Here comes the angst, here comes the angst. I break Alvin down more, but there's also some Alvinette to lighten the dour mood. Oh and this chapter is INSANELY LONG. You have been warned.

Genius-Alvin's POV

The next morning, Theodore made himself a stack of fluffy pancakes for breakfast. Simon had some toast with grape jelly, and I made myself a bowl of oatmeal. (By which, I mean I just emptied a blueberries and cream oatmeal packet into the bowl and poured almond milk on it.) I know, I know, it's lazy, but warming it up is a whole extra step and I hate the gloppy texture of it anyway. It's so hard to get it a nice consistency.

"Are you going to warm that up?" Simon asked, looking at my oatmeal bowl.

I shook my head. "Why bother?"

"Uh, because it says on the package to put it in the microwave." He replied.

I rolled my eyes. "Stop policing my breakfast, bro."

"Hey!" Theo scolded us. "Don't start. It's too early for this."

I had the sudden impulse to take the spoon Simon was using to scoop the jelly and use it to flick a glob of jelly into his face. Stop. Remember your training. Think. Predict outcome. Evaluate the situation.

If I did that, Simon would surely be upset. He'd tell Dave what I did and then Dave would be upset. Yesterday, Dave almost, for a moment, understood my pain. But if I started acting out again, he might think that I'm slipping back into old habits…then he'd punish me and that would cause me more pain.

Classic Alvin's voice echoed in my mind once again. "So what? Simon deserves it!"

"No, Simon deserves to be respected. We want Simon to see us as a fellow intellectual." Nerdy Alvin's voice reminded me.

"No, we don't." Classic seemed very stuck in his ways. "That would mean we're as boring as him!"

I was trapped in the middle of their argument. I couldn't think.

"Not necessarily." Nerd me seemed convinced we'd only be half-nerdy and half cool. Half cool is better than no cool I guess.

"ALVIN!" Simon snapped his fingers in front of my face.

Theodore put down the pancake he was currently nibbling on. "You don't look so good."

"Huh? What? No, I'm fine." I rubbed my head. "Just another physics vision thing." I lied.

Theodore raised an eyebrow. "Didn't look like one."

"How can you tell?" I snapped, tail fur bristling.

"Well….you usually look happy with those." My brother in the kelly green long sleeved shirt said. Drat! Curse Theo's observation skills. "And you look panicked right now."

Simon grimaced. "I bet he's thinking about report cards again." He said. I detected a hint of empathy…or sympathy. Whichever one is right.

I hadn't been thinking about that. Now I was, and the oatmeal wasn't sitting so well in my stomach. "You guessed it." I lied again.

Am I a pathological liar? I need Jeanette to train that out of me too, don't I? I probably should be making a list, but then I'm just gonna lose the list, so what's the point?

"It's okay, Alvin. The important thing is that you try your best." Theodore went back to eating his pancakes.

"I always try my best!" I said adamantly. "Always. Look, I applied myself like CRAZY this time around. If I still fail, then I may have to face facts…"

"That you aren't truly a genius?" Simon squinted his eyes at me, studying me. Why is everyone studying me as I try to study everything?

I sighed "That I'm…..not ever going to succeed. I am unteachable."

"Whatever happens, you can just try again next marking period. Then, you have the whole summer to relax!" My baby bro responded.

"We can take a special trip anywhere you want." Simon got up from the counter and made himself a peach smoothie using the blender. Ah, the blender. A beautiful example of both electrical and mechanical energy in harmony.

While I was on yet another physics kick, I blurted out something else I'd been thinking. "I want to go to space camp."

Both my brothers stared at me. "You do?"

"Yeah. I found one of the photos of you guys there while I was cleaning the closet and I thought it looked pretty….awesome." I hated the way they looked at me. Making people's jaws drop was fun at first, but now that I wasn't sure who or what I was…I realized their jaws were dropping because they weren't sure either.

"To space camp?" Simon repeated, eyes wide.

Theodore gasped. "You cleaned the closet!?"

"I'm a new munk." I got out of the chair. "Would you like me to take your plates to the sink for you?"

Complete silence. My brothers were frozen in shock. I grabbed their plates and put them in the sink anyway.

Simon broke out of the trance first and ran over to me, jumping onto the kitchen countertop near the sink. "Space camp? Seriously? Space camp? What's your angle? What are you trying to prove?"

"I like space." I said, as I washed off the dishes. It was hard work and I hated every minute of it. I wished I had headphones to listen to as I was doing this.

"You teased me for MONTHS about space camp. You called Theo the Vomit Comet. You….You…You…." Simon couldn't work it out. He put his hands against the sides of his head, right above his ears.

I smiled. "That's all in the past now. Dr. Wilson taught me that space is fascinating." My chest hurt. The sadness came rushing on suddenly at the name of my former teacher.

"You still owe me an apology for the Vomit Comet thing. I only puked about five times. It's not fair to keep bringing that up." Theodore folded his arms and scowled.

"My deepest and sincerest regrets, Theodore." I said passionately. "I have seem the errors of my ways and I shall endeavor to correct them."

Simon took a step back from me, still trying to decode me like an enigma cipher. "Who are you?"

Ouch. Well, I figured he'd start to react like Britt eventually. People kept saying I changed a lot and now….now it was obvious I HAD. I wasn't so sure I liked all the changes either, but I liked some of them. "As soon as I have an answer, I'll tell you." I replied bitterly.

Luckily, before anything could get even more awkward, Dave came in holding three envelopes. Report cards had been delivered yesterday, but we'd all agreed to wait until this morning to open them.

"I can't believe I'm saying this. I'm excited to see your report card, Alvin." Our dad handed us each the envelopes with our names on them.

It felt like the envelope in front of me was a ticking time bomb. If I opened it and it was good news, then fine. But if it was bad news, it would just be MORE bad news added to the rest of the bad news lately.

I handed Dave the envelope back. "You do it, Dave!" I said in a panicked voice. "I can't! I just can't! I can't look!"

"I'll open mine first." Theodore tore the envelope and then showed us his card.

Theodore's Report Card

History-B

Math-C plus

English-B

Science-C plus

Gym-C

Writing-B minus

Home Economics-A

Drama-A

"Sensational job!" Simon high fived Theodore.

Dave patted his head. "You worked really hard."

I didn't say anything. I just gave a nod in agreement. I was happy for Theo.

"Okay, Simon?" Dave looked at his only child prodigy that had fully made use of his talents.

Simon looked annoyed. "I still cannot get an A in doctor Hayward's class."

"But it's a hard class." I pointed out. "I think you're doing great." I itched at my cheeks discreetly after I spoke. They were feeling more and more uncomfortable lately.

Dave gave Simon a hug. "It's a fantastic report card, Simon. All As or not."

"Yeah! You're the smartest…." Theodore started to say, before reconsidering. "I mean, uh, you're a smart cookie. You both are smart cookies." He looked at me.

Boy, I was warping our family dynamic out of shape. I was ruining everything. Such is my curse.

Simon's Report Card

History-A

Math-A

English-A

Science-A

Gym-A minus

Writing-A

Computer Science-B plus

Biology-A

I snuck a glance at the rest of Simon's grades. How come it was so easy for him to get As? What secret did he know that I didn't? Or was it a fundamental difference in our ability to memorize stuff that always dragged me down?

"Moment of truth." Dave held up my envelope.

I felt sweat dripping down my forehead. I'm the only chipmunk who sweats from everywhere. Everyone else only sweats from their hands and feet…like rodents should. I'm an anomaly.

I sucked in a breath. "I'm…ready." I was NOT ready.

Simon and Theodore climbed onto Dave's shoulders and looked at my report card.

"I don't believe it." Simon exclaimed.

My baby bro smiled. "This is AMAZING!"

"You did it." Dave looked concerned but also a little impressed. "You actually did it!"

I felt hope traveling through my nerves, calming the anxiety. "I did? It's not bad? None of them are bad?"

"One is." Simon had that "I don't know who you are but you're not my brother" look on his face. "The rest are outstanding."

I grabbed the report card. I had to see it for myself. I actually pushed myself enough to succeed? Wait, did that mean I had taken another step forward into nerdiness? Was it going to continue to sink its claws into me? No! Get out of my head. I'm only half nerd. I cannot fully transform. I won't let myself.

Alvin's Report Card

History- B minus

Math- B

English- B minus

Science- B

Gym- F

Art- B

Writing- B minus

Physics- B plus

"Wait…." This wasn't anything like the last progress report. "These Bs are mine?"

"They are!" Theo squealed.

Dave nodded. "You managed it. I'm not sure how, but you managed it." I wasn't sure how I managed it either. I felt stretched to the limits. There wasn't enough of me to go around. I didn't think I could keep this up every marking period, especially not without Dr. Wilson.

"Are we sure that isn't Brittany's report card?" Simon joked.

"Quiet, Si!" I snapped.

"I only ask because she usually gets straight Bs." My brother in blue, a different shade of blue than the cyan I was currently wearing, grabbed the report card back from me.

I felt my impulses take the wheel again and this time, I couldn't hold them back. "Ya gotta face facts, Si. I earned this! It was all me!" I leapt up from the table. "Ohoho! If you need me, I will BE in my room BEing awesome! Ohoho! Straight Bs!" Earning stuff felt a lot better than just being given stuff. Not that I usually was ever given stuff either.

"Well except for gym." Dave reminded me. Stop NAGGING, dad! Let me enjoy my moment of triumph without feeling like a screw up! Please! That's all I ask.

"STRAIGHT BS!" I repeated! Who cared about failing gym!? That gym grade was gonna skyrocket now that I could play sports again.

"BEcause when you BElieve in yourself, anything is possible." Theodore joined in with my pun humor.

Simon groaned. He was gonna have to get used to this. At least, until I figured out who I truly wanted to be. Maybe who I truly wanted to be WAS the wild rebel? But, this geeknerd thing is really workin' for me. Gah! Stop! Why do I have this compulsive urge to call myself a full nerd now? Where did that come from?

"Your head, dummy." The voice inside me squeaked. I think it wasn't classic. I couldn't tell for sure.

I went up to my room to finish getting ready for school. I couldn't wait to see Eleanor and brag, no, tell her, about how I was finally cleared for sports again! Finally! It felt like AGES since I played. I was worried I'd be rusty. Another new thought I'd never had before. What is happening to me?

I burst through the school doors and shouted at the top of my lungs. "Hey, guys! Guess who's officially back on the soccer team! And baseball too!" I expected a thunderous uproar and applause, but there was….nothing. Nobody noticed I said anything. Or, they did and they were ignoring me.

"Hello? I said…" I spotted a flash of minty green and yellow dash by. Eleanor! Yes! Hopefully I could talk to her! I started off in hot pursuit of her. "Eleanor!" I called out. "Eleanor, I gotta talk to ya!"

"Wow." She stopped running. "You actually saw me. The world must be coming to an end."

"Ha ha ha." I said sarcastically. "I saw a blur and that was it."

"Even with your new glasses?" She sassed me. Why is Eleanor always so full of sass.

"Whatever. The point is. The appointment went great! I'm allowed to play sports and skateboard again!" I grinned. "I'm BACK….sorta. Part back."

Her eyes lit up. "Oh sweet! We have been missin' you out there."

"I'll see you at practice!" I said jittery with excitement.

After Eleanor, I proceeded to go around telling everyone I could. I got a lot of mixed reactions. Some people didn't care. Some people were happy. Some people teased me because Theo blabbed around about my straight B report card. I would be mad at him, if he wasn't clearly proud of me and just sharing my tale of success with the school.

I received a text from Jeanette that was a bunch of random emojis. A book, a brain, the nerd face emoji, and a TV screen plus a question mark. I didn't know what to make of it, until my brain fed me some info it had forgotten and then suddenly remembered. She had mentioned TV factoring into our next lesson. If that was the case, then the book meant her psychology book, the brain was because lessons help me retrain my brain. What did the nerd emoji mean? GASP! Was that meant to be…me?

I took my phone out and snapped a selfie while forcing a smile. Then, I looked at the photo. Oof. Between my hipster glasses and buckteeth (which all chipmunks have) I was a dead ringer for the nerd emoji. Frightening! At least the emoji's glasses were black instead of red.

How do I respond to a cryptic text like this? Uhhhh. I sent [Looking forward to it.] and then added a checkmark emoji and a thumbs up emoji. She sent back a smiling kitty face. Awwww. I was enjoying this puzzling text a lot more than I thought. I guess I liked trying to decipher abstract and unclear clues. Chalk that up to my sudden IQ boost too.

I was totally into the learning through TV idea. I picked that stuff up faster than in books. Slides were also helpful, as physics class had taught me. But the best way to get me to retain information was a hands-on approach.

I'm rambling again. Uh, what's next? Well, I got through all my classes. Miss. Smith gave me the same "who are you really?" stares I'd been getting from my family. Creepy. I didn't focus much on the classes. In my mind, soccer and the lessons with Jeanette were more important. Plus, it was the start of a new marking period. I had plenty of time to get my grades up.

I hurried out to the soccer field dressed in my gym outfit. The red shirt with cyan trim on the sleeves and collar. Plus the big yellow A, obviously. Would never stop wearing that. My steps were springy. The physics visions were getting more and more manageable. Maybe I was just getting used to them.

Suddenly, I was called by Coach Dopkins, who looked…annoyed. "Seville!"

"Yes, sir?" I asked.

"Why didn't you do any of the assignments I gave you?" He put his hands on his hips. That guy is basically a drill sergeant. Very very intimidating.

"I…uh…wasn't feeling them." I answered honestly. "When it comes to sports, I prefer action."

He frowned. I watched the breeze ripple through his grey mustache. "Well, you better get your gym grade up or I'll be forced to cut you from the team."

"WHAT!?" I hadn't considered that. "Coach, I promise! I will do my best!"

"I still don't know why they told ya that ya couldn't play. Back in my day, if someone got hit on the head, they got right back in there. The only way to keep your skills sharp is with practice. Conditioning. We've been over this." He droned on.

"I understand." I replied.

Well, I was under a different kind of conditioning now. Brain conditioning. It aggravated me a ton that he thought my concussion was no big deal. I was beginning to understand why most nerdy people don't play sports. Maybe the stereotype had some truth to it? But I was still determined to break it.

I met up with my teammates and Eleanor, who was technically coach…even though Coach Dopkins name was coach. They rallied around me for a short time before we got out on the field.

"Alvin's back!"

"Hey, Alvin."

"Time to show us your stuff."

"Remember to keep your eye on the ball."

"Can you guys give him some space?" Eleanor grabbed me and whisked me over to her. "Alright, we'll start slow. I know you're bound to still be off your game."

That ol confidence kicked back in for a fleeting moment. "Ohoho! I think you underestimate me. I've never felt more ready for…"

The soccer ball came flying at me at 25 miles per hour. I positioned myself to kick it back to Eleanor and my foot connected with the ball….in the wrong location. The soccer ball zoomed sideways and hit a cone that was set up on the field.

"Oh come on!" Eleanor fumed. "I gave you an easy one."

"It won't happen again." I assured her. I chased the soccer ball down and kicked it back to her.

She kicked it to me and this time my foot actually hit it in the right place! It sailed through the air and Tracy intercepted it, bouncing it on her knee. "Nice one, Alvin."

We finished warming up and then the practice game started. I was doing great. I kept listening to my instincts! My body knew what to do and that left my brain to work on the angles, trajectory, and predicting the path the ball would take. I scored the first goal, then another, then another. I was giddy! I wasn't even thinking about how, if Dr. Wilson's class hadn't ended, I would be there.

Just as I was getting what may be considered overconfident, one of my teammates kicked a ball at me and it was headed directly for my head again, at least…I thought it was. It happened so fast I barely calculated it! Instead, I went into survival mode and did…the lamest thing. I dove to the ground with my hands covering my head. The ball bounced past me and then continued rolling, but the damage had been done.

"Okay, uh, you were doing good until that point." Eleanor came over to comfort me. She wasn't very comforting. "Can't do that at an official game. What happened?"

"I don't know." I fibbed. I knew exactly what happened. My body was now going to freak out any time the ball got close to my head. It was a new automatic reflex. I'd also calculated the force the ball would have hit me with had it hit me. Let's just say, it's a miracle I still have teeth.

We continued to play the game and I continued to do fairly well, except that every time the ball came too close to my head, I did the same stupid thing. I looked like a total scaredy cat. The effects of concussions that the doctors listed off played over and over like a record stuck on repeat. I was LUCKY to have suffered ONE side effect from 8 of them. Or two, if you count the hallucinations of Classic Alvin.

I'm supposed to be a risk taker, and suddenly I was the most careful guy on that field. The other players took notice. Bruce came over to share gatorade with me as I sat on the bench feeling sorry for myself. It wasn't that my athletic abilities were gone, but like EVERYTHING else they had changed. I didn't know how many more changes I could take.

"Maybe you weren't ready to come back yet." Bruce said, putting on his yellow hoodie.

I sighed. "Maybe…." I admitted. I wasn't sure the new PROTECT YOUR BRAIN reflex would go away at all, ever.

The dark skinned boy with the cool Batman T shirt under his hoodie handed me two bottles of gatorade. One was fruit punch flavored and the other was berry blast. "You thirsty? I didn't know what color you'd want now, so I got you both."

Tracy came over to join us. "Hey, Alvin, what's going on with you? You're so…."

"Different. I know." I sipped a bit from the red colored fruit punch gatorade.

"He's stressed to the max, yo." Daniel, a kid with floppy pink hair and a black tank top sat down on the bench next to me as well.

I could tell Tracy felt bad. I didn't remember the fateful day the soccer ball hit me well, but it was her kick that sent me flying into the goal. "Maybe you should try a different sport?" She said tenderly. "I hear ping pong is fun."

"I do enjoy golf and ping pong and billiards and badminton." I told the group. "But I'd miss soccer. Those things I listed don't have teams, they're just solo sports. One on one." I'm a, what did Jeanette say? Extrovert? Yeah! One on one feels hollow compared to team stuff for me. Although, it would mean less people who have to rely on my unreliable-ness.

Bruce gave me a sympathetic and reassuring smile. "But those sports still help you with your reaction time. Maybe you can play soccer with your family in the backyard too."

"But I like this team." I whined.

"Yeah, but, little dude, you're all….wimpified now. Sports are too rough for you." I wanted to give Daniel a nasty and deserved comeback for that, but I couldn't think of one. Even if I could, it was probably best I didn't.

I took a drink from the cyan colored berry blast gatorade. "I'm just…cautious."

"That concussion shook him up." Eleanor explained, appearing out of nowhere as she tends to do. "He's scared and rightfully so. He just needs more time."

More time wouldn't fix the fact that I HAD to protect my genius. If I lost it again, forever, I wouldn't survive. This was how I was now. This is how Jeanette had trained me. I WANTED this,….didn't I?

"Yeah. I need more time." I suddenly thought of a great idea. "Unless I play soccer with a helmet on!"

How had I come up with this? Simple really. I started worrying that my new cautiousness would affect my skateboarding. Then, I realized that it would not, I would just ALWAYS wear a helmet while skateboarding. Plus, if I'm being totally truthful, I'm BETTER at skateboarding than soccer. I'm less likely to injure myself, you know, statistically. Surprise. I love statistics now. Maybe that's not a surprise? I dunno.

"That could work…." Tracy began, before Coach Buttwipe marched back here to tell me what he thought of my newly acquired survival instinct.

"What was that, Seville?" Coach Dopkins barked angrily. "We don't duck and cover! This is soccer, not military training!" Ya coulda fooled me.

"Hey!" Eleanor was lifted into the air by Tracy so she could go nose to nose with the other Coach. "He's trying his best. Don't talk to him like that."

"I can't have my best player acting like a fragile little butterfly! It's Seville for cyin' out loud. He was a BEAST on the field before." My gym teacher has never been very nice to me, but calling me fragile hit HARD. It was true. I was fragile. It was like Simon said, my psyche had cracked, even pre-concussion. I was broken, but maybe over time my cracks and dents would fix themselves.

Eleanor didn't make my situation better. "He's not the Alvin you knew. And only I get to call him a wimp!"

"This is what happens when people get coddled." The angry man spat. "They lose their edge. The doctors coddled him and now look at the kid. He used to be a man."

"Munk actually." Eleanor corrected. "And he's still a manly munk." No, I wasn't.

"He's not a man. He's not even an athlete. If he wants to stay on the team, he might as well be a benchwarmer." Ouch ouch ouch. I hate this guy.

Eleanor was REALLY fired up now. "Listen here, maggot. You might be named Coach, but I am the real coach of this team. You're only here because the school forces us to have one adult chaperone. Don't you forget it." Her green eyes practically glowed. "Now, if you don't stop tearing Alvin to shreds, I will report you for bullying. And yes, I can do that to a teacher. You can only make fun of Alvin if you're his friend and you also respect him. Otherwise, you're no better than Derek Smalls." Oh man! Comparing him to the biggest bully in school. Wait, ELEANOR RESPECTS ME!? Since when?

Coach Dopkins looked at me and then backed away from Eleanor and Tracy. "Okay, okay, Alvin, uh, great try. Keep up the hard work and you'll get your mojo back." He said.

But he was wrong. I knew he was wrong. It might take years before I could make peace with putting myself at risk for another concussion. I would definitely be using my helmet idea at the next practice though.

I went to my locker and grabbed my cyan jacket. "Thanks for that, Ells." I said, knowing she was standing right beside me. I saw her mint and lavender shoes out of the corner of my eye.

"I mean it, ya know." She elbowed me gently in the rib. "That respect thing."

I kinda wished she wouldn't tease me, but I did tease her all the time. It made it even. "I hold a deep regard for you too, Eleanor." I told her, adjusting the alien pin on my jacket.

"I'm never gonna get used to your nerd talk." She looked creeped out. "Are you sure this is you from now on?"

I nodded. "I'll get better at controlling it, but….It's not going to stop. I used to mess up most longer words, and sometimes even short ones. I taught myself to say them correctly. I still can't spell 'em, but I can articulate like a pro!"

She touched my alien pin with her grabby hands. "That's a nice pin. Where'd you get it?"

"Dr. Wilson gave it to me before he…left." I felt the tears bubbling again and held them back with all my might.

"Oh shoot! We all forgot to warn you physics class was just two marking periods. Even if he hadn't left, you still couldn't take his class." The pigtailed girl looked sorry for me. Everyone was sorry for me. Being this pathetic is gonna take some getting used to.

And then, because life wasn't done feeding me to the metaphorical wolves, Brittany Miller came running toward me with her bubblegum pink lipstick covered lips stretched in an almost evil slasher smile. (At least, that was my interpretation of it.)

"I heard Dr. Wilson's leaving." She exclaimed. "Finally! Now he can stop poisoning your brain and everything can go back to the way it was."

I groaned. "He didn't poison my brain!" And I didn't need her usual blah blah blah stuff today.

"Theo said you think he zapped you and turned you into a genius. You told him that." Brittany squeaked.

Eleanor stepped aside to watch us bicker and likely film us so that she could show us what fireballs we were later.

I waved my hands theatrically at the pink clad Chipette. "Did it ever occur to you that Classic Alvin may have just had a very warped view of reality?" From numerous lessons with Jeanette, I had almost managed to stop feeling like my intelligence was artificial and the product of some alien. It was all me. It had to be. What other explanation was there? This increasing nerdiness stuff however, was still cause for alarm.

"What?" She rested a hand against the locker.

"No I don't" Inside my mindscape, Classic Alvin took offense to me being factual about his warped sense of reality.

Nerdy me shut him up. Thankfully. "Not your time to talk, pal."

Brittany scoffed. "Alvin, be serious."

I was more serious than I had EVER been before. "And another thing. Stop celebrating that Dr. Wilson is leaving. You have no idea how much he meant to me! He is the only teacher who truly understood me! Our connection was profound, unbreakable!" My voice caught in my throat. I was getting choked up again. "And him leaving HURTS! It cuts DEEP!"

"Sorry, sorry." The girl in the pink dress with sequins and ruffles almost made me forgive her, before doubling down on the pain. "I'm just excited that in a few days, you'll forget all about Dr. Winslow and the real Alvin will be back!"

I had to crush her. She deserved to know. My identity crisis was severe enough that hiding it would only make things worse. "No. Here's the thing, Britt. Dr. Wilson or no Dr. Wilson, the real Alvin might never be back. Congratulations, you were right. You feel superior now?" I sassed her.

"N….No." Heartbroken, Britt pursed her lips to hold back her own emotions.

"Daaaang." Eleanor laughed. "He just told you off."

"If you put that in our home movies collection, I will destroy you!" Brittany threatened her sister, trying to take Eleanor's phone.

"Chill, sis. Unlike you, I won't be sharing this with the internet. It's for my enjoyment only."

I knew I had to dip before things got ugly. Britt and Eleanor fight like me and Simon. "Uh, ladies, if you'll excuse me. I have more lessons and therapy to get to." I said, awkwardness present in every word.

"With Jeanette?" The pink diva asked, I thought I saw her eye twitch.

A dopey smile spread onto my face. "Who else?"

"He is down bad." Eleanor commented.

"Whoah whoah whoah! I don't have a crush on Jeanette!" I told them. It was entirely possible I was in denial. But, that's a worry I don't need to focus on right now!

"If you say so." The mint clad girl chided.

Brittany shuddered at the thought. "If he ever gets a crush on her, that's the moment he'll truly become Simon."

Not how it works. And irrelevant as I am NOT crushing on Netta. "Simon doesn't have a crush on her. He thought he did for like four days once, but not anymore." I explained. My watch beeped, alerting me that it was time to go. "Anyway, gotta blast…I mean…run." Dang it! I knew watching too much Jimmy Neutron would catch up with me.

I heard Brittany and Eleanor talking as I ran off.

"Who is he?" Brittany whimpered.

Eleanor chuckled. "I think he's Albert."

Was I? I mean, yes, because Albert was just me in disguise. I think, however, what Eleanor was implying was that I'm doomed to legally change my name to Albert or something because I'm on my way to losing my privilege to have the highly popular Alvin name. I wish I'd picked a better disguise name. Like Alistar or Allen. Both less nerdy than ALBERT. My obsession with being the next Einstein had gone too far. I needed to somehow keep that flourishing nerd side in check. But for now, I had lessons to get to.

ALVIN: My dearest Netta, the time has come once again for you to narrate.

JEANETTE: I'm so excited for this part.

ALVIN: Me too! It's so meta!

JEANETTE: You've grown so much in just these 6 stories. It's very odd going back and reliving it all over again.

ALVIN: Tell me about it. Also, I think I'm seeing now why Britt was so worried about me and why everyone was so worried about me. I understand what happened on a much deeper level now.

JEANETTE: I was worried about a lot of things, but whether or not you'd find yourself again was never one of them.

ALVIN: Well, I found about 80% of myself. 20% is still missing.

JEANETTE: Healing isn't always a perfect path. Anyway, on with the story!

Jeanette's POV

I didn't have anything to do after school today. I hadn't picked a new extracurricular activity yet. I took a ride around town on my bike instead, as I waited for Alvin's soccer practice to finish up. Earlier during the school day, I had sent him a text about our lessons and he told me he would be there for them. At least, it seemed like he did.

I've never been the best texter. I usually never know exactly how to say what I want to say, so I send strings of emojis. Sometimes people understand them, sometimes they don't. I've been trying to work on my non-verbal communication skills, but volunteer work at the animal shelter had taken top priority. I love it there so much. I especially love working with the kittens.

"SQUEAK!" Pippi the adorable white mouse alerted me to a bump in the sidewalk ahead. She was riding inside the basket on the front of my bike. Most people had trouble understanding her, but I could feel what she was trying to tell me. I was connected to her emotions as easily as my own. Her squeak roughly translated to. "Watch out! Danger ahead!"

I slowed down and then jumped off my bike and wheeled it over the bump. It was a fairly large bump. The two sidewalk pieces weren't level with each other. Hitting it, would have likely caused Pippi and I to wipe out. I had enough scrapes and bruises on my legs from my general clumsiness, so this was something I wished to avoid.

I patted Pippi's head and her little nose twitched. "Thank you." I squeaked. "Where should we go now?" I still had time before I had to pick up Zeela, my emotionally intelligent robot, from Miss. Miller. Mom was babysitting her while I was at school.

Pippi shrugged her tiny shoulders and I swung my foot over the seat and remounted my bike. I love my bike so much. I also love my helmet. It's purple, you could have guessed that, right? with these adorable black bug antennas on it. It is weird, but so am I. People always call me a weirdo. I have reclaimed the insult and I say "Weirdo power!"

Where to bike next? Oh! I had a lovely idea. I traveled down the sideway and turned the corner. There was a bridge not too far from here, where I would go to watch the sunset. It wasn't close to sunset time, it was still afternoon, but I wanted to see the sights there and see how they compared during the day. I needed inspiration for my next landscape painting. Ms. Kate, the art teacher, is really into landscapes right now.

I biked across the street and pedaled up to the bridge. There was a special bike path built on this bridge so that I didn't have to watch for cars that might run me over. I was extremely thankful for that.

Pippi's ears flapped in the breeze as I picked up speed and reached the middle of the bridge. I dismounted the bike again and let Pippi scamper out of the bike basket and up my arm.

We both looked out at the view from our spot on the bridge. It was tremendous! The trees were such a beautiful shade of green. The sun was high in the sky. The sky was a medium blue, a few palette steps lighter than Simon's shirt. The clouds were fluffy cumulus ones with almost a sparkle to them. Hard to believe condensed water vapor could look so pretty, but it's true.

"It looks nice!" Pippi said to me, though her lips never moved. I could sense it in her expression and her body language. Something I can only do for animals. The body language of humans, and also my family and the Chipmunks, can be very tricky to read most times. I feel they're too subtle. Animals besides us don't have the need to hide what they're feeling either. If you ask me, we picked up that trait from our human halves. At least, most of us did. I was the odd one out in that respect.

I petted Pippi because she likes it and petting soft things has always calmed me down. Fidgeting also helps calm me down. I have a whole collection of fidget toys at home. Putty, slimes, spinners, fidget cubes, rubix cubes, and something called a tangle, which is made up of tiny pieces shaped like macaroni that can be snapped together to form a wormlike twisty object.

All my fidget toys are purple, except the rubix cube, which is rainbow colored. I just love the color purple so much. (The actual color, not to be confused with the movie The Color Purple. Although, I do enjoy the movie and novel and I feel that the subject matter discussed within it is important to know. We don't want history to repeat itself. We, as a society, must try our darndest to stop the racism and sexism especially toward people of color.)

Tangent aside, I feel like I am drawn to shades of purple because they make me feel calm and serene. I feel my best when I'm calm and serene. I enjoy the clarity of thought, although thinking about all the horrific things that happened in history and the downright disgusting things that certain people still say and do today is a big mood killer.

Whenever my thoughts are clearest, that stuff tends to come in and remind me I should be doing more to help everyone. To change the world for the better, eliminate the violence and bigotry. I'm just one tiny chipmunk-mutant though. While I can make a small impact on some things, it'll take a lot more than just me to re-configure the minds and bodies of everyone on this planet into kinder and more understanding ones.

I think that's why I'm drawn to helping Alvin so much. If I can help him on the road to compassion and self betterment, then that proves that people can change drastically. It gives me hope that one day, more people could choose to improve themselves and widen their worldview. After all, Alvin is the last person that anyone would expect to WANT to better himself. I'm just tickled that he came to me and asked because I have always seen the intelligent, sweet, and helpful person inside him, even when nobody else could.

I must have gotten lost in my own head for a while, because when I finally snapped back to looking at the peaceful beauty of nature, my phone was ringing. My ringtone was the song called I Belong that I wrote when I was protecting the tree that our treehouse now resides in. But I guess that's not a very important fact to know.

Pippi was squeaking at me in a full on tizzy. Shaking my phone around and showing me the caller ID photo. It was a photo of my younger sister Eleanor, with a soccer ball in her hands.

Making haste, I took the phone from Pippi and answered it. "Hello, Eleanor."

"Hey, sis. Just called to let you know your psychology project is on his way." Eleanor joked. "Oh, and he's in a bad mood because soccer practice didn't go well."

Alvin was kind of my latest psychology project. I wanted to ask him before I started collecting the data, but Eleanor told me that would just freak him out. Plus, it would upset Brittany a lot that I was "using" Alvin to get my "psychology kicks." It wasn't like I planned to share any of this data publicly though. It was only for my use, to track his progress as he continued his journey.

I wasn't sure how to answer Eleanor, because I couldn't tell if she was joking or being serious. "I'll be home soon. Pippi and I were just getting some fresh air."

"Squeak squeak squeak." Pippi added, climbing up on my shoulder to chitter into the phone.

"Cool. Hey, uh, one more thing, Jeanette." I heard Eleanor sigh. "Can you try not to make him TOO cautious?"

There was such a thing as being too cautious? That was new information. "I'll try, yes." I didn't know how cautious was considered too cautious. "Anything else?"

"Nah. Just that. Anyway, I gotta go. I'll see you tonight." My sister hung up on me before I could finish my last sentence.

"See you….." And she was gone. I sighed. This was usual for Eleanor though. She wasn't one for long phone conversations. "….tonight."

I looked at Pippi as I pocketed my phone in my purple hooded sweatshirt. Pippi squirmed into the opposite pocket the phone had been in. She was tired of riding in the bike basket.

I got back on my bike and thought out loud to myself. "Everyone calls me odd, but Eleanor is quite peculiar too, don't ya think?"

"Squeak." My adopted mouse daughter agreed with me from inside my pocket.

I peddled away, off the bridge and crossed many sidewalks until I returned to my home. Well, technically my mom's house, but we live in the treehouse in her backyard so it's both our houses I think. I knocked on the door. Hopefully, Zeela had an enjoyable time with Miss. Miller. She usually does.

I fidgeted with my amethyst butterfly pendant while I waited for someone to answer the door. I love my pendant. It's a big comfort item for me. I feel it helps me channel positive energy and spread that energy to everyone around me. That's what the magic crystal shop I ordered it from claims it does. It is just a theory, but I feel believing in something makes it possible.

I was getting worried now. Why was Miss. Miller taking so long to answer the door. I knocked again, louder this time. Finally, my mother opened the door and looked down at me.

"Hello, dear." Miss. Miller greeted me. "You're just in time. Zeela and I were baking some scones. She's such a good cook."

I smiled. "Eleanor taught her well."

"I make these." Zeela toddled over to me, holding a freshly baked plate of scones. Blueberry flavored! "Want to try one?"

"Absolutely." I grabbed a scone. I had almost taken a bite when I remembered that I hadn't asked if it had ingredients I wasn't keen on eating. "Wait, these don't have milk and eggs in them, do they?"

"Just almond milk, sweetheart." Miss. Miller smoothed out her wrinkled apron.

Zeela blinked her mechanical robot eyes. "I use your cookbook."

Awww! Perfect. My cookbook was a vegan recipes only one. I took a bite of the flaky pastry. "Mmmmm. Scrumptious."

"Maybe next time we can try those….uh….what were they called, Zeela?" My mom took a seat on her couch.

"Flaxseed bars!" The robot I carefully programmed squealed happily. Usually, she was very shy, but she seemed to really open up around her grandmother. It feels kind of weird being a "mom" when I'm still a kid myself, but like I mentioned previously, weird is wonderful.

Pippi snuck out of my pocket to nibble a scone too. We all chatted for a bit longer and then it was time to go.

"Thanks again for watching her, Miss. Miller." I told her as I held onto Zeela's hand and we walked out the door.

"Anytime, Jeanette. She's just lovely." My mom waved at me as I departed.

Zeela giggled. "I lovely. I lovely." She repeated.

Pippi jumped onto her sister's head, but Zeela didn't shake her off. They got along wonderfully, unlike the Seville cousins Warbie and Geizmo. I liked Geizmo a lot. Simon's robot child inspired me to build my own. When I asked him if I could, he gave me his blessing. Geizmo didn't like Zeela at first, but when a tragic accident struck her, he realized she wasn't as bad as he initially perceived. Now, they mostly get along.

Alvin rode up to us on his skateboard as we headed out. I noticed he was wearing his black helmet with the red spiked mohawk on top. Usually, he only wears that at the skatepark. When he's just on the sidewalk, he doesn't. Another sign he was changing. The lessons were working. He's much safer with it on. He values his personal safety now! Hooray!

"Netta!" He stepped on the board and flipped it up, catching it. "You ready?" A strange and in-decipher-able expression crossed his visage. "The text was about lessons, right?"

"It was." I smiled. "And I am."

"Hi, Alvie!" Zeela hid behind me with only her trapezoid shaped head poking out. Back to shy mode. Understandable.

Alvin put a hand on his hip. "No, no, Zee-Zee. Come on! We've been over this. It's AL-VIN. Say it with me now, AL-VIN. Don't say Alvie! Only Britt says Alvie and I don't even like it when she does!"

"Alvie!" My robot daughter giggled.

Alvin looked up at the sky. He does that quite often. So does Simon. I have no idea what they look at in the sky or on the ceiling. Perhaps they like to watch the clouds too.

It didn't take long for Alvin, Pippi, Zeela, and I to get all situated inside the living room in our treehouse. I fluffed the pillows to make the couch extra cozy. Alvin seemed very distracted, but I had a fantastic idea. During his quest to win the most improved award, he had figured out fidgeting made him more likely to pay attention and understand things.

I got up from the couch and brought out my fidget toys. I set them down in front of the TV. "Before we get started, would you like a fidget?"

"You collect slime and putty too?" He questioned. "I thought it was just me. The stuff reminds me of aliens, after all."

I nodded. "I like to make my own slimes too, but Brittany hates the mess it makes, so I can't do it often." I winked. "And it reminds me of slug slime and snail slime."

"Got any amorphous blobs in red or cyan?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows. I didn't catch what the wiggle meant, but I guessed he was interested.

"Not yet." I squeaked. "But I can add them to your reward list."

"Reward list prize!" Zeela said, sitting next to Alvin by using her extendable legs to make it to the couch. "Fun fun."

Pippi pushed a box into the living room where Alvin could see it. That reminded me…

"Oh, and I got you another reward list prize too!" I flipped the box around so he could see the toy inside it. "Look!"

"NO WAY!" Alvin gasped. "NETTA, YOU ARE AWESOME! THANK YOU!" He lunged at me to grab the box.

"No no. no." I held the box behind my back. "Not yet. Sit down, and I will explain."

He immediately sat on the floor in front of the couch. Pippi jumped onto an end table and also took a seat. Zeela stayed comfortably seated on the couch, hugging a pillow to her shiny metal chest.

Once everyone seemed mostly attentive, I took the toy out of the box and held it in the air. "This motorcycle is going to be your prize once you feel you've improved to the point where you're happy with who you are again." I told Alvin calmly. It was the same red toy motorcycle he and Warbie had been looking at during one of our earlier lessons.

Alvin took the rainbow colored rubix cube from the fidget box and started to twist it around as he listened to me. "Aw man. That could take ages."

"I don't think it'll take as long as you expect." I encouraged him. "You've already made so much progress."

"So I get the small prizes first, then work my way up to the motorcycle?" He asked.

"Yes yes!" Zeela clapped her hands. "Then you and Warbie play!"

Alvin looked content with that. The more I spent time with him, the easier he was to read. Usually anyway. "Awesome! Awesome! Oh, hey, before I forget, What's today's word of the day?"

The word of the day thing was another fun addition to the lesson. It turns out that Alvin loved expanding his vocabulary just as much as I did. Every time we met up, which was at least three times each week, I would teach him a new word. Occasionally, it would be a word he was already familiar with. Most of them were brand new to him though.

I told him today's vocab word. "Stupendous."

"I have heard that before. What does it mean, exactly?" The red capped boy asked, still twisting the rubix cube.

"Awesome, basically." I explained.

His crystal blue eyes widened. "Really? I thought it meant stupid! I guess the art teacher wasn't trying to insult my art!"

The poor thing thought the art teacher was insulting his art? How awful. "No! Of course not! She would never." Ms. Kate didn't have a mean bone in her body.

"Phew. Great to know." Alvin squeaked. "Cuz I like that word. It gives my brain the tingles." He talked about the brain tingles a lot. I tried to recall if my brain ever tingled. I don't think it did.

I infodumped more about the word. "According to the official dictionary definition, it means impressive."

Alvin closed his eyes. "Stupendous….Stupendous….Yeah…really diggin' it." He opened his eyes again. "What's next?"

"I promised you TV, and I shall deliver." I said with a friendly grin.

"Educational TV!" Zeela added, patting Alvin's arm.

Alvin got up from the floor and sat back on the couch, twisting the rubix cube in his paws faster.

I took out the DVDs with home movies that Eleanor had made for us. I selected some of them where Alvin's breaking rules and succumbing to his impulses. "We're going to start with some videos of your, uh, less well behaved moments. Then, you're going to take notes and analyze how you could have reacted differently. To finish, you'll read your notes over and over until you lock everything in. We'll repeat this process for about…three videos."

He frowned. "How long are these videos?"

"Only eleven minutes a piece. The length of a Johnny Test episode. Simon tells me you love that show." I turned on the TV.

The first video we watched featured Alvin hiring Kevin as his assistant and then making him do his chores and help him with things he could easily do himself. When Kevin got tired of being a servant and became Dave's assistant instead, Alvin sabotaged him. It was emotionally intense. Alvin covered his eyes during some parts, but he took the notes.

When the video ended, I paused the playback. "Now, have you analyzed how you could have approached that situation differently?"

It took Alvin a while to respond. He read over the notes and I could see his eyes darting about. He tapped his forehead with his pointer finger. "Uhhhh…"

"Take your time." I took some intergalactic purple putty from the fidget box and played with it as I waited for him to respond.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, his blue eyes sparkled. Had he finally gotten everything processed? "I could have actually let Kevin help me with music stuff instead of homework and chores. It wasn't what he signed up for. And I definitely should not have sabotaged him after he started working with Dave. That was really uncool of me."

Pippi and Zeela both gave him a round of applause. He'd done it! He was on the path to correcting his behavior! I was so proud of him.

"You got it! Oh, Alvin, you're doing well so far! Ready for the next video?" I asked.

He nodded with a gulp. Why was he gulping? Was he scared of the videos? Why was he scared of the videos? "I'm ready as I'll ever be."

The next mini home movie we watched featured Alvin trying to get out of going to the Smithsonian after Simon got to choose their family trip. He caused a ton of trouble around school so that Simon, who was the school safety inspector, would write him a citation. Dave told them that if anyone got in trouble, the trip was off, so Alvin purposely tried to get in trouble. He tested Simon to the breaking point.

Alvin slumped down on the couch as he took notes for this one. When it finished, he was able to respond faster than he had last time. "I shouldn't have messed with Simon like that. If I didn't want to go to the museum, which I DIDN'T back then, I should have just asked Dave if I could stay somewhere else while he took Simon and Theo. Instead, I acted out and almost got both me and Simon in trouble." He frowned. "Was I really that bad, Jeanette?"

I sat on the couch beside him and Zeela and I both gave him a warm and comforting embrace. "You were younger then. Everyone makes mistakes when they're younger. And growth isn't always a linear path either. You weren't that bad ALL the time, just….sometimes."

He looked down at his notes. "I didn't even remember that. The Kevin one was more recent, but like….The Smithsonian trip was AGES ago. It felt like I was watching a different person." He sniffled and then shook it off. "People say I've changed. I'm only beginning to understand how much."

I let Alvin lean his head on my shoulder. "He wasn't a different person. He was just you with less life experience."

"But he FEELS like a different person. Everyone treats me like I'm not ME anymore. Except you." He sighed. "And then they all wonder why I'm starting to get all mixed up. I don't know who I am. I don't know who I want to be. I'm just….always confused and I HATE IT!"

Zeela handed him a tissue. "Dry eyes, Alvie." She said gently.

Alvin dried his eyes and then blew his nose into the tissue. "The weirdest thing about all this, is, I didn't FEEL like I changed that much until Britt straight up said I wasn't Alvin. Then, it was like….I dunno…I just don't know. I know science and math and how to be a good kid, but I don't know my personality. Do I even HAVE a personality anymore?"

"Of course you do. You're just healing from a lot of traumatic events. You can build yourself up again." I stroked the fur on his hand. "I'll be there every step of the way."

"You're an awesome friend. I don't know what I'd do without you. I already lost Dr. Wilson and now I'm afraid of losing you." He slumped his shoulders.

"I'm not going anywhere." I brushed his hair out of his eyes. "I promise. I'll always be a text away."

He smiled through his tears. "You're the best, Netta. The best friend a guy could ask for."

"Would you like to get through the last video?" I asked. "Or save it for another time."

"I can handle one more video." He squeaked. "But only one. Hey, how does Eleanor film all these home movies anyway?"

I didn't know how to answer that. "She says it's not important and not to ask questions."

He chuckled. "Yup. Sounds like Eleanor."

We watched the next video. It featured Theodore making a beautiful patchwork vest for Dave and Alvin wanting to take credit for it. Then, Alvin, Simon, and Dave plotted to destroy Theo's present because they thought it was ugly. I felt so bad for Theodore. It was a wonderful vest for a beginner.

"What's the lesson here?" I asked, once the video had ended.

Alvin worked through this one a bit more and then said his interpretation of it. "That Dave shouldn't have tried to destroy something Theo worked so hard on. Si and I shouldn't have helped him. The vest was still garbage though, I mean, look at it! I don't blame Dave one bit for not wanting to wear it."

I slapped my face with my hand. He'd done so well on the last two videos. "You only got half of that right. And you also missed that you shouldn't have tried to take credit for Theo's gift just because you didn't have an idea for a gift."

"I'm sorry. This is getting boring now. I'm tired. Plus, like, that was at the start of the video and I barely remember it. My memory is Swiss cheese. Hence, the constant studying so my brain won't, you know, delete everything." He explained in a huff. "Just tell me what the part I got wrong was."

I sighed. Luckily, my patience with him had only waned a little. I could still be gentle and tender. He needed that. "You said Theo's vest was garbage."

"It was!" He insisted.

I shook my head. "Only to people who can't appreciate its inner beauty."

He looked at the ceiling again. "Inner beauty? Please! Jeanette, I know when stuff is good looking or not."

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I picked up that phrase from a book. "What is hideous to one person, might be someone else's masterpiece. Things are more than the way they look."

"Right. Yeah. Uh…." He grabbed his notepad. "Better write that down before it slips out of my ears or somethin'."

"Some people say I'm ugly." I admitted, hoping this would make everything click. "They say I dress sloppy, that my hair is a mess, that I look dorky and I need a makeover."

He stared at me. "What? But you're not ugly at all! You're as gorgeous as Britt!"

I smiled. "Exactly."

"I don't get…." He started to say, before the lightbulb moment happened at last. "Ohhhh! I do get it! There's no standard for attractiveness, is there? It's ALL subjective and based on personal preference."

I handed him a package of gummy fruit snacks. "Yes! Yes! That's it! Well done, Alvin. I am so proud of you!"

"I proud too." Zeela echoed my sentiment.

He gobbled up the fruit snacks. "Learning stuff is so fun. I can't believe I have been missin' out for years." He scrunched his nose adorably. "Although, it's not that I don't learn things. It's just that…whatever I do, some stuff won't stick."

I had a sudden revelation. I remembered reading about ADHD in my psychology book. "I've got it! I know why you have trouble learning lessons!" I exclaimed.

My loudness woke Pippi, who gave me an angry squeak and then went back to her slumber all curled in a ball on the end table.

Alvin looked as excited as I did. "Really?"

I nodded. "Your brain takes in a TON of information, more than most people do, and instead of converting the short term memories to long term ones, your short term memory gets all plugged up." I reasoned.

"Yeah, that's kinda what it feels like." He said. "It's clogged like a hose." He adjusted his red glasses.

I launched into more of the explanation. "So then, in order to unclog it, your brain just dumps anything it deems irrelevant information. Most of what you learn, never makes it to long term memory. Then you learn it again and wonder why it feels familiar if you can't remember it."

He jumped off the couch. "And that's why I read something and only pick up bits and pieces of what it's trying to tell me."

"Precisely! Oh, Alvin, this is great! This means we can teach you to slow down when taking in new information. Instead of trying to shove in as much as fast as possible, you can focus on what you need to know a little at a time!" I stood up.

We both danced around. It was so good having a better idea of how to make the lessons actually stick!

Alvin stopped dancing. I guess our victory was short-lived. "What about the whole "suddenly inaccessible long term memory" problem?"

I stopped in mid shimmie and then fell over. "What?"

Alvin helped me back to my feet. "I have that too. It's like, at random times, I go to reach for something I know is part of my long term memory, but it isn't there. Then, it comes back like three hours later. And it's like, HEY! Where were ya when I needed ya?"

I groaned, frowning. Just when I thought we were finally getting somewhere, he threw another twist at me. "Let's focus on one problem at a time, Alvin. Okay? If we do too much, you'll burn out." I warned him.

He nodded and then grabbed another package of fruit snacks from the end table. "Right. Right. Okay, so….how do I practice slowing down my information intake?"

"We'll work on that the next time we get together." I said, patting his back. "You've worked yourself plenty today." I also needed to think about how exactly I would slow down the information intake. I could…play the videos slowly? No, no, that would be very creepy.

"Yeah. I have. I am gonna get home and zap some galactic invaders." He strutted to the door. I assumed he meant "play a videogame."

"A stupendous decision." I smiled.

"Hey!" He said angrily, before changing his tune. "Oh, wait, right, that means awesome." He smiled a cute half smile. "Totally gonna remember that. I swear!"

"Impressive." I corrected. "It means impressive."

He was already out the door. Then, he came back in to say something he'd forgotten. "Thanks again for all your help, Netta." He ran out the door again chanting to himself. "Stupendous means awesome. Stupendous means awesome. Cuz like impressive means awesome, which means stupendous means awesome."

What an oddball. I liked Alvin a lot. I liked all the Seville brothers, but there was just something about Alvin that made us get along like two peas in a pod. Theo and I were also really great friends as well, as we were both not quite certified family therapists. Simon and I had the most common interests, but Simon was more standoffish and very hard to get to open up. I didn't feel the same level of connection with him that I did with his brothers. But I accepted that Simon is a private person, much like Eleanor. He'll open up eventually, when he's ready.

The rest of the night, Zeela, Pippi, and I watched episodes of Tangled The Series (all about Rapunzel!) and relaxed our minds from the session with Alvin. We were one tiny little family. It felt good to have time with them. It always did. It was almost like being alone, as we were all pretty quiet when together. I valued alone time. Time to recharge and get myself ready for whatever challenges should arise tomorrow.

JEANETTE: Alvin, you wanna add the ending?

ALVIN: We could just move that into the next chapter.

JEANETTE: You're procrastinating again.

ALVIN: It hurts to write it!

JEANETTE: I know, I know, but it'll be okay.

ALVIN: (sighs) Yeah. I'll do it.

Genius-Alvin's POV

After leaving Jeanette's place, I played videogames and then ate dinner with my family. It was still awkward. Every family dinner would be from now on I feared. My self betterment had driven a wedge between me and my family. Things would never be how they were before. It was all my fault.

That night, I had more crazy nightmares. I saw Brittany crying as she looked at old pictures of me. I re-lived memories from those videos Jeanette showed me. Classic Alvin berated me relentlessly for being a kid who likes museums now. Eleanor and Britt called me Albert. Miss. Smith turned into a giant and stomped on the school after she saw me get an A on a science test. Dave yelled at me to stop wasting my brain on videogames and apply myself. It was just a mess.

What hurt the worst of all was when Simon walked up to me holding my straight B report card and said. "This is solid proof you aren't Alvin anymore."

"Yes! I am! I might look different and act different, but Jeanette says…" I replied, before Britt cut me off.

She swooped in with devil horns and a forked tail. "You have to stop listening to Jeanette!" The pink Chipette grabbed me and shook me.

Coach Dopkins' angry face appeared. "You're a pansy, Seville!" He growled.

Eleanor then came in and kicked his butt.

That didn't stop it though. Everybody swirled around and around until they were just random colors and disembodied voices, yelling, screaming.

"Embrace the nerdiness." Jeanette's kind gentle tone said.

"No! You can't be a nerd!" Classic shouted.

"Just give up being Alvin already." That was Simon's voice.

"You're a glitch, an accident, a mistake." I couldn't place the person who said that.

"Be whoever you want to be." Was that Theo? Or still Jeanette?

"I don't know who I want to be!" I screamed. "Leave me ALONE! Get out of my head!"

"You need to get a grip." Brittany's voice echoed. "I think you're losing it."

"Ahhhhhh!" I jolted out of bed as the alarm sounded, letting us know it was time to get up. I really HATED my nightmares. Why couldn't I have good and non anxiety provoking dreams?

I put on my glasses and dragged myself to the bathroom to get ready for another day in this miserable life. I ran into the bathroom, took a shower to wash off the icky feelings I was having, dried off, and got dressed. I was feeling slightly less ick now, until I did my usual routine of looking in the mirror.

I flipped my hair back and smiled a winning smile, rubbing my hand across the surface since the shower had fogged it up. I expected my usual geeky reflection. Instead, I was met with an even GEEKIER looking one.

All over my beautiful face were little red bumps of all different sizes. It looked like acne! But it COULDN'T be! "What the? Oh no! No! No! No! No! THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! HIS HAS TO BE A NIGHTMARE! PLEASE, LET THIS BE A NIGHTMARE!" I was really hoping I was still trapped in a nightmare. So, I pinched myself. Wide awake. WHAT WAS GOING ON!?

Dear old dad heard my shouting and came to check on me. "Alvin, what's wrong?"

I ran to the door and slammed it. "Dave, do not come in here!" I yelled.

"Why not? What is going on?" My dad wasn't gonna leave.

I opened the door a crack. "Can chipmunks get zits?" I whispered.

"What?" Dave was baffled.

"You know, um...pimples? Acne?" I whispered again.

Dave tried to push the door open more. "I don't think so."

I held him back. If Simon and Theo saw me like this, they wouldn't be able to resist making fun of me. "Uh huh, well, tell that to my face."

"Alvin," Dave's patience was thinning, fast. "Tell me what is going on with you!"

I sighed. "I think I might have entered my awkward teen years that people talk about." I admitted.

"Open the door." He commanded.
I gasped. "No! I don't want anyone to see me like this!"

He tried to be patient once more. "Alvin, please open the door!"

I caved to his orders and opened the door, staring at Dave with an expression of pure terror. "Please tell me these will go away!" I sobbed.

"Uh,..yes. Eventually." He entered the room.

I hugged myself in my plush cyan jacket. "How soon?"

"Alvin, having acne is nothing to be ashamed about. Every teenager gets it." He sat down beside me.

No! Something just didn't add up! "But I'm a CHIPMUNK! I'm not a human teen! Technically, I'm not even a chipmunk teen." I was a 9 year old kid, who only went to high school because it was possible that mutant chipmunks have a shorter lifespan than humans.

"Didn't Simon say your DNA was 50% human?" Dave reminded me.

I spotted Simon and Theo walking past the bathroom. "Quick, Dave! Close the door! Before they…" Too late, they were inside now. "Come in." I groaned.

It began immediately. Simon looked at me in shock. "Alvin? What happened to your face?"

"That's what I wanna know!" I paced the floor.

Theodore held back a giggle. "You look like you have chickenpox."

"Make that chipmunkpox!" Simon joked.

Theodore high fived him. Dave didn't say a thing. I think he was still wondering what to do.

This was getting on my already frayed nerves. "THAT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY!"

"Not from where you're standing." Simon remarked.

"I don't think you look that bad. Just, you know, a little silly." Theodore squeaked. "You look like a pizza."

I growled, my throat rumbling with irritation.

"So, why did you get chipmunkpox?" My little brother continued, brown eyes staring at me.

"I think they're pimples, Theodore. Lots of people get them." Dave explained.

Simon rubbed his chin, as he usually did while deep in thought. "This makes no sense. The rest of us don't have acne…"

"Stop saying that!" I shouted. "IT"S NOT ACNE! It's NOT! It can't be!"

To my utter amazement, Simon agreed with me. "I don't think it's acne either. Dave, you might wanna take Alvin to the doctor. This could be an allergic reaction."

"Like when I got all allergic to Brittany's flowers?" Theo looked scared. I remembered Britt's flowers had landed him in the hospital. That's why you should never buy illegal flower bulbs online, people. Honestly, Britt makes the dumbest decisions.

My tallest bro nodded. "Yeah. Chipmunks, even mutant humanoid ones, shouldn't get acne. I bet my money it's an allergy of some kind."

I didn't want to end up back in the hospital. What had I done that could have triggered my allergy? Wait a sec! That's it! The answer was so SIMPLE! "Oh my gosh! I always knew I was allergic to chores!"

Simon facepalmed. He probably thought I was nuts, but I wasn't.

Dave scooped me up in his arms after standing up. "Alvin, let's go. We have to get you to the doctor. Now!"

I was babbling because my superior genius brain had come up with the source of my allergy before any of them. "This makes so much sense!" I insisted, focusing on being right instead of how marred my formerly attractive face was. "To think...all that time I spent claiming I was allergic to chores...and I find out it's true! I really am!"

"I hope your allergy can get better, Alvin." Theodore told me sweetly.

Simon snapped his fingers. "I bet it was aggravated by you scratching at your face."

"I'm sure we can get you all sorted out." Dave carried me downstairs and we grabbed a couple granola bars to eat in the car.

Then, it was off to the doctor. Something crazy was going on with me. I was starting to think Britt may have been onto something when she said that I would slowly turn more and more into a stereotype. I'd fought it, but the changes were happening regardless now. I had a feeling the universe wanted me to learn something from all this. I only wish I knew what it was. I'm sure it'll come to me.

This kid cannot catch a break. Okay, for anyone who hasn't picked up on it yet. The universe of Alvinnn relies on stereotypes. Due to this, the world doesn't know what to do with an Alvin who likes science. His cartoon code is frankly glitching out and it's changing his appearance.

Had he not gotten obsessed with physics, he likely would have only needed glasses for reading. It will get worse before it gets better. You ain't seen nothin' yet.

My version of Alvin is odd, because usually in nerdification stories, the entire original personality is erased and overwritten. But Alvin is STILL Alvin, even though he thinks he isn't. His core personality is fully intact, underneath all the confusion. That's why, eventually, as Jeanette predicted, he is able to find his way back to being himself. He's still different in ways, but he's a far cry from the stereotype that the world tried to force him to become through all the events thrown at him.

It's kinda similar to real life, but on a very exaggerated scale. Alvin has free will! He can react however he wants. He can't choose what happens to him, but he CAN choose how he reacts.

And another note: Obviously Pippi and Zeela weren't in this when I was writing it originally, but I have added them to the updated version because I love them and they deserve more screen time.

Wow, that was a lot. Coming up, Alvin gets in another accidental situation that winds up making him even MORE stereotypical looking.