.

SIMON: Right. Is it my turn to narrate now?

ALVIN: Well, it was supposed to be Eleanor, buuut, she's busy with a new mystery to solve, so I'll have her narrate for the next two chapters.

SIMON: A wise decision.

Simon's POV

After the absolute shocker that math class turned out to be, everything returned to, well, ALMOST normal. The rest of the school day went on as usual. When lunch period rolled around, we all saw Brittany again. She was the person having the worst time adjusting to Alvin's changes. I wasn't having a particularly easy time either, but she was falling apart.

"He's further and further gone each day, you guys." Britt looked sadly down at her lunch tray.

"Yeah. I'm with Britt. He's suddenly not competitive and he volunteered to teach math class." Eleanor commented, drawing out soccer plays in between bites of her sandwich. "Jeanette's lessons have gone too far."

"I think Alvin's doing very well." Their sister and Alvin's new favorite person to spend time with, spoke sweetly.

As much as I hated to disagree with Jeanette, because I knew her intentions were good, I was with Brittany on this one. "Don't you think you could….cut back just a little? I mean, there's being a better person and then there's being someone entirely new."

"He's not someone entirely new." Jeanette insisted.

I looked around the lunchroom and saw Alvin talking to a group of random girls. "Explain this then." I pointed at the scene, hoping everyone would take notice.

Alvin was doing something that wasn't too out of the ordinary. He was trying out pick up lines on girls. However, it was the WAY he was doing it that was cause for alarm.

"Hey, gorgeous. According to the second law of thermodynamics, you're supposed to share your hotness with me." He said to one girl, who walked away from him looking positively disgusted.

My brother wasn't even phased. He scampered up to another girl. "I'm attracted to you like the earth is attracted to the sun. With a large force inversely proportional to the distance squared." Once again, this girl walked away.

"Your smile is warmer than hydrogen plasma." Alvin was getting very desperate now. The third girl scoffed. "You are such a geek."

He walked up to a fourth girl and said something even worse than the last three pickup lines. "Wanna hang out and measure the coefficient of static friction between us?" She dumped her tray of mashed potatoes on his head. I hate to say it, but it was warranted.

Brittany glared at Jeanette. "Sis, I thought you said you were going to FIX the physics thing. Why is he still talking about it?"

"Um, Brittany, those weren't only physics facts." I mentioned. "They were pick up lines."

"I keep waiting for him to get bored with all this, but he seems to really like being a nerd." Theodore shrugged. "It's not the worst thing he could be."

"But it's not ALVIN." The Chipette in pink insisted.

"Yes it is." Jeanette sighed. "Do we have to keep talking behind his back like this?"

"Look, as long as he plays in the soccer game tomorrow, I don't care if he's Alvin or not." Eleanor crossed her arms. "But the second he drops sports, we have to do something."

Brittany moaned. "If it gets to the point where he wants to drop sports, we'll be too late."

I frowned. "I don't know what's going on with him." I admitted. Alvin's supposed intelligence had been growing RAPIDLY ever since he told me about it. He wouldn't stop surprising me with new things he learned. But, but, it also wasn't constant anymore. He didn't shove it in my face. The lessons Jeanette and I were giving him were working, mostly Jeanette's. Sadly, it seemed that the lessons were stripping away every last bit of the Alvin I used to know.

"I do!" Brittany waved her arms. "He dilly dallied and took his sweet time deciding whether or not he wants to be popular anymore. Then, he decided that he doesn't! The status quo is upset and it's trying to change Alvin to make him fit his new role of unpopular loser."

I glared at her.

"No offense, Simon." She added.

Theodore tilted his head. "I don't think the status quo has feelings. It can't be upset."

Brittany clenched her fist. "I'm telling you. If we don't act fast, there will be nothing left of him. Nothing. Alvin Seville will cease to exist."

I frowned again. At first, Brittany had seemed crazy. Loony. Off her rocker. But the more I hung out with Alvin, or "Albert" as he called his in disguise persona, the less crazy Brittany seemed. "Suppose you're right. I hate to say it, but…we might already be too late."

"You need to scan his brain. Find out what's going on in there and bring him back." Brittany grabbed my hands. I don't like being touched without warning. "Please. Please at least try. I can't just let him go knowing we didn't even try."

"I'll see what I can do." I didn't exactly have a brain scanner handy. I'd have to build one.

"Hey, guys!" Alvin bounded up to our table and sat down, brushing the chunks of mashed potato out of his hair. "Whatcha talkin' bout?"

"You." Theodore blurted out, before anyone could stop him. I handed him my chocolate chip cookie. Hopefully that would keep him QUIET.

Alvin sighed. "If it was about the math class thing, I don't know what came over me, but it'll never EVER happen again. I promise."

"If you don't know what came over you, you don't have control over it." Eleanor pointed out, sounding almost as scared as Brittany. "Which means it could happen again."

"No, it was just, I wanted practice not being a show off and it backfired." Alvin rubbed the sleeves of his cyan colored hooded jacket. He had a nervous energy about him, something that wasn't typical for Alvin. Why was he wearing his "Albert" jacket to school anyway?

Brittany stared at Alvin, her face filled with grief. "I love it when you show off."

"Really?" Alvin challenged her. "You're always complaining about it."

"I guess you never know how much you love something until you watch it go." Brittany stood up from the table. "Anyway, I have to go sit with the cheer squad. They just texted me."

I didn't see her check her phone at all, but I stayed silent. I knew she wanted to get away from Alvin.

As Brittany left, Alvin picked at the food in his lunchbox. "She hates me now. I knew this being half-nerd thing would drive a wedge between us. I was right." He slumped his shoulders. "Even the less popular girls hate me too. I tried to use killer pickup lines and….nothing!"

"That's because you used physics as pick up lines." Eleanor smacked Alvin gently upside the head. Maybe that would knock some sense into him.

Alvin rubbed the sleeves of his jacket again and hugged himself. "I….I didn't know they wouldn't be into it. I thought, well, I don't know what I thought. I'm new at this, okay?"

"It's okay, Alvin." WAS IT ACTUALLY!?

"Oh, hey, I just had a great idea! Can you and Netta and I take a trip to the bookstore? After school today?" He asked, having apparently shaken off the pick up line disappointment already.

"Netta? Who's Netta?" I raised an eyebrow. "Is she a new friend of yours?"

He chuckled. "An old friend. I mean Jeanette." He opened his thermos and started to eat the mac and cheese Dave packed.

Jeanette smiled. "It's his pet name for me."

Oh gosh. Were they….a couple now? No, no, don't be ridiculous. Alvin gives everyone nicknames. It's what he does. It doesn't mean anything. Besides, I have no romantic feelings for Jeanette. Even if Alvin did fall in love with her, I wouldn't care.

Brittany on the other hand….may actually throw herself off a cliff. You see, it was OBVIOUS Brittany had a crush on Alvin. Obvious to everyone except Alvin. I assumed Alvin had a crush on Brittany too, but he wasn't aware of that either. This was not looking like a very good situation.

"Simon? Hello? You there, bro?" Alvin clapped his hands next to my ear. "You're zoned out as much as I usually am."

"Sorry. I was…thinking." I answered. "It's chronic genius overthink. Anyway, yes, um, yes, we can go to the bookstore."

"Awesome!" Alvin cheered. "Ohoho! I love books!"

After our classes and extracurriculars concluded, the three of us rode the bus to the bookstore outside of town. We all shared a seat and Alvin sat in the middle. Or, excuse me, ALBERT, my "genius cousin," sat in the middle. Alvin had once again donned his disguise. He was getting far too comfortable in it, if you ask me.

The cyan jacket, rainbow shoes, and unkempt hair did a lot to make him nearly unrecognizable. If that wasn't bad enough, he also talked in his irritatingly wordy scholar voice the entire time. It was all just an act. At least, it was supposed to be an act.

"Have we arrived at our destination?" Alvin/Albert asked.

I sighed. "Can you just say "are we there yet?"

He shook his head. "That's what your brother Alvin would say."

"You ARE my brother Alvin." I whispered.

"Not at this present moment." He replied. He was too method for his own good sometimes.

Jeanette sat quietly, looking out the window.

I let my mind mull over the situation at hand again. How and why had Alvin chosen the name for his fake persona anyway? Was he just going for Albert Seville as the opposite of Alvin Einstein? (That's a nickname he gave himself. I personally hate it.) Or was there some other reason?

In fact, he didn't know it, but his name wasn't really Alvin at all. Dave had picked something different to name him officially. I found out about it when Eleanor had snooped on our adoption certificates. Most of us never consider his original moniker because it doesn't fit him well. Or at least, didn't in the past.

Lately, he truly seemed less like Alvin and more like Albert-Vincent. The name suddenly made a lot of sense. Could Dave have seen this potential in him when he was younger and simply forgotten it existed? Of course, we would NEVER tell Alvin, lest we unleash a NEW identity crisis of epic proportions.

Did he know already? No! There's no way he could have possibly known. Maybe somewhere deep in his subconscious he remembers being called that for a week? Before switching to his nickname? Yeah. That's very likely. Then, that subconscious memory kicked in and he chose Albert.

The bus lurched to a stop. We all filed off the bus. Alvin didn't say a WORD. That was very abnormal. At the museum, he wouldn't shut up. It was still annoying, but it was also very exciting to see him fully immersed in the joy of discovery.

Whatever happened to Alvin, I knew one thing was for sure, I couldn't take learning away from him. If that slowly turned him into a completely different person, well, I was just going to have to adjust. But hopefully Jeanette was right. Hopefully there was still the old Alvin in there. He wasn't coming out as often because he didn't feel like he had to. Perhaps that was the answer.

I entered the bookstore with a lot still on my mind. Little did I realize, by the middle of the week, I would have an entirely NEW problem on my mind.

DUN DUN DUHHHH

What are your thoughts about what's going on with Alvin?

This chapter didn't end where I wanted it to end. I kinda added too much stuff, but rather than delete any of this, I am gonna just make this story 5 parts instead of 4.

I'll see you soon with another update!