I have had a large debate whether I should start with Alvin or Simon narrating. I have decided on Alvin because it's important to know what's going through his mind during the reveal.

This chapter will flip perspective 3 times! I'm gonna start to tie all the plot threads together as I love doing so very much.

After this, Two and A Half Scientists wraps up in the next chapter! Then, it's on to the 8th story in our 11 story collection!

Genius-Alvin's POV

I entered the lab and Simon led me to his desk chair. An uneasy tension hung in the room. Whatever Simon wanted to show me, he didn't want Theo to know. Was it about science? About the possibility of multiverses? Oh no. Did my exploding flying skateboards wreck something of Simon's? Does he want me to pay for it?

"Can I have a hint?" I asked, my lips dry, but I didn't dare lick them for fear of catching my tongue on the braces.

My taller brother started to gather the equipment he'd used to scan my brain. "You're not going like this." He warned me.

I let out a small sigh. "Just quit stalling and tell me what's going on."

He fired up the machine and showed me the results of my scan. "Have a look for yourself."

I blinked, trying to make sense of what he was showing me. "It looks like my whole head got reprogrammed. So? Jeanette's lessons worked. Tell me something I don't know."

Simon frowned. I didn't know why this was so tough on the guy. Everything looked perfectly normal to me. "Alvin, remember those mind reading helmets we tested a long time ago?"

"Yeah." I was confused. "What do they have to do with anything?"

"You….You…." He got all choked up. "You have…"

I slumped in the chair, beginning to get bored. "What!? I have what!?"

"You have some of my synapses in your head. They're tangling up with yours and they're changing you. Everything about you. But, most obviously…the way you think." He revealed. "You have quite literally lost your mind."

No! That couldn't be true! Was my self improvement all artificial? Did it come from Simon's failed mind reading experiment? "Are you telling me that the nerdy voice inside my head, the one encouraging me to do nerdy things,….is you?" I asked, my voice quaking.

"I'm not him! Are you crazy!?" Nerdy me yelped painfully in my ear.

Simon looked at me as if I was an experiment gone wrong. I guess, in his eyes, I was. "It appears so."

"No! No! I can't be you! I can't!" I insisted. "Me being a scientist doesn't make me you! So what if my brain chemistry is starting to resemble yours? We're siblings! Like Jeanette said! There's genetic overlap!" I put my hands on my head protectively.

"Brain chemistry doesn't change that much that fast naturally." My brother pointed out.

"It does if you've been studying a lot and purposely tweaking parts of your personality through rigorous practice!" I frowned. Why was everyone including my best bro desperate to prove that my intelligence was fake or that it didn't come from me? It HAD to come from me.

Simon turned off the brain scan device. "Believe me, this is the last thing I wanted to find out, but it all makes sense when you think about it."

"DOES NOT!" I got up from the chair and shouted in Simon's face. "It has to be wrong!"

My brother in the robot PJs looked even sadder. "The facts don't lie."

"Then scan me again!" I ordered. "Your machine read me wrong!"

Simon grabbed me and gently eased me back toward the chair. "Alvin, I know this is awful news, but you have to accept it." He told me sharply. "You are being turned into a nerd against your will."

I shook my head furiously. "No! It isn't true! It was Dr. Wilson's class! Jeanette's lessons. I chose to improve!"

"Yes, you did. Because that's what I would have done in that scenario. You're thinking like me." He reasoned.

Oh no! Was he right? I had been thinking more like him. We had moments from time to time when we were like a creepy hivemind. And now I wanted to be a scientist despite never once showing any interest before.

Still, I didn't want to submit to his accusations. "But I'm NOT!"

"The scan doesn't lie, Alvin." Simon looked so guilty. I knew now why he seemed on edge and extra sad lately. This had been weighing on his mind.

Stop. Evaluate the situation. What do I need to know in case this wild theory is actually true? I sighed, internally reprimanding myself for the next thought that entered my head. "…Can you undo it?"

My brother nodded. "I'm sure I can find a way."

I swallowed and nervously fidgeted with my hands. "…What if I don't WANT you to undo it?" I asked, knowing the old me would be upset with this decision.

Simon looked surprised and equally horrified. "What?"

I curled in the chair, bringing my knees to my chest. My ears were ringing. My mouth was drier than ever. I was so anxious. "If you were in my position, would you willingly give up your intellect and go back?" I gave Simon a tough question. I knew exactly what his answer would be. The same as mine. More proof we have similar brains now. Yeesh.

"Well, no. But you should. The old you was a great guy. We all miss him terribly." Simon came close to the chair and put a hand on my back.

I uncurled myself and stood up. I needed to move. I was restless. "I miss him too. But maybe he's NOT me anymore."

"He is you, Alvin. The hallucinations prove he's in there somewhere. For now." That last part my brother added freaked me out bigtime!

I gulped. "What do you mean "for now?" Was Classic Alvin right about him being slowly erased? Overwritten?

Simon wheeled out his trusty whiteboard and drew a picture of my brain on it. He highlighted the Alvin areas in red and the Simon areas in blue. "If you really want to stay like this, one of two things will happen." He said.

I trembled. "I'm listening."

"You'll either stay exactly as you are now, identity issues, confusion, feeling pulled into things you don't actually want…" Simon confessed.

"Yikes." I replied. "What's the second thing?"

I could tell Simon was getting awkward and jittery now as well. "Uh, um, it could get worse."

"Worse?" I echoed.

He erased the red squiggles he'd drawn on the brain picture and then added more blue squiggles. "The supercharged synapses could continue to affect your brain chemistry until…"

"Until what?" I knew what, but I wanted to know how he planned to explain the tragic end of my life.

He frowned, finishing drawing blue squiggles in every section of his rather crude looking picture. "I don't want to say it. I think you're smart enough now to understand what a mess you're in."

I gasped. Oh no! It was worse than I feared. "You don't mean? I...I…could…" My voice trailed off, reaching a higher pitch.

He sighed. I could tell it hurt him telling me this almost as much as it hurt me to hear such awful and earth shattering things. "Yes, you could wind up with none of your own mind remaining." He said at last. "You'd essentially lose your essence. Your personality, likes, dislikes, emotional responses, skills, hobbies. It will all mirror mine exactly. The worst part is your memory won't be affected. You'll always remember the person you were before, but you'll be unable to be him."

My worst fear would be real. I'd BECOME MY BROTHER! But, but, it wasn't a definite thing. Simon might be wrong! Or if the invention did affect my brain, it might just stop after the intelligence upgrade and the sudden love of science! Right? Please! Please let me be right!

"NOHOHO! I'd be SO boring." I sobbed. What were the odds of me being right? I'm never right.

Simon got mad, predictably. "I am NOT boring!" He shouted.

"But, that's not a definite, right?" I squeaked in a pitiful wail. "The spread could just stop randomly right here!?"

My brother, who usually knew pretty much everything about how to reverse his invention's effects, shrugged. " I don't know. The safest option is to find a way to remove the contamination from your mind entirely. That would allow the Alvin parts to repair what's been overwritten and you'd be back to yourself, your true self."

My true self? Isn't that the half cool kid and half nerd I discovered with Jeanette's help? He feels like my true self. But is that only because Simon's brainy particles are making me think that? Misleading me?

"Can….Can I have some time to think about it?" I walked toward the door of the lab. There was no way in heck I was allowing my personality to be re-set tonight.

"I'm surprised you aren't freaking out more. We may already be too late." Simon followed me.

"No, no, I'm just holding it in so I don't kill your eardrums with my screams of terror." I answered truthfully.

"Right, soooo…" Simon looked at me. "Shall I begin working on a way to fix…all this?" He pointed at me the same way Britt usually did.

"Yea…" I started to say, before completely switching gears. A new thought had come in to protect me from possible doom. "Wait a second! If my brain is actually screwed up because of your mind reading helmet invention, why am I trusting you to make an invention to undo it? You could screw up again and I'd be worse off." I reasoned.

Simon hadn't seen this response coming. He was totally unprepared for it. "Uh…um…uhhhh..."

"I'll keep an eye on my symptoms for a while, and if it gets too bad, then I'll build a device to bring classic Alvin back. Okay?" I said, forcing myself to stay as calm as possible.

I left the lab and behind me I could hear Simon muttering to himself. "What the heck just happened?"

What happened was, I decided to do the smart thing and trust myself. Now that I knew what might be happening, I could consciously push back at the Simonlike impulses when I wanted to. I was going to prove Simon wrong by not turning into him, at least…not any more than I already had. I'm not sure I can do much about what's already happened. The nerdiness is part of me now. Destroy it, and you destroy me. That's the harsh truth.

I laid down on my bed and did something that the old me would have been "too cool" to do. I grabbed a tiny plush toy version of me, classic me, and hugged him tight to my chest. I vowed that no matter how hard it got, I would never stop fighting to hang on to classic Alvin. I needed him to balance me out, to give me my exuberant awesomeness!

The next day at school, I paid closer attention to how much like Simon I was acting. I tried my best to dial it back, shove all that science mojo to the side. I knew I needed to talk to Jeanette about this, but I missed my shot before school and now I had to wait until lunch. All the while dealing with insults and Eleanor antics.

"Hey." Eleanor poked the arm of one of the popular girls. "So how about that football game last night? Pretty epic!"

The popular girl failed to notice Eleanor at all. I watched the punk Chipette slink back to her desk.

Jeanette comforted her sister who was growing more and more outraged by the day. "Maybe you should dye your hair again."

The punk girl shook her head. "I let it go back to blonde because I missed the blonde."

I came over to talk to them, hoping I could get Jeanette alone before the next class began. "Maybe they're all tired of your antics and ignoring you on purpose now." I theorized. I immediately covered my mouth after. How could I say something like that? It sounds like what Simon tells me!

"See?" Classic Alvin whispered to me, manifesting as a hallucination next to my desk. "You ARE turning into Simon. Face it, pal. You traded your Alvin soul for a Simon brain."

"No I didn't." I told him. "I KNOW I didn't."

"Come on!" Classic insisted. "It all adds up. The strange urges, the constant nerd behavior, your sudden need to be responsible…"

Nerdy Alvin manifested next to him, looking like the me I currently saw when I looked in a mirror. The epitome of nerdiness. "Being more mature and responsible happens to most people when they grow up. He's not Simon, he's just becoming a wiser and more experienced version of himself. But you can't handle it, can you, Alvin? You want so badly to believe what Simon said is true, you're shocked that you don't believe it." Gosh, did that guy ever stop rambling?

"I don't know what to believe." I moaned at them.

Eleanor's angry voice caused my attention to turn to her instead. "Maybe everyone is tired of your antics too, mister wannabe scientist."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Listen here, Ellie. I'm no wannabe scientist." Good, good. That sounds nothing like Simon so far. "I AM a scientist." Frack! Why did I add that?

Miss. Smith heard me as she entered the room and set things up behind her desk. "You? A scientist? Now I've heard everything."

Kevin leaned over my desk. "I thought you said you found yourself."

"I did." I looked up at him, then back at classic who was giving me a disgusted glare. Nerdy Alvin stood next to him grinning proudly with his shiny silver tooth cages. Pretty sure I wanted to look like Classic again someday, even if I was still acting nerdy.

"It doesn't seem like you did." Kevin told me sadly.

"Yeah, you're, like, more confused than ever." Amber added in. Like I needed her opinion! No thanks!

"Well,…" My fur started to bristle. I was about to lose it.

"No! No! Control your anger! Hold it back!" Nerdy me begged.

I couldn't. I didn't have control over my emotions. It was more like they controlled me. "Maybe I wouldn't be confused if you all would stop accusing me of turning into my brother!"

"Must we have this discussion every day?" Miss. Smith rolled her eyes.

Simon covered his eyes with his hands. He wouldn't even look at me.

"What do I have to do to convince you people I'm not Simon?" I asked, anger coursing through me like a raging riptide. "Be popular again?"

That caused most of the students, but not Kevin and Cheesy to start laughing.

"You? Popular? Hahahaha." Ray Ray laughed like a maniac.

Annie laughed so hard she almost fell out of her chair. "Don't make us laugh. You had your chance to be popular again and you blew it."

"Yeah. You had plenty of time." Tommy agreed, turning the baseball cap on his head sideways.

"Sorry, Alvin." Derek looked at me, almost unsure if he should join in with the teasing or help me out. "They're right."

"You traded your cool for school, teacher's pet." The bully girl named Alyssa who has never liked me, growled.

Annie sneered. "Not even a teacher's pet. I'm pretty sure Miss. Smith doesn't want him."

"I'll show you!" I muttered. "I'll show all of you!" I shouted slightly louder.

"Once again…" Our teacher cleared her throat. "Settle down! SETTLE DOWN!"

Classic Alvin disappeared from my view, glitching out with weird pixels again.

Nerdy Alvin followed with a more general fade out.

The voices in my head were leaving me alone. I was just me again…The confused half science nerd.

I completed my work to the best of my ability. I fumbled with some questions because I was just so exhausted. I needed Jeanette. I relied on her re-assurance. She needed to be the rebuttal against Simon in the "Is He Really Alvin?" debate. Then, another anxiety provoking thought invaded my mind. What if Jeanette believed Simon's data too? What if she wasn't on my side? I couldn't talk with her in the cafeteria. It might become a whole crazy scene or something! I would have to wait until after school.

During gym class, I was startled by Eleanor, doing her usual routine of popping out of nowhere as we prepared to run the track. Why wouldn't she stop bothering me? What did I do to her? Oh, oh yeah. Pretend not to remember her name because I knew it annoyed her. Classic me had such a mean sense of humor. I hope I've grown as much from that as I feel I have.

"Can we talk?" The girl in the fishnet leggings asked.

I wriggled into my favorite crimson and gold gym shirt with a A on it and cyan trim on the sleeves and collar. "Can you do it without insulting me?"

"Look, when we call you Simon…it's not meant as an insult. It means we've noticed a lot of similarities between you guys and they worry us." She said, slipping on her tennis shoes.

"Okay, well, might not be meant as an insult, but…it STILL HURTS!" I stressed those last words. "Also, how did you get into the boys' locker room?" I asked, realizing where she was.

She chuckled. "What? Like anyone will care enough to kick me out? And that's if they see me at all."

"Fair point." I stormed out of the locker room with Eleanor right on my tail.

"Can I ask you one more question that might be kind of triggering?" The Chipette asked, as we left the gym and stepped outside into the freshly cut grass.

I sighed. "Make it quick." I was bursting with pent up frustration. I needed to run! It all needed to come out somehow.

"Alvin, deep down, do you think you want to be a scientist because you would rather be treated like Simon than Alvin?" Well, shoot. I didn't expect her to ask that.

The answer required some thinking, so I stalled for extra time to think. "What do you mean?"

"You know, awards, trophies, getting your picture in the paper, making a name for yourself besides "troublemaker"?" She hesitated, green eyes glancing down at her tennis shoes.

Crap. Was she onto something? Had I failed to find myself? I found the person I thought Dave expected me to be since I was a genius? "Maybe…..Maybe a little, yeah."

Eleanor frowned. "You know you can't ever stop being you, right? Your personality, good and bad, will always shine through." She told me. I didn't want to hear these things, but I was forced "You don't have to pigeonhole yourself into all this science stuff in order to be…successful. You can be successful on your own merit."

No. No. She was still off! I knew what it looked like, but I also knew how I felt. "Whoah whoah whoah. You have it all wrong. Maybe my motivation is driven by awards and accolades." I admitted. "But, I ALSO want to be a scientist because I WANT to invent things! I really DO!" I got giddier and happier the more I talked about it. This piece of myself was the one I was currently the most proud of. It challenged expectations! It was rebellious! It broke the social order! "I know it's a passion of mine. Maybe it didn't ever exist before, but I know it does now. And it's STRONG! I need to do it! It's as important as breathing!" I finished, almost coincidentally running out of breath on that last line.

"Okay…" She looked scared and didn't know what else to say. "I guess, if that's how you feel, then stick with it. Will you still have time for sports? It seems like inventing is all you do these days."

Yeah. It did seem like that. I really needed to kick that habit of always getting too obsessed with stuff right in the keister. "I hope so. I still LOVE sports."

"Let's go, kids. Hustle! Hustle!" Coach Dopkins called out. "Seville, stop yapping to yourself and get over here!"

"Yes, sir." I answered automatically. I knew who it was safe to rebel around and who would call me a wimpy little pansy for doing so.

Of course he only noticed me. Wait, where did Eleanor go? I looked across the field to see her already on the track at the starting line. Maybe her superpower isn't invisibility? It may be superspeed! I'll have to write that down in my notes.

As I pushed myself around the track at my top speed, I flew past most of the other runners. I didn't let any negative anxiety provoking thoughts weigh me down. All that was going through my mind was the feeling of zipping around the track with the wind blowing against my face. A for amazing aerodynamics!

After suffering through the rest of school, I noticed during my last class of the day that Dr. Wilson had finally responded to my text. I knew the most mature thing to do would be to wait until after class to text him, but I WANTED to text him right now! I had so much to say! I didn't wanna forget it! I knew what the consequences would be if I was caught. Hopefully, I won't get caught.

Dr. Wilson's message!

"Why hello, young scholar,

Outstanding to hear from you once again. I've had quite a spectacular summer. I saw my cousins for a camping trip. We went river rafting, tree climbing, berry picking, and we even hiked up the tallest mountain in the campsite. I'll have to show you all the photos I took sometime. I'm thinking of a side career in photography.

I'm very sorry to hear about your crisis, but I am glad you're on the mend. Remember that no one can tell you who you are except you. That flying skateboard idea of yours sounds tremendously exciting. I wish you the best of luck on completing your mission to bring it to life.

The new school year is off to a terrific start for me. I've been very busy tutoring twelve different students on and off during my office hours. I must say, not many took to the material quite as quickly as you. I hope someday I can return to Santa Barbara High. It's a lovely school. However, you shouldn't get your hopes up. Right now, internet correspondence shall have to work for the time being.

Keep being an excelsior individual. Don't let others' wild interpretations of you cloud your own judgment. Remember that you were never a bad student, you only lacked the tools and the determination to be a good one. I'm proud of you, Alvin.

I shall have to wrap this message up now before I find something else to say. I have a PTA meeting I must attend in a half hour and I need to mentally prepare myself for that. Please continue to send email updates, (though not excessively.) I would love to know how far you've gotten on that skateboard. ;)

Sincerely,

Dr. Adam Wilson."

Crud. All that praise was great, but I wanted to text him back right now. Oh! I know! I'll compose the message now and then send it later, updating it next month with whatever else I think of adding. It's only fair. As a teacher, he probably gets loads of emails. It's likely really hard to remember to respond to all of them. I can't send him like twenty spammy updates. That would make me seem annoying.

I finished writing out the email in my notes and set a reminder for three weeks from now to email Dr. Wilson back. Ohoho! I was learning to be more organized! To not forget stuff so easily! Just like…Simon. Urgh. No, no, just like a mature and responsible adult person! Yes! I was an adult-ish. Or adult adjacent? Almost an adult but not quite. Still looked like a kid on the outside.

"Alvin, do you have your phone out?" Miss. Smith stomped over to my desk.

I wanted to lie, but Jeanette's training had beaten the pathological liar out of me. "Uh, yes, yes I do. I just finished writing something important, but I can put it away now." I admitted.

She stuck a box out in front of me. "You should be writing your persuasive essay!" She shrilly squawked with that irritating voice of hers. "I have had enough of your foolishness. Hand over the phone!"

"But…" I protested.

"NOW!" She screamed, causing other heads in the class to turn toward me again.

I sighed and put the phone in the box.

"You can have this back at the end of the week." She said.

"The end of the week?" I started to cry. "But, but, Miss. Smith, all my music is on that phone! I can't concentrate without my music!"

She sneered at me. "Actions have consequences, Alvin!"

This wasn't going well. This wasn't going well at all. Without my music, the only thing I could use to focus was candy! Which carried horrible side effects if I overdid it, which I usually did because I have no self control!

After school, I didn't see Jeanette anywhere, so I stopped by the treehouse to ask her sisters where she was. I knew that she would have told them, you know, since they're her sisters. They usually keep in touch a lot better than me and my brothers. There are less secrets between them.

"Do you know where Jeanette is?" I asked, bursting into the treehouse in a rush.

Eleanor looked up from the watermelon she was currently slicing into chunks with a rather big knife. "She's building houses for the poor. Said she won't be back until late.

Of course. She had mentioned something about helping out with that, but I'd forgotten completely until Eleanor mentioned it. I kinda wished I could go with her. Help make the world a better place. Oh gosh. She really has done a number on me.

I sighed. I had been counting on talking to Jeanette specifically. She was the one I needed. "I guess I could talk to you." I said to Eleanor, reluctantly. "If you'll agree to put the knife away."

"Is it gonna be the same old story? You're conflicted about your life choices? Because you really should save that for Jeanette." WHACK! She sawed off a hunk of watermelon and proceeded to dice it into tiny cubes at top speed.

"What are you making?" I asked. "Fruit salad?"

She shook her head. "Watermelon cube ice pops. Theodore requested them. He wanted them all summer, but I'm only getting a chance to make them now." She held the grippy part on the knife and twirled it around, slicing the other half of the watermelon into cubes.

"Sounds pretty tasty." I commented, my eyes on the knife. I don't think Eleanor would ever hurt me, but I didn't completely trust her with such a large and sharp object.

Finally, she slipped the knife away into the sink and started putting the watermelon chunks inside an ice cube tray that was already half filled with yogurt. "That's the idea."

What else should I say to her? I'm not great at making small talk without redirecting every topic toward me. I know Eleanor hates when I talk nonstop about myself.

"Uhhh, you ran like a pro in gym class." I squeaked.

She raised an eyebrow has she finished getting the cubes ready for the freezer. "Thanks."

We sat in awkward silence for a moment as I wondered what to say next. Then, Brittany entered the room, yapping on her phone. She didn't notice either of us, really. What she said was offensive and brought my thoughts spiraling back to what I was trying very hard not to think about.

"Remember, you aren't looking at Alvin, you're looking at the thing that's destroying him." She said into the phone. Then, she noticed me. "Gotta go, Tracy! Bye!" She slipped the phone into her pocket and tried to act innocent. "Oh, hello, Alvin."

I wasn't in the mood to play this game. "Hi." I grumbled.

The Chipette in the light pink T shirt with her own face on it, laughed merrily. "How much of that did you hear?" She asked.

I put on my best stone-faced expression. "All of it."

"Well, I should go…" Brittany backed cautiously toward the stairs that led to her bedroom.

It was time to let her have it. I was going to give this Chipette heck. "I know that you've somehow gotten Simon convinced that I'm not myself and I don't appreciate it." I growled angrily.

Brittany stuck both hands on her barely existent hips. "Simon's invention is right."

"It MIGHT be. There's a difference between a definite "yes this happened" and "well there's this possibility." I explained.

The Chipette in pink looked sad. "The safest option is for you to go back to your old brain."

"Oh goody. This argument again. Must be the 50th time?" Eleanor rolled her eyes. "Can't you go back to arguing over who is more popu….nevermind."

"Please, Alvie!" Brittany clasped her hands together. "Please! I can't lose you! Give up the upgrades! They're hurting you! All they have done is hurt you!"

Standing my ground, I snarled at her. "I don't WANT to."

"You'd rather turn into Simon completely!?" Britt was aghast.

I was getting more riled by the minute. "That won't happen! I know it won't! I won't LET it!"

The pink diva got up as close to me as she could and poked her finger at my head. "And how are you going to resist when the enemy is your own brain?"

Good question. Luckily, I had thought this through. "I have ADHD!" I yelled. "I have spent my whole life fighting my brain! I can do this!" I felt that, in my soul, a soul that was still plenty Alviny!

Eleanor was out of the loop, as usual. "Geez, Britt. The way you're talking makes it sound like Alvin has no free will."

"Because he doesn't." Brittany's eyes leaked a couple tears. She'd cried a lot since my changes began, almost as much as me. "Simon's brain scan showed Alvin's at risk of a complete mind re-write."

"WHAT NOW!?" Nooo! Now Eleanor was on her side too!

Why is Britt so persuasive? Maybe I should con her into writing my persuasive essay? See!? I can still think like old Alvin. Maybe I'll even act on that impulse? Nah, too afraid of the consequences.

"Simon's super charged brainy bits are in Alvin's head, flipping him gradually into a Simon clone on the inside!" Brittany continued.

"Holy nuts! That is horrifying!" Eleanor gasped. Then, she smiled excitedly. "Would make for a killer psychological horror though!"

"It's wrong." I stated flatly. "The data is wrong."

"Uh, tell that to the blue jacket you're wearing." Brittany pinched the sleeve of my cyan hoodie.

I pulled away from her. "It matches my eyes!"

Eleanor looked at me with that same sad look that Simon and Britt kept giving me. "Now the scientist thing makes sense." She said softly.

"I know, right?" Brittany sat down in a chair at their dining room table and crossed her legs.

I walked over and slammed my hands onto the table so hard that my palms stung. "NO! NO! NO! IT'S MY CHOICES THAT BROUGHT ME HERE! NOT SIMON'S! SIMON IS NOT CONTROLLING ME! I AM MY OWN PERSON!"

"Calm down, dude." The pigtailed girl in her punk outfit ordered gently.

I felt a trembling quake pass through me. My voice got a tiny bit softer. "I did not fight this hard to find myself just to be told I still have no idea who I am." I protested. "The invention is wrong. It has to be. He's interpreting it wrong."

"But…what if it's right?" Eleanor asked me, her face a mixture of concern and fascination.

I'd been asking myself that very same question ever since Simon broke the news. I knew now the only option I wanted to take. It was risky. My very existence was on the line. Still, there was a feeling deep inside me that told me to trust my gut. Against the odds, I would survive.

"Then I still choose this." I revealed to two very flabbergasted Chipettes. "Because I won't let my brain be overwritten fully. I will make it stop when I want it to stop."

"What if you can't?" Brittany questioned me.

I felt myself smile, almost confidently. "I know I can. I just….know."

The pink clad girl folded her arms and rested them on the table. "Because Jeanette told you so?"

"Maybe….Yes!" I blurted out. Dang tell the truth training!

Eleanor exchanged a worried glance with Brittany. "Boy, our sister's got you all tangled up."

"She does not!" I argued.

The punk girl looked at me with confusion. "Yes she does. You're basically her psychology project."

Oh crap? Was I in denial? Had I let Jeanette mold me into her compliant sidekick!? "I'm what?"

Brittany stood up and held out her arms, expecting me to hug her after all the rumors and crap she spread about me. "Yes, you are. I wanted to tell you, but Eleanor said if I did tell you, it would freak you out."

I turned away and started to sob. The world crashed down around me again. GOSH I REALLY HATE THIS FEELING! "So that's it then? I'm just her assignment?" I sputtered through tears.

Brittany looked liked she regretted hiding the information. "I wouldn't say "just." More like, in addition to."

"You are so much more." Eleanor patted my back. "She didn't mean to do any of this to you. She wanted you to thrive, not suffer. She'll explain everything when she gets back." The Chipette's motherly mode kicked in. When she isn't creeping everyone out, she really is a caring person. "Want something to eat while you wait?"

I shook my head. "No." I blubbered, running toward the door, still sobbing. "She doesn't have to explain anything. I won't…I won't bother her anymore!"

I didn't listen to anything else they said as I left the treehouse feeling broken in a way that felt unfixable. Jeanette played me. Used me. Like I had with so many other people back before I decided I wouldn't do that anymore. It was the ultimate slap in the face.

There wasn't any way to undo what she did to me. I didn't want to. My wires were all criss crossed, yet the person she made me was someone I genuinely enjoyed being. I couldn't get away from him, but I could get away from her. At that moment, I never wanted to talk to Jeanette Miller AGAIN.

ALVIN: I hate writing angst.

SIMON: Then why do you always write it?

ALVIN: I don't know!

THEODORE: Probably for processing angst in real life.

SIMON: Solid point. Anyway, my turn!

Simon's POV

I put the final touches on my munk mobile upgrades at last. I was trying, very very hard to forget about the rapid speed Alvin's mind was likely being reconfigured. Sure, nothing was absolutely certain, but the safest option was to reverse everything and then let Alvin become smarter again using only his own potential.

And if Alvin simply didn't want to be smart without being a certified genius, then we'd finally have our old brother back. No more sharing my lab. No more freaking out everyone. I would also get my role as "the brains" back after it had been so rudely ripped from me.

Unfortunately, Alvin had chosen to wait. Furthermore, he'd chosen to not have my help in the reversion process whatsoever. He actually thought that once the symptoms of my mind overtaking his were bad enough, that he would still have a desire to return to his old self.

He was blowing it. I could kiss my old brother goodbye. I wonder how much more unsettling it will be having someone who always agrees with what I say around. Someone who is my complete duplicate, who shares every trait, every preference. Oh gosh, I'm going to be sick. I have to get Alvin to agree to the reversion somehow!

Think, Simon! Think! How do you outsmart someone who has the ability to think on your level? Wait, what's that noise?

I heard the sound of Alvin crying and found him upstairs. Maybe he realized his massive miscalculation already. One can only hope.

I entered our room and found my older brother curled up under the covers of his bed. The cyan colored jacket was on, as usual these days. Surprisingly, the hood was over his head, replacing his cap. Not a good sign. Practically, the worst sign.

"What's wrong?" I asked, being as tender as I could muster.

What he said next wasn't what I wanted to hear. "Jeanette doesn't like me. No one likes me." He moaned. "She was using me as a psychology project. She only hung out with me to get extra credit on my screwy brain."

That didn't sound ANYTHING like Jeanette. Where had he come up with such a theory? "Alvin, I'm sure that's not the case."

"IT IS THOUGH!" My brother could still argue. "Who would want to spend time with a desperate, annoying, weepy guy having an identity crisis!? I don't even want to spend time with me. But I don't get a choice!" Is that how he really felt? No no no! I caused this too! I shouldn't have told him anything! Not unless I knew for a FACT that he was in danger.

"Alvin, stop putting yourself down." I commanded softly.

"Don't tell me what to do!" He shouted. "Just get out of here! Let me cry it all out…like the wimpy loser that Jeanette turned me into!"

I decided to figure out what went wrong. I assumed Brittany had something to do with this, so I walked carefully up the spiral staircase that led to the beautifully crafted treehouse where our neighbors resided.

A few sharp knocks on the door later, Brittany answered. "Hi, Simon." Her ears drooped when she noticed my angry expression. "Good to see you, heh heh."

Eleanor was in the kitchen, taking a container of ice cubes? No, wait, watermelon cube ice pops out of the fridge. "Sup!"

I immediately started to lecture them. "Alvin seems to think that your sister was only using him for a psychological study on Self Betterment. He claims she doesn't want to hang out with him anymore because he's too crazy for her to handle. You wouldn't happen to know why he believes that, would you?" I tapped my foot.

"Urgh." Eleanor, not Brittany, groaned. "Of course."

"It was you?" I was not expecting her to be the culprit.

"Okay, so, I may have told Alvin about her taking notes on him for a psychology study, but the rest of that his pea brained head cooked up on its own." The shortest Chipette admitted.

"Which means Jeanette DOES, in fact, still want to hang out with him?" I put a hand on the kitchen counter.

Eleanor nodded, causing her pigtails to bob. "Yeah. She's, like, immune to his annoying behavior. It's almost creepy!"

"Someone has to tell Alvin!" I exclaimed.

Brittany sharpened her nails with a nail file. "I say let him spin for a while."

"Brittany, no." Eleanor and I sternly said.

"But he might decide he wants to be popular again now that he's not listening to Jeanette!" Brittany quipped. I could tell that every one of her eggs was thrown in the Alvin Must Be Popular basket.

The youngest Chipette glared at her sister. "We can't just let him think Jeanette hates him!"

The door creaked open and in strolled Jeanette. She was wearing a pair of dark purple dungarees and a lighter purple shirt covered in pink and mint flowers. She looked very tired, like she had a busy day.

"Who thinks I hate him?" The tall girl asked.

Brittany slipped the nail file into her purse which was hanging on the coat rack by the door. "Alvin or Albert or whatever he's decided his name is today." She huffed.

Jeanette's hands flew to her cheeks as she tried to make sense of the situation at hand. "Why would he ever think such a horrible thing!?"

Brittany and I both pointed directly at Eleanor.

The punk Chipette gave her sister a sheepish grin.

Not long later, I entered our bedroom, followed by an entire posse. Jeanette, obviously. Eleanor, because she insisted on being there too, given this mess was her fault. Brittany, because she wanted to come due to something called Sister Solidarity. And lastly, Theo, because he saw us all going upstairs and followed along. I didn't have the heart to tell him not to be part of this. I didn't want to make him feel even more left out.

Jeanette quietly approached Alvin's bed. "H…Hello, Alvin. I'm afraid there's been a terrible misunderstanding."

He was downright nasty to her. Every word flew off his tongue sounding more vile than the last. "I don't want to talk to you right now, traitor!"

The poor girl stepped back and headed for the exit. "Well, okay then." She would have left had Eleanor not intervened.

"Oh for pete's sake!" The youngest Chipette shoved her sister back toward Alvin's bed.

"Who's Pete?" Theodore wondered aloud.

I decided to assist Jeanette. She wasn't fully equipped to handle my brother's outburst. "Alvin, please listen to what she has to say." I begged.

"Why? So she can rip my heart into more tiny pieces!?" He sneered. Hugging himself while starting to cry yet again. "I don't need her. I don't need anyone. Leave me alone."

"I…I was only trying to help." The Chipette in purple reached out a hand cautiously, but took it back before she actually touched him.

Alvin got up and started pacing around on his bed. "I think you've helped enough. Why didn't you just tell me the truth? You were passionate about being open and honest, but that was another rotten lie, wasn't it? I am nothing to you! I am nothing more than a big fat letter A grade on your stupid report card!" He pointed at Jeanette.

Brittany looked up at the pacing Chipmunk. "Oh my god. I can't believe I am about to do this, but Alvin, SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO MY SISTER!" She shouted.

I joined Brittany. "She's trying to explain things but she can't do it if you keep yelling." I added.

Jeanette scuttled to the door, like a frightened mouse. "I should…..I should go."

When it seemed like all hope was lost, Theodore climbed up on Alvin's bed and encouraged him to sit down. He started to explain everything. I wondered how he knew all of this. Then, I remembered him telling me that he and Jeanette were close and she told him a lot of things.

"Jeanette does like you. She wasn't just using you for a grade. She wasn't even turning the psychology research in for school." Theodore's soft brown eyes had the power to comfort anyone.

"She wasn't?" Alvin asked in a hoarse whisper.

Theo smiled. "She was using the notes she took on you to help track your progress. That's it."

Jeanette came a little closer and nodded. "They were for my eyes only. Then Eleanor snooped and you know the rest." She frowned. I could tell Alvin's words still hurt her.

"Britt snooped too." Eleanor added, climbing on Theo's bed and then hanging the top half of her body off it, looking bored.

Brittany pointed to herself. "I just wanted to make sure both Alvin and Jeanette were safe and not becoming codependent on each other." She claimed.

I smirked. "Wouldn't want anyone to become codependent on Alvin, would we, Britt?" I elbowed her softly in the arm.

"Shush, Simon." The girl in pink sassed.

Alvin dried his tears with the sleeve of his jacket. I had a feeling that collected a lot of tears. "So….So you do value my friendship?" He asked Jeanette sweetly.

"Of course!" The Chipette gushed, practically exploding with relief. "Everything about our friendship is fantastic! I love our walks in the park, our arts and crafts, our exchanges of science facts. I love the way you're always looking out for me, always telling me the sweetest things, helping me socialize more and opening me up to new experiences. I think about you all the time! I want to see you succeed at your goals! I want you to help me succeed at my goals…whenever I decide what my goals for the future are. I think being an activist is one, but I am rambling now. The point is, you and I are friends. I would never lie to you or intentionally mislead you. I'm so so sorry that Eleanor's words made it seem like I would. I swear I'm not that kind of person." Boy, and I thought Alvin was the best at monologues! He couldn't hold a candle to Jeanette. It was almost surreal seeing the usually quiet Chipette say so much at once.

"It's okay, Netta. I get it now. I shouldn't have overreacted so much. I'm just really vulnerable and fragile right now and I hate it." Alvin tossed his hood off and grabbed his trusty cap from the bedpost.

"Everything will be okay. Just take it one day at a time." Jeanette soothed all of us with her words.

Theo smiled even wider. He hugged his plush toy that Brittany had won him when we went to the carnival and then climbed up to join Eleanor on his bed.

"So are you both friends again?" The chubby boy asked.

"Absolutely." Alvin and Jeanette answered in unison.

Alvin put an arm around her. "We are stupendous friends."

"Finally, we can put this drama behind us…" I commented, happy to see my brother back to being semi-functional.

Eleanor laughed as she rolled over onto her belly. "And get back to the regular amount of drama."

"You little instigator." I teased.

Theodore scrunched his nose. "Is that some kind of alligator? Did you just call Eleanor an alligator? Oh oh or an Elly-gator?" Oh no. Alvin's pun making was catching on.

Fortunately, Brittany was determined to stop it. "Next person who makes a pun goes flying through the window." She threatened.

"So we'll resume lessons as usual? Or do you want me to ease up on them?"

Jeanette asked, staring into Alvin's eyes like she was infatuated with him. Gosh, I hope not. I hope she still only sees him as a friend. I do not want to deal with Brittany having a tantrum so powerful that it shakes the house.

"Well, actually, I was thinking….Would it be okay if I keep the lessons but also try and get my popularity back?" Alvin responded. "I think I'm finally ready." Hmm. Maybe he WASN'T slowly turning into me?

Brittany's ice blue eyes went wide. "Wait, really!? You want your popularity back!?" She scrambled onto the bed to face Alvin, tail wagging.

"Yeah." Alvin continued. "I think, if I have any chance at fighting this whole nerd brain takeover, I have to balance my sides. To do that, I gotta be cool again." He stood up on the bed and raised his hands in the air.

"I…..errr…..I don't know about this, but….I support your decision." Jeanette told him gently. I sensed she was worried his popularity may be short lived and losing it again would crush him even more into an insecure stress ball.

"Thanks, Netta." Alvin jumped off the bed.

"As long as you feel you're ready, I'll do whatever it takes to help." The Chipette in the purple overalls climbed carefully down to the floor. "Just ask and it shall be done."

"Don't be a doormat, Sis." Brittany warned her.

"Yeah." Theo agreed. "Doormats get stepped on."

"Actually, I don't think your help will be required yet." Alvin told the girl with the round purple spectacles. "But your sister's I could use."

Eleanor laughed so hard that she almost rolled off the bed. Luckily, Theodore caught her. "Me? Ha! In your dreams! Clearly I'm incapable of being SEEN, let alone popular."

"I meant her other sister." Alvin clarified.

"Me?" Brittany gasped happily. "You trust me?" She jumped off the bed to join Alvin.

"You're my only hope." He exclaimed, reaching out his hands for her. "Make me cool again, please! Teach me your ways."

She lifted him into the air and twirled around with him. Maybe the two of them would work out after all. Who can say? "Oh, Alvie!" She squealed. "I have waited so long to hear you say that!" She dropped him back on the floor. "I can have everything ready tonight."

"Tomorrow." I corrected her. "It's almost dinnertime. You'll have more time to teach him tomorrow after school."

"You're right." Brittany nodded. "And after cheer practice." She squealed again. "Oh my gosh! I can't wait! At last! AT LAST!"

While Brittany was celebrating, I heard Eleanor whisper to Theodore. "She has her work cut out for her."

"Yep." My younger brother agreed.

He was right. I took a good long look at my older sibling's freckled visage. It seemed Brittany was going to have to essentially teach him how to be the old Alvin. How to dress, act, walk, talk, even SMILE! Could it be done?

That night, as I was trying to sleep, I was once AGAIN woken by Alvin. This trend has been going on for YEARS. I must say, I was sick of it after the first three times.

"Let me guess." I mumbled, grabbing my circular glasses. "You regret asking Brittany already?"

"No, no, not at all." He flicked on the lamp beside my bed, illuminating a notebook with a sketch of sunglasses on it. "Check this out!"

"It's a nice drawing, but I would like to sleep." I muttered.

"I need you to help me make these." He whispered.

I sat up in bed and stared at the drawing. "You want me to invent…sunglasses?"

He tapped the side of his own glasses. "Negative. I want you to give my glasses the ability to change into sunglasses. Huh? Huh? Pretty nifty! Ain't it?"

"And why would I waste my time and energy on that idea?" I scoffed.

"Because I need them in order to be POPULAR! Duh!" He exclaimed, causing Theodore to stir in his bed. "Come on, please!"

"Alright." Anything to get him to shut up and go back to sleep. "We can work on it tomorrow"

"Best bro ever! Thank you!" He turned the light off.

I had foolishly assumed the nights of him waking me up with new invention ideas would have ended once his mind was focused on solely popularity. Apparently not! I can't predict anything about this kid anymore and it is driving me straight to the edge. Nothing's ever going to fix this mess. This is the way it is. Lord help us all. (And I'm not even very religious.)

BRITTANY: Time for my favorite part!

SIMON: Thank goodness. I'm exhausted.

BRITTANY: Here, I brought this bag of pretzels for you. I thought you might want a nice salty snack. I know how much you like them.

SIMON: How very kind of you.

BRITTANY: Now, step aside and let moi handle this!

Brittany's POV

As we planned, I waited for Alvin as soon as I got home from cheer practice. I was bursting with excitement. The moment I had been dreaming of was almost here! Soon, Alvie and I would be the most amazing and fabulous power couple in school.

Unless it was too late. Unless the Simon brain bits had already snuffed out any hope of being anything but a boring stick in the mud. Even more boring than Simon! Even more annoying than Simon too!

No, I couldn't think like that. My makeover would restore Alvin to the glorious and charming man he should be. He'd probably still be annoying, but maybe I could get Jeanette's help and change some of his most annoying qualities. I'd leave the majority. I just wanted to get rid of things like his habit of leaving stinky socks everywhere. Things that nobody would miss.

WHERE WAS HE!? He was ten minutes late already! We were falling behind schedule! Did he forget all about this? He did, didn't he? Urgh! Why do I always have to take matters into my own hands. Seriously!

I marched over to the Seville house and found Dave in the dining room reading the newspaper. "Where's Alvin?" I asked.

"In the basement with Simon again." The man in the periwinkle sweater responded. "They spend an awful lot of time down there these days."

"Yeah. They do." I groaned.

SLAM! I swung the basement door open so hard it almost flew off its hinges. I really needed to get that extra strength under control. Sigh. Why me? Why couldn't I get a fun girly superpower like making things explode in sparkles, but only things I wanted to explode.

"Whoah. Careful, Brittany!" Dave yelled loudly from his spot on the chair.

I stomped down the stairs and came face to face with Alvin, sporting a pair of sunglasses and grinning. "Did you forget about something?" I asked, poking his nose.

"No. I didn't. Si and I are just finishing up." The chipmunk in the red cap slid the glasses down his nose. "Look at these?"

"Ten times better than your regular dork goggles." I complimented him.

"Ohoho!" Alvin pressed the side of his sunglasses and the darkened lenses disappeared. "These ARE my regular dork goggles."

Simon chuckled. "It wasn't a bad idea. Didn't take too much time to make either."

"Would you like to know how they work?" Alvin asked me.

I sighed. "Later. We have things to do and we're already behind schedule. Come on."

"The button activates a tiny mechanism hidden inside the frames that causes a darkened film to roll down over the lenses." The annoying boy pressed the button once again and his nerd glasses were once again sunglasses. "It's ultra neat-o!"

"First rule of being cool. Never say neat-o." I instructed.

Alvin tilted his head. "About science?"

"About anything." I started to drag him up the stairs.

"Good luck, my discombobulated sibling." Simon winked at Alvin. "You're going to need it."

What was that supposed to mean? "He's in good hands, I assure you." I replied, continuing to drag the biggest geekazoid in the world up the steps. Why was he resisting?

Back in the treehouse, I admired my reflection in my vanity's mirror while Alvin sat on the bed, awaiting instructions. My outfit today was a very decorative carnation pink tank top with white glistening jewels decorating the top edge. They were fake jewels, but who cares? They looked real enough to sell the effect. My skirt was a slightly deeper shade of pink, and as ruffled as can be. I've been in a ruffled mood lately. On my feet were a pair of glitter encrusted light pink high heels. I think I'm getting better at walking in these things.

"So are we gonna start yet?" Alvin whined impatiently.

"You made me wait. It's only fair." I teased.

I brought out my stereo speaker with surround sound and plugged my phone into it. This wouldn't be as fun without the perfect music to sing along to. Now, where is the soundtrack from Wicked on this thing? Oh, there it is!

"What's that for?" Alvin stared at the stereo as his weirdly sharp mind kicked in high gear. "Oh no."

"Oh yes." I pranced around gracefully. "The best makeovers are always set to music."

"Is it too late to say I changed my mind?" He moaned.

I smiled and touched his cheek. "Yes."

I began singing to one of my absolute favorite songs in the history of ever! I'd always wanted to sing this to someone while giving them a makeover. I was hoping it would be one of my sisters, but I'd settle for the legendary Alvin Seville.

"Whenever I see someone less fortunate than I

And let's face it, who isn't less fortunate than I?

My tender heart tends to start to bleed

And when someone needs a makeover

I simply have to take over!

I know, I know exactly what they need!"

I stood to face the dorky shell housing the shattered pieces left of Alvin. It was up to me to bring those pieces back together. I took his cap off so I could examine his disastrous hair. Had he combed this at all in the last few days? Ew!

"And even in your case

Though it's the toughest case I've yet to face

Don't worry, I'm determined to succeed!"

He smiled at me with those awful braces. It was a horribly awkward and forced smile. It simply wouldn't do.

"Follow my lead

And yes indeed, you will be"

I walked over to my closet and started tossing out items of clothing that I'd bought and never worn. Then, I jumped out of the closet and ran back to my friend, full of fabulous ideas to help him.

"Popular!

You're gonna be popular!"

I danced around as I set out potential outfit ideas on Eleanor's bed. This was going so well. I was very pleased.

"I'll teach you the proper poise"

Tapping Alvin on his back, I forced him to sit up straighter. Then, I forced him to hold his head up, instead of looking down at his shoes. Oh, those shoes have got to go!

"Not to play with toys"

He started nervously playing with the hair on one of Jeanette's weird witch dolls. I took it from him and put it back on the shelf.

"Little ways to flirt and flounce

Ooh!"

I blew him a kiss and expected him to flirt back. He didn't, so I winked at him instead. He looked confused and I facepalmed.

"I'll show you what shoes to wear!"

I made him step out of his trashy drawn on rainbow colored sneakers and into some absolutely irresistible red and black converse with flames on the sides. Now, that was an upgrade.

"How to fix your hair!

Everything that really counts to be"

I sat him down at my vanity and ran a comb through his messy shaggy mop. It looked good for a total of 2 seconds before it burst back to looking like a mad scientist hairdo. Did he have grey hair hidden in here? Yes, he did. Underneath all the rest of his hair were three grey streaks. Not giving up, I added a lot of hair gel and hairspray. It managed to hold! Thank goodness!

"Popular!

I'll help you be popular!"

I took off his cyan jacket, revealing that geeky red rocket shirt underneath. That was going to go too. I slipped it off him and put on a solid red shirt instead. He resisted, but I wriggled it on him in seconds.

"You'll hang with the right cohorts"

I opened the yearbook and pointed to all the popular kids, highlighting their names and then handing him the yearbook. He likes to study, right? Study this!

"You'll be good at sports"

I tossed him Eleanor's soccer ball and he posed standing with a foot on top of it. He was really getting into this! I knew he would.

"Know the slang you've got to know

So let's start

'Cause you've got an awfully long way to go!"

I gave him a pair of slightly faded jeans in exchange for those hideous jeans with the paint splatters. He changed into them in the bathroom and came back looking even more promising.

"Don't be offended by my frank analysis

Think of it as personality dialysis"

I took some notes on a clipboard and then handed Alvin his cap back. He placed it on his head happily.

"Now that I've chosen to become a

Pal, a sister and advisor

There's nobody wiser!"

I sat down next to him on the bed and showed him a quick sketch I drew of him in 4 different jackets. Predictably, he couldn't choose one. He makes this so frustrating!

"Not when it comes to

Popular!

I know about popular"

First, I made him try on a denim jean jacket, but it was too cropped and feminine looking. On to the next one. Jacket number two was a dark cranberry. No, too pink. Pinkish red doesn't suit Alvin as well as it suits me.

"And with an assist from me

To be who you'll be

Instead of dreary who you were

Well, are"

I danced around the room with Alvin and tilted his cap slightly so it was at the perfect angle. As Alvin got ready to try on the third jacket, I took a picture frame on Jeanette's nightstand with a photo of Nerdy Alvin in it and flipped it around.

"There's nothing that can stop you

From becoming popu-ler... lar

La la, la la!

We're gonna make you pop-you-lar!"

The third jacket was white, which certainly made the red shirt pop, but it made Alvin look much too clean and not cool enough for my taste. There was only one jacket left, the black leather one. I love a guy in leather. Oh my gosh! When he put on that jacket, it was as if the stars aligned. That was the winner. I think I even saw Alvin strut a little in front of the mirror.

"When I see depressing creatures

With unprepossessing features

I remind them on their own behalf

To think of

Celebrated heads of state

Or especially great communicators!

Did they have brains or knowledge?"

I ran Alvin through some important flash cards containing all the things he needs to know to be popular. There were a lot. I needed to be thorough.

"Uh yes?" He answered my question.

"Don't make me laugh!

They were popular!

Please!"

I exclaimed. Boy, he still was thinking like a nerd! That was going to pose a big problem if he wasn't careful. I recited the lyrics louder, in case he still wasn't getting it. Jeanette said music helps him learn better.

"It's all about popular

It's not about aptitude

It's the way you're viewed

So it's very shrewd to be

Very very popular

Like me!"

He was finished at last, after I taught him how to do his usual smirk again, and how to walk without looking like he's about to fall over. Aside from the braces, which I couldn't get rid of, he could easily pass for a popular kid.

"Oh Alvin, I've done it! You're handsome again!" I squeaked.

"Cool." He moved the letter A pin from his cyan jacket to the new black one. I think it was Eleanor's jacket originally. She won't mind me borrowing it for a good cause.

"You don't sound excited." I frowned. Why was Alvin acting this way? He asked me for this.

"Can I get outa here?" The red capped kid asked. "I still feel like a fake."

I brushed off his insecurity. If I didn't acknowledge it, I could rob it of its power. "That's what popularity is. Fake it til you make it. You'll be fine." I assured him.

"Uh huh. I have to go. See ya." He grabbed his old tacky clothes and hurried downstairs.

"You're welcome." I hollered after him.

I laid down on my bed for a moment before getting up and dancing around the room. I just knew my makeover had worked! Soon, Alvin's ego would be back! His confidence would skyrocket! I saved him from a life spent obsessing over math, physics, and inventing things.

"And though you protest

Your disinterest

I know clandestinely

You're gonna grin and bear it!

Your new found popularity!

Aah!

La la, la la!

You'll be popular!

Just not quite as popular as me!"

Tomorrow, the whole school would be seeing a side to Alvin that they were exceptionally more familiar and comfortable with. All thanks to me. It just goes to show you, if you're passionate enough about something, it will happen. Maybe I should start giving all the nerds a chance to get makeovers? I know a few that would pay a lot for a chance at being even B tier popular.

Nothing could make me worry! Balance was being restored to our school and our lives. All I had to do was watch Alvin and make sure he didn't slip up and get all sciency with the wrong crowd. He wouldn't leave my side. Even if it took months to fully purge the nerdiness from his system, I would never stop fighting until my Alvie was himself again. No more confusion. No more crisis-es. Just himself. He really should thank me.

Boy, she is as oblivious as Alvin. Isn't she?

Once again, I would love to know what you think will happen next! How is all this going to wrap up?

The Alvinette angst took so long to get through, but it's important to show that their friendship and subsequent future romance isn't always sunshine and rainbows. I promise I will make up for it with some nice Theonor stuff in the next chapter, as well as more Alvinette.

For now, I gotta sleep. This has taken forever to write out because I kept getting distracted.

Not sure when the next update will be. I hope you're all still enjoying it! I promise the Journey gets less angsty in story 8.