The drama continues! These kiddos sure know how to get into it! We're picking up where we left off, and Eleanor is going to narrate again, as promised. I feel like she's trying to make this fic about her and not Alvin haha.

This is gonna be a Theonor heavy chapter with some Alvin and Ellie angst, but not too much angst. There's some fun friendship stuff too! I love this chapter so much.

Eleanor's POV

More and more bets later, I was absolutely raking in the dough! Now that Simon and Jeanette had opted out, nothing was stopping us from placing bet after bet after bet. I wasn't Bocarter level rich, but I had a lot of cash I could afford to blow. And now, for the next step of my carefully orchestrated plan. Christmas is comin' early this year, baby!

While Alvin was busy running around buying videogames, art stuff, action figures and weird science junk for himself and only himself, I was about to perform some random acts of kindness. That would be a surefire way to get me noticed. Although, a little something extra to draw attention to me couldn't hurt.

I walked into school with my hair done differently, but not as differently as when I dyed it black. I didn't HATE the black. I just preferred the blonde. Remember how I mentioned in the last chapter that I wanted to have a new hairstyle AND keep my pigtails? That's exactly what I was doing! I'd chosen to wear my hair down in the pigtails instead of up. Both pigtails rested on my shoulders and sometimes tickled my chin. I thought it looked cute! It made me feel a lot more mature!

My outfit for this school day consisted of a teal long sleeved shirt with white letters that said "GAME ON" and two gold trophies on each side of the words, dark green shorts with mint stars on each side, and some brand new sneakers! They were teal with golden laces and white lightning bolts on the side. I have to admit, they were something, ONE THING, I had bought for myself with the bet money.

As I strolled through the school halls, I noticed Simon and Jeanette chatting at their locker with huge smiles on their faces. I crept closer to hear what they were saying, as I usually do.

"Are we still planning to visit the History museum this weekend?" Jeanette asked sweetly as she tucked her backpack in her locker.

Simon nodded, watching her with a big ol smile on his face. I was happy for both of them. They deserved time away from the basket case in a baseball cap. "We are. Is that okay? I can always switch it to next weekend…if you have other plans."

My sister shut her locker and turned to face the chipmunk in the blue T shirt and darker blue jacket. "It's great! I moved Alvin's lessons to next Tuesday."

"Does this mean we can plan something for Sunday too?" Simon's ears twitched.

"I hope so!" Jeanette zipped up her violet and pinkish purple colored windbreaker.

"Phenomenal!" Simon put an arm around her as they walked to class. Then, he leaned close and whispered into her ear. "By the way, we really should talk about Eleanor. I'm worried she's gotten in too deep with all that gambling."

That was my cue. I ran up next to them and shouted. "Good morning, guys. Notice anything different about me?"

Neither of them had any clue what I was talking about. It was like they didn't even see my hair!

"Not a thing." Simon responded.

Jeanette tilted her head and then awkwardly agreed. "You look the same as always."

"Come on, really!?" How could they not notice? I slumped my shoulders in defeat. This idea was dumb. Wasn't it?

My sister put a finger with purple shimmer nail polish to her lips. "What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"Forget it." I muttered.

Simon pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just tell us, please. I'm very tired. I had to listen to Alvin sing the Element song yesterday. Repeatedly." Oof that sounds like torture. I don't even know what the Element song is, yet I just KNOW it was torture.

I blinked. I hated just giving them the answer. "My hair."

"Your hair is still blonde though." Jeanette's midnight blue eyes were wide with confusion.

I pointed at the low pigtails. "These!" I grabbed one and shook it. "See? Different."

"That's what you meant?" Simon sighed. "It's BARELY a change."

"Looks very cute on you…" Jeanette began, before I put a finger to her lips.

"Oh save it!" I snapped.

Then, I was off to find someone else to show my new hairstyle to before class began. SOMEONE had to comment on it without me pointing it out! Mark my words, there's gotta be SOMEONE.

I followed the curve of the hall and ran into Alvin and Brittany arguing in front of the main office. Typical Alvin and Brittany. I didn't care what this was about, but I was forced to endure it.

"Alvie, please. We need to talk this out!" Brittany was once again throwing herself at him, hoping that he'd become her boyfriend someday. Pathetic. I love my sister very much, but she either needed to move on or shove those feelings down until Alvin stopped denying his obvious attraction to her.

The redheaded boy tried to squirm out of Brittany's strong grip. He was no match for her. "As I said in my texts, I am BUSY."

"You're always saying that! You've been busy for weeks." The girl in the periwinkle crop jacket and bright fuchsia ruffle dress swished her tail angrily.

Alvin started to talk to her as if he was talking to a toddler. "Yes I have. You see, that's what happens when you're trying not to have a buttload of homework over Thanksgiving break. Does that make sense? Do you get it?" It was kinda funny. It angered Brittany SO MUCH.

"And you can't take a few minutes to tell me how you felt about the kiss?" She stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips.

The baseball cap wearing boy clenched his fists. "I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE KISS!"

"Why not?" Brittany whimpered. She was acting like such a damsel in distress. I wanted to go over there and scream "JUST ASK HIM OUT!" right in her ear.

"I don't know." Alvin replied, finally escaping when Brittany's grip loosened.

Brittany chased after him through the hall, with several students looking at her. "Are you still mad? Now that you've had some time to think it over?"

"I dunno." Alvin wailed.

"HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW?" My sister shrieked. I hid behind a trash can to watch them more. Dang it, Cheesy was right. I do tend to spend a lot of time behind or in trash cans.

Alvin 2.0 as it said on his stupid sports jersey, turned around to face my diva sister and stomp his foot. "Feelings are COMPLICATED! It took me forever to know who I am again! I'm still not even all the way there! When I tell you I don't know how I feel, there's no hidden message. I just straight up DON'T KNOW."

The Chipette in pink scoffed. "I thought you were a genius who knew everything."

I could see Alvin's fur start to bristle. His eyes blazed with fury. I crawled out from behind the trash can to get a closer look. This was gonna be good, or possibly very bad.

"Okay. Ya got me." His voice got rougher. Not really lower, just significantly more raspy. "I do know how I feel about the kiss."

Brittany smiled. "Yes! Okay! Now, tell me!"

Cue Britt getting angry in 3...2...1…

"I WISH THE KISS HAD NEVER HAPPENED!" Alvin shouted loudly. "In fact," He rasped. "I am going to pretend that it didn't! From this moment on, consider it gone from my memory." He turned sharply and hustled down the hall, almost tripping over his feet, but managing to regain his balance.

"Alvie, wait…." Brittany blinked back tears. "…Can we still be friends?" The last word was no louder than a whisper.

I walked over to my sister and pretended I hadn't been spying on her conversation the whole time. "Are you okay, Britt?"

She hastily pulled a tissue from her crop jacket pocket and wiped her eyes. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." I pointed out.

She buttoned up the top button on the jacket. "Let's get to class."

Alright, if she wanted to hide this, I couldn't do anything about it. Time to do what I came here to do. "Notice anything different about me?"

Brittany looked over my appearance and then shrugged halfheartedly. "You're rich now?"

"My hair." I muttered angrily. "Notice anything different?"

"Eleanor, I have no time for this." She fumed, walking away toward Miss. Smith's classroom. UNBELIEVABLE! How could Brittany not have noticed my new hairstyle?

When I got to class, I purposely walked by Alvin's desk. Then, I put my hand on top of the comic book he was reading. "I have a quiz for you." I said. "Can you tell that I have changed something subtle about my appearance?"

He peered at me from behind his red framed hipster spectacles. Then, his blue eyes flashed the way they do when he's answered a really tough question. He noticed! Oh my gosh! He actually noticed!

He stroked his chin, pretending it took him a longer time to think than it actually did. "You….got new shoes. They're super cool! I like them!"

I wanted to bang my head on the desk as hard as possible. Oh well, at least he noticed something, even if it wasn't the obvious something. This felt like a running gag. I was sure it ran on too long.

"Yeah." I sounded as miserable as I felt. "New shoes. Definitely nothing else." I pointed at my hair as I hit him with the sarcasm.

"Ohhh…uhhh…oh! The expository hairstyle change." He reached out and touched my hair. "Is that it?"

"Freakin' finally." I muttered. "Yeah, it is."

"It's different, but as I have proven, different can be good." He started to ramble. "I am elated to know that my tumultuous journey has inspired you."

And that was my cue to walk away. I was in no mood for Alvin's needlessly complicated dictionary talk. Also, he may have inspired my punk phase, but the hairstyle change was ALL me.

I sat down at my desk and sighed heavily. Either my family was playing a joke on me, or my stealth powers had even worse side effects than I thought. I hate living in a cartoon so much. At least it explains why things sometimes make no sense, but boy is it really taxing on someone's sanity.

Theodore entered the classroom and shuffled by my desk. He stopped after passing by and then walked backwards, looking at me with fascination.

"I like your hair like that. It looks really nice." He commented sincerely.

I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I felt all warm and tingly, but most of all, I felt SEEN. "Thank you!" I responded. "You're the first person to actually notice."

"Huh? That's so weird." He stayed near my desk. The bell hadn't yet rung. "So how's the baseball thing going? Did you win a lot of cookies?"

Drat! Did he think we were betting for cookies still? "Uh, yeah…" I fibbed.

"Can I have some?" He asked, those big brown eyes glistening like pools of melted chocolate. Crud!

I decided I had to tell him what was really going on and sighed. "I'm not betting for cookies anymore, Theo. I'm betting for…" I lowered my voice to a hush. "Money."

The boy in the two tone green jacket let out a soft gasp. "Oh no. Ellie, you shouldn't."

"I know, I know, but it's fine. Ms. Croner's the one placing the bets. I won't go to jail or anything." I told him with what I hoped was a reassuring chuckle.

"But what if you get addicted?" My best friend whimpered.

I appreciated Theodore protecting me, but I was sure that addiction wouldn't be a problem. "It won't go that far. I promise."

His lip trembled. "Why did you lie to me and say there were more cookies when there isn't?"

Good question. "I didn't want you blabbing to your dad. Dave would shut down my operation and blow this whole thing."

"Simon says he thinks you're addicted." Theodore said as the bell rang. "Jeanette does too. I really hope they're wrong. Cuz if they aren't, then you'll be in real trouble." He warned.

I gulped. Was Theo right? Should I quit while I'm ahead? Deep down, I knew I should. I wanted recognition though! Once I managed to make a name for myself, THEN I could quit gambling.

While everyone else did their work in class, I scrolled through the notes I'd taken on my phone. I'd managed to find out what a lot of my classmates wanted for Christmas. Man, they had some long wishlists! Today, after school and soccer practice, I would buy the first wave of presents.

But before I could do that, I had to survive more of our group's antics. Once again, that started with Alvin and Brittany. It always starts with them. Like I've said. It happened between classes too. We were all gathered at our desks. We'd just returned from lunch.

"I have a big surprise for you tomorrow." I was telling my classmates, hinting at the gifts I'd bring them.

"You managed to get me the limited edition Zargo action figure from Brothers Of Dagarack 3!?" Cheesy asked.

"I could use a new charger for my laptop." Kevin mentioned. "The old one has seen better days."

Before I could respond, Alvin sucked up all the attention in the room like a vacuum. SLUUUURP!

He tied his cyan jacket's sleeves in a knot and draped it over his shoulders like a cape. "Check it out! Does this make me look like a superhero or what?"

"Or what." Brittany grumbled loudly.

"Actually,…" Theodore wrinkled his nose. "You look more like Bocarter when he goes to play golf at the country club."

The blonde human boy in the navy blue suit looked offended. "He doesn't look a thing like me!"

"Well, I don't care what you think." Alvin retorted.

"If you don't care what we think, why did you ask?" Simon taunted him.

"For science." The nerdiest chipmunk ever responded. "Obviously."

"You can't keep using "for science" as your excuse for everything." Brittany hissed. I knew things were about to heat up. "And please, stop dressing like you shop at thrift stores."

"I DO shop at thrift stores." Alvin reminded her, untying the cyan jacket and slipping it back on the way jackets are supposed to be worn. "This thing came from a thrift store."

I snickered, but no one heard me except maybe Theodore.

"Which is why your outfit is completely out of style." My oldest sister commented.

Alvin wouldn't fight to keep his rightful spot on the soccer team, but he would sure fight with Brittany. "I am trendy!" He declared. "Some may say I'm the next big thing! The height of fashion!"

I laughed again. I had so much to add, but Brittany beat me too it. "Have you looked in the mirror? Like actually looked? Long and hard?" The girl in pink asked.

"Ohoho! Every day!" Alvin gestured to his face with a hand.

I finally got to talk. "I bet he breaks mirrors now." I added.

"That would explain the rotten luck." Wow! Even Theo was taking jabs at Alvin now.

Alvin climbed onto his desk. "Hey! I have worked hard to look ALMOST as good as I used to." He claimed.

"The key word is "almost." Brittany and I answered at the same time.

Simon Seville, fun crusher, came in with his wrecking ball. "Okay, that's enough mocking Alvin. Unless you want him to mock you."

"N…Nobody mock anyone." Jeanette's lip quivered.

I guess our sister didn't want to listen to them. She went nose to nose with Alvin, standing on her own desk. "You wouldn't know fashion if it bit you on the butt, two point ZERO."

Clever insult. He was kind of like a zero now. He was gaining confidence, but he would probably always be a broken shell of his old self. Wow, that is really depressing. I hope he gets less broken, really I do.

"There you go again." Alvin backed away from Brittany. "You're like the Homecoming Queen Of Mean!"

She looked at her nails. "Can't hurt me as long as Queen is part of the title." Gosh, she was so hooked on that.

"AW NUTS!" Alvin backed up too far and fell off the desk. He hit the floor with a THUMP! "I'm okay!" He squeaked, scrambling up.

Miss. Smith entered. "Alvin, get in your seat." She ordered. "Stop being a class clown!"

"I'm not." He insisted, never knowing when to shut up. "I was simply defending my fashion choices and…"

"I DON'T CARE!" Miss. Smith shouted. "I have a lesson plan to get through. Now, SIT DOWN!"

Alvin sulked back to his seat while Brittany had a mischievous smirk on her face. She was sitting in her seat with her hands folded on her desk. I could tell she was trying to force Alvin back into his role of class clown. Harsh, but maybe if he was class clown again, he'd stop burning himself out on homework and rejoin our soccer team.

The next day, I FINALLY enacted my plan. During our lunch period, I dragged a rather large sack of gifts into the cafeteria.

"Listen up! Christmas comes early this year! Eleanor Miller's got whatever you want!" I said, standing atop a cafeteria table and leaving the sack beside the table. "You hear that? Eleanor! Eleanor Miller! That's my name! If you're in Miss. Smith's homeroom, come on over! If you're in a different class, submit one wishlist request on this handy dandy clipboard, kay?"

Everyone followed the instructions and I was able to hand out so many gifts! The plan was WORKING!

"Wow! I already got a new smartphone and it's only November! Now I can ask for something else for Christmas!" Logan said happily. "Thanks!"

"You are the best, mystery girl!" Tracy hugged her new pair of ballet slippers to her chest.

Warren received a new backpack with math problems written all over it. He shyly dipped his head and scurried away with it.

Bruce found a Lego Batmobile kit in the sack. "HOW DID YOU KNOW I WANTED THIS!?"

"I have connections." I squeaked. Really, I had spied on them, but SHHHH! they didn't need to know that.

"Do I want to know what's going on here?" Simon asked, approaching the table.

I sat down on the cafeteria table bench and dangled my legs over the edge. It was much too large for me, being human size, yet I made it work. "I'm spreading joy and happiness."

"That…doesn't sound like you." He furrowed his brows. "Why are you really doing this?"

"S…Simon." Jeanette reached the table before I could answer the question. "There you are. I've been looking all over for y…" She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "What's all this?"

"I believe Eleanor was just about to tell me." Simon folded his arms and began tapping his foot.

"I figure, since I made a lot of money, it's not fair to keep it all to myself." I sounded as sincere as possible. "Like my sister always says, there's no better feeling than making someone else's wishes come true."

"Oh Eleanor!" The girl in the purple overalls explained. "You finally understand. Isn't this wonderful, Simon?"

"No." He jumped up and sat down next to me. "Why are you actually doing this? There must be some motive."

"Okay okay." I muttered in as low a voice as I could. "I figure this will make people remember my name. Pathetic, isn't it? That I feel the need to go through all this just for a bit of recognition."

"Ah….that sounds more like you." Simon scrunched his nose, deep in thought. "Or this sounds like a scheme that Alvin would think up."

"Being noticed will happen eventually." Jeanette climbed up to join us. "You just have to be patient."

I growled. "No. No. I am DONE waiting." I held back the tears expertly. "I've been ignored and tossed aside for years. If I have to BUY people's attention, then so be it."

"I….I suppose that is your choice." Jeanette remarked.

"Ya darn tootin'." I grabbed the sack.

Simon was entirely silent, clearly my words gave him a lot to think about.

And I did think, as I continued to dish out presents. I passed out a jeweled bracelet to Jesse, boxing gloves to Gregory, and even a label maker to a girl called Hannah who I didn't know very well. But did that make them remember my name? Nope.

In fact, they talked to me for a total of one minute, before Alvin did a cartwheel across the cafeteria and they ran over to ask him what his problem was. Gosh, even as a total nerd, he was still monopolizing all the attention.

Irritated, I started to sing. It wasn't like anyone heard me, or even cared. I just wanted to sing, so I did. It was good practice for our next concert, whenever that may be.

"When you sing the solo, I sing the harmony

When will it be my turn to be who I wanna be?

'Cause you're throwin' me off balance

I wanna be the one with the talent

Someday the world will know me, someday they're gonna see, yeah!"

I watched from a distance as Alvin snatched three apples from cafeteria trays and started to juggle them. A bunch of people applauded. Most of them were average kids and not popular kids, but it seemed Alvin wasn't as outcasted as before.

"Always runnin' in the race you're winning

Everybody loves you

I don't wanna be the underdog, no

I just wanna one-up you"

I followed Alvin to the courtyard and watched as he grabbed a basketball. He didn't even notice me chasing him. He just expertly twirled the basketball around on his finger.

"This competition, it's getting pretty old

Always runnin' in the race you're winning

Someday I'll win the gold."

I decided I needed to do SOMETHING. I slid in, still singing, and knocked the basketball out of his grasp. Then, I tossed it into the hoop and smirked at him.

"Can't you see it's true?

I can do so much better than you."

His blue eyes flared with that old competitive spirit that I thought he'd lost completely. He ran after the ball, but I was too fast for him.

"See it in my eyes, I was born to win the prize

Don't you know it's true?

I can do so much better than you"

I gloated lyrically, before Alvin snatched the ball back from me and tossed it into the net. It hit the rim and bounced in. A small group of students picked Alvin up and put him on their shoulders. I sighed.

"Always runnin' in the race you're winning

Everybody loves you."

The next day, I tried to outdo Alvin again. This time, I was playing volleyball in gym class. I served the ball over the net and Alvin hit it back to me. I started to sing again. I'd come up with a new verse to the song. I sang directly at Alvin this time, hoping it would clue him in.

"You've got so many hobbies, but I've got hobbies too

People ignore me 'cause they're busy watching you.

They can remember your name

You're the only one with the fame

Someday the world will know me, someday they're gonna see, yeah!"

Coach Dopkins got annoyed at me for singing during gym class. He made me and Alvin run a bunch of extra laps around the gym after class. I sang to Alvin again, but I realized he wasn't listening. He had his wireless headphones on!

"Always runnin' in the race you're winning

Everybody loves you

I don't wanna be the underdog, no

I just wanna one-up you

This competition, it's getting pretty old

Always runnin' in the race you're winning

Someday I'll reach my goal"

When we finished running laps and it was almost time to get to our next class, I stayed behind in the gym to finish singing my song. I may have popped one or two of the volleyballs in my fit of rage.

"Can't you see it's true?

I can do so much better than you

See it in my eyes, I was born to win the prize

Don't you know it's true?

I can do so much better than you"

I walked out of the gym, still singing softly to myself. Back at my locker, I opened the door and the large sack of gifts I'd brought fell on top of me.

"Always runnin' in the race you're winning

Everybody loves you

I don't wanna be the underdog, no

I just wanna one-up you

This competition, it's getting pretty old

Always runnin' in the race you're winning

Someday I'll win the gold

And

Someday I'll reach my goal"

I shoved the heavy thing off of me and angrily pushed it back into my locker. Inside my head, I was cursing Alvin the entire time.

"But for now

Everybody loves you."

I ended the song and hurried away to class. I was beyond angry, but determined to shove it down and not let it show. This idea of mine WOULD work. I had to give it enough TIME to work. At least, that's what I thought, anyway.

Later that day, Alvin the attention hog walked up to me as I was handing out more gifts. He was dressed the way Jeanette used to dress, but in a different color scheme. He had on a red, orange, and purple plaid button up shirt, with his cyan hoodie on top. His jeans had paint splatters around the cuffs. I wonder what possessed him to dress that way? Why the plaid? Did he think Brittany thought plaid was trendy? Urgh! Why am I thinking about this? Ridiculous.

"Uh, Ells, can we…talk?" The nerd, who still had no clue how to be one, asked.

"I'mma take five, but then I have more gifts for ya!" I told the long lineup of students.

I hopped down from the table and followed Alvin into a corner of the cafeteria. He seemed nervous, anxious. I guess that WAS usual for Alvin now, post transformation.

"Don't you think this is a bit, you know, overboard?" The red capped boy said, frowning.

I was beyond upset. He was all for this idea of mine! Why was it suddenly overboard for him? "You wasted all your money on yourself. At least I'm giving to others." I retorted, trying hard to sound like I was the better person.

Predictably, Alvin tried the same technique. "Hey! I actually donated a fraction of it to charity!" He claimed. I would have doubted that in the past, but 2.0 was basically Jeanette's puppet. It was likely he actually DID give money to charity. He would do anything she says in a heartbeat.

"Oh really? What fraction?" I asked, out of habit. I needed to practice talking to the new Alvin more I guess.

He looked annoyed. "A very small fraction, but you know what they say, a little goes a long way!" He admitted. Maybe Classic Alvin isn't buried so deep after all? Gosh, this kid confuses me. He's a mystery I have very little interest in solving.

"That's what I thought." I pretended I knew him better than I felt I did.

Alvin climbed up onto the cafeteria table to face me. "Look, I am warning you because I am a nice guy and that's what nice guys do." He said. "You and I, we gotta stop this before it gets even more out of hand."

I folded my arms. "Fine. Go and quit this like you did with the soccer team." I snapped.

His lip curled angrily. "I didn't quit. Alvins don't quit."

"You DID quit and you know it." I argued. Gosh, we were starting to sound like him and Brittany.

"Whatever." He grumbled. "Point is, I have a really really miserable feeling in my gut about all this." He rubbed his stomach.

"Maybe it's all the candy you've been eating." I suggested coldly.

Alvin shook his head. "I think it's that new survival instinct I've been developing. My instinct tells me that if we don't stop betting on baseball, there's gonna be a HEAP of trouble!" He explained, sounding frantic.

I blew my hair fringe up from my face with a huff. "That survival instinct has been nothing but trouble."

To my surprise, Alvin agreed with me. "Yeah, and it wrecks my fun." He admitted. "But it's part of me now, so….I'm done. I won't be placing any more bets with you. I bought enough stuff from my wishlist. If I buy any more, Santa won't know what to bring me this year." The next words he uttered felt like acid ripping into my skin. "I….am….quitting." He frowned. "Why is that so hard to say?" I think he was talking to himself again. I hoped he was, because if he was talking to me, I didn't have the answer.

I sighed. "If that's what you have to do, then do it. I won't try to stop you." I replied.

I really wished he wasn't quitting. He annoyed me, but this was a sporty passion we could share. Now, I didn't have soccer or this. He and I were drifting apart, just like Brittany warned me we would. My sister couldn't be right! When is Brittany EVER right!?

"Thanks, Ells." He jumped down from the lunch table. "I've been in situations like this over and over. This is the first one I might actually have a shot at getting out of before it's too late!"

"Any idea if you'll still play on the baseball team when our season starts?" I asked, trying to accept that this was his decision and that he was basically a different person now.

The dorky chipmunk in the cyan jacket looked at his multicolored shoes covered in doodles. "I can't tell you. I still don't know."

Of course not. I grabbed the sack of gifts and hoisted them onto the table. Britt might be the strongest, but I work out and I have serious muscle in these chubby arms. "Well, I'm gonna get back to my quest for glory. See ya round, you big quitter." I meant that last part in a teasing way.

"Yeah. See ya." Crap! Alvin sounded hurt! He didn't know I was teasing…or he couldn't take the teasing today. I didn't know which. Urgh! Why do I even care?

After school, I met up with Ms. Croner. I strolled in and helped her feed her giant hoard of cats. Then, we sat down and I opened my laptop. Since Simon had bailed on me, I transferred his excel document to my computer. I had all the statistics from the trio of smartypants-es. That meant, Ms. Croner and I could still place bets without them.

"Where's Albert?" She asked, putting her reading glasses on. They hung on a chain around her neck when she wasn't using them.

I let out another sigh. "He's not coming." I explained. "He decided that he's bored of this." That sounded a lot more like Alvin than the reasons he'd given me at lunchtime.

"Oh, that's quite alright." Ms. Croner responded, picking up one of her cats before it could prance across my laptop and enter random key-smashes into the spreadsheet. "Between you and me, he was very annoying anyway."

"Totally." I smiled at her.

"So what teams are we betting on today?" The old woman asked, petting her beloved favorite cat named Miss. Whiskers. She kinda reminded me of a mob boss the way she was stroking the cat and smirking.

I showed her the statistics. "We can bet on any of these."

"How about all three?" She asked.

I started placing the three bets online. We were gonna make a KILLING! "I like the way you think, Ms. Croner."

After I left her house and returned home, I played a round of Wii bowling with my sisters and won. Jeanette lost brutally. She got so many gutter balls that she probably broke a record.

I was about to walk upstairs when our home phone began to ring. I answered it, wondering if it was Ms. Croner with updates on our bets.

It wasn't her. It was actually Theo. His sweet voice sounded very inviting. "Hi, Eleanor. Are you busy?"

Was I? Usually, yes, but not at that exact moment. "Not really."

"Oh good!" He exclaimed. "Would you and your sisters like to come over and have dinner with us? Dave's stuck working late and I made too much food for just the three of us."

"That sounds awesome. Let me ask my sisters." I covered the speaker on the phone with my hand. Then, I shouted loudly. "GIRLS, DO YOU WANNA HAVE DINNER WITH THE BOYS TONIGHT!?"

"What a lovely suggestion. Absolutely!" Jeanette twirled down the stairs wearing a lilac dress covered in shimmery butterflies. She tripped, but Brittany was there to catch her and avoid a nasty fall.

My oldest sister in the hot pink off shoulder shirt, heart necklace, and skinny jeans, scoffed and then rolled her eyes. "I don't have anything better to do, so sure."

I uncovered the speaker on the phone. "We'll be right over." I said to Theo with a touch of excitement.

Soon, we were all gathered around the dining room table in the boys' house. Conversation was flowing. For whatever reason, Simon had brought Geizmo to the table even though the robot couldn't eat. I was trying my best to ignore the way he was playing with the salad tongs. We weren't even having salad.

"This is something I like to call The Ultimate Casserole." Theodore explained, serving us each a large piece. "It has pasta, peas, carrots, celery, cauliflower, and a whole heap of different spices. There's also cheese and some little ham cubes to add, if you'd like."

Alvin and Simon licked their lips and added a ton of ham cubes and cheese to their casserole.

"I can't eat this." Brittany pushed her plate away. "I don't do peas."

"Just pick the peas out." I hissed at my sister.

"Theo." The pink clad girl handed him her plate of casserole. "Be a dear and pick the peas out for me."

"Brittany!" I grumbled.

I looked to my left to see Jeanette picking out all the pasta from her casserole.

"Not you too." I groaned. This was so embarrassing.

"Pasta isn't vegan." She said softly, continuing to pick at her casserole until all the pasta was removed.

"Aw man." Theodore sighed. "I knew I was forgetting something."

"It's okay, Theo." I told him. "You tried your best. These things happen."

The chipmunk in green handed the pea-free casserole dish back to Brittany, who added in cheese. "Here you go. No more peas."

"Ah yes. Wouldn't want to upset the Princess of Brat-town by making her eat peas." Alvin teased in a mean sounding way.

"Excuse you, I am a QUEEN! And you're Prince Geeknerd!" Brittany retorted.

I was still mad at Alvin, so I couldn't resist joining Brittany in poking fun at the poor kid. "Nah, he's the jester. Not even a prince."

"You've turned against me too?" Alvin asked with a dejected frown.

"Can we talk about something else? Anything else?" Simon requested.

Geizmo pounded his salad tongs on the table. "Let's talk about Albwittina!"

Alvin's eyes blazed with fiery anger. "Who taught him that!?"

"Uh…it might have been me." Theodore raised his hand meekly.

"I just call them Alvittany." Simon mentioned. "At least, I used to."

"Bwittany kiss Alvin. Smoochie smooch! Then Alvin get weally mad!" Geizmo giggled.

Alvin's face was entirely blank. Either he was a good actor, or he actually HAD purposely repressed his memory of Homecoming. "What are you babbling about, bot boy?"

"Oh, cut the act, Alvin." Brittany seethed with rage. "I know you remember and I know you LIKED it!"

"What kiss? There was never a kiss." The red capped boy insisted. This time, he was less good at faking it. "Brittany would never do something so monumental without warning me."

"What is happening?" Theodore asked, shaking his head. "This was supposed to be a nice dinner."

My pink clad sister stood up in her chair and Theodore's dreams of a nice family dinner died with her. "Just throwing it out there, because it needs to be said. I am NOT the villain of this story." She announced. "HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW KISSING ALVIN WOULDN'T BREAK THE NERD SPELL!?"

Simon butted in, causing me to chuckle. "I would suggest you use common sense, but that appears to have flown the coop."

"We live in a cartoon, Simon! Common sense is dead!" Brittany wailed.

I plugged my ears. "Stop reminding us about that! STOP IT!"

"I'm sorry I gave you all an existential crisis." Alvin blurted out. "I'm SORRY!"

"People, people! Let's be civil about this…" Jeanette added.

Brittany sat back down in her seat. "Alvin, your changes have RUINED all our lives."

I was still mad at Alvin, but I suddenly felt the need to defend him. "If we're talking about who's to blame for Alvin's changes. We can blame Alvin, obviously. But we can also blame Brittany, and Simon, and Dave, and the rest of those popular kids and anyone who makes fun of him. And me…a little." I added, sounding ashamed. "Also Jeanette! She did a LOT."

"G…Guilty." The girl in purple agreed.

I went on, between bites of my casserole, because I was VERY hungry. "I think the only person who isn't to blame is Theo." I pointed to him with my fork.

Theodore wiped his tears with a napkin. "I just want our happy dysfunctional family back!"

The room fell silent. I think the five of us knew we'd messed up.

"This is delicious, Theodore." Jeanette squeaked timidly, eating the casserole without pasta. "The spices really give it some…zest."

"Yeah. It's really good." Alvin followed Jeanette's lead, as usual.

"You 'mazing, Theodore." Geizmo added. "Truly 'mazing." Again, I will remind you. He can't even eat. He's a robot.

"He's right." I gave my best friend a hopeful smile.

"I think," Simon cleared his throat. "Given the circumstances, perhaps it is best if the kiss is never mentioned again. It happened. It's over. I don't see the need to rehash it."

"THANK YOU!" Alvin got out of his chair and hugged Simon, startling the poor guy.

"Okay" Brittany muttered bitterly.

When dinner was over, we all gathered in the living room to watch a movie together. Theodore got to pick, so it was a Talking Teddy film. Most of us weren't really into it, but after the way we acted at dinner, we knew Theo deserved to watch his favorite bear on crazy misadventures.

"Isn't Talking Teddy amazing at playing football, you guys?" Theodore asked us.

I was about to respond and tell Theo that he was, even though I thought otherwise.

Alvin once again beat me to the punch. "Are you kidding? He hasn't tackled anyone! He doesn't even know how to play football!"

"I think he's playing it with kindness." Jeanette worked on a friendship bracelet while she watched the movie.

"Football is NOT a kind sport, Netta." Alvin argued. "Trust me. I know. I am a Sports Legend!"

GOSH, WHY DOES HE HAVE TO MAKE PICKING ON HIM SO EASY!? I actually understand why Derek can't help but bully the kid, though I still don't know why he'd target Theo or Simon.

"I can't believe Mr. Sports legend is FAILING GYM." I quipped.

"I'll raise my gym grade eventually." Alvin Two Point Whacko kept making claims he couldn't back up.

Brittany pouted. "Why did you let it drop so low?"

The scholar voice returned. Alvin had never sounded more like a dweeb. "I am focusing on my grades in my core classes, so I can win the most improved award."

"I have de ja vu." Theodore murmured loud enough that we all could hear.

I decided someone needed to set Alvin straight, before his personality tweaks destroyed him. "Alvin, you already won that. Did you forget?"

He sat up straighter as he answered me. "No no. I'm trying to win it again."

Simon raised an eyebrow at his basket case brother. "And what purpose would that serve exactly?"

"It'll cement my new reputation!" Alvin "2.0" took off his cap and fidgeted with it. "Prove that I'm serious and that classic Alvin's rep belongs in history books. Ancient history books."

While most of us (aside from Jeanette) were stunned by that news, nobody took it harder than Brittany.

"I can't listen to this anymore." She touched her heart shaped necklace.

"Brittany, he needs people to be supportive of his decisions." Jeanette replied, before I could stop her and tell her it was a bad idea.

The distraught girl leapt from her chair and whined. "Well, then he doesn't need me anymore, does he?" She stomped away like a sasquatch.

I looked at the freckled chipmunk in the plaid shirt. I hated that outfit on him. It just didn't look like HIM. Bring back the sports jersey.

"I warned you that quitting the soccer team was dumb." I mumbled.

"YOU QUIT THE SOCCER TEAM!?" Simon and Theodore chorused.

Alvin rolled his eyes. He was getting tired of explaining his stupid decisions. "I didn't quit! I was kicked off because I dropped my gym grade too low!"

"Because you suddenly don't care about sports!" I accused.

His lips started to quiver. "I LOVE sports! I've had to make some tough decisions!"

"Well you could have fooled me!" I sassed.

Then, he hit me with a low ball comeback. "At least I don't have a gambling problem!"

I was offended. I glared at the stupid boy. "I don't have a gambling problem!" Yeah, I did have one, I knew it. I was too proud to admit it.

"Then why are you still betting? Huh?" Alvin challenged me.

I did love a good challenge, but was this a challenge I couldn't win? "I….you….uh…..SHUT UP, ALVIN!" I sputtered.

"ENOUGH!" To everyone's surprise, including her own, Jeanette SCREAMED. She covered her mouth immediately following the scream. I could tell she felt awkward about it.

"We can't take this. If you keep arguing, we'll both leave!" Theodore paused his movie, hands trembling.

The girl in purple nodded. "Uh huh. This has escalated to a frightening degree…again."

Alvin and I both glared at each other, fuming.

"He started it." I said boldly.

Alvin pointed at me. "You started it."

"Grrrrr!" I growled, hoping to intimidate him.

Simon put a hand on his forehead. He was tired of all our foolishness. "Once again, lovely discussion everyone." He said, with a very sarcastic edge.

"Come on, Jeanette." I got up and motioned for my sister to follow. Brittany had already gone home, it was time for us to follow suit. "Let's go."

Jeanette leaned closer to Alvin. "I'm going to stay here for a bit longer."

"Yeah, I wanna show her my latest plans for attempt 86 of my flying skateboard." The Chipmunk in the plaid shirt said, looking less angry…because he was thinking of Jeanette and not me. I bet she's the one who bought him that stupid red, orange, and purple shirt.

"Wow 86." I muttered. "Fine. See you later, sis." My pigtails tickled my chin as I ran toward the door. Wearing my pigtails down like this was starting to become irritating.

Nothing since I'd entered the Seville house had gone as planned. I just wanted to put this all behind me and focus on getting some sleep. I was suddenly so tired, I felt like I could lie in bed for days. How did our lives turn out like this? Why did it all go so wrong?

I figured the next day would be easier, but things were not done going horribly wrong for me.

The next day, I walked into school and took my seat. I was super hyped for the baseball games that would be played today. I didn't know how I would make it until the end of the school day. I wanted to watch the games NOW!

Theodore pushed his desk close to mine. "Are you and your sisters doing alright?" He asked.

The events of yesterday came rushing back and I felt ashamed. Not too ashamed to speak to Theo though. "Jeanette and I are great." I answered. "Brittany, not so much. She tried to shave her legs again this morning, so I hid all the razors in the house."

"I wish I could help her." Theodore slumped his shoulders. "I wish I could help everyone."

I patted him on the back. "I know, buddy. I know." I looked into his big brown eyes. The sun from the window reflected off his dirty blonde hair. He was so ADORABLE. I knew I needed to say something to make him feel better. "I'm sorry about last night. Wasn't expecting an all out brawl."

He fished a bag of goldfish crackers from his pocket and started to snack on them. "It's okay. We can always try again…when things are less tense and stuff."

"Yeah." I rested my head on one hand, foot tapping restlessly under the desk. "Though I don't know WHEN that will be."

"At least Simon said no more talking about the kiss." He offered me some goldfish crackers.

I took them and nodded. "Yeah. Looking forward to never hearing that again."

"Do you think that Alvin was telling the truth about his feelings?" The little boy in my usual striped shirt and an unzipped green hoodie asked.

I shrugged. "I don't think anyone knows what goes on in that kid's head. Not even him."

"Yeah." Theodore chuckled. "I just really hope he and Brittany stay friends."

"I think they will." I assured him.

Alvin walked into class with his red and rainbow paint splatter backpack. His face was once again covered in acne-like red bumps, similar to what he'd experienced just before summer vacation. He and the rest of us thought they were gone, aside from leaving freckle-scars. Apparently, they were going to be a recurring thing.

Brittany was like a hunter stalking her prey. Her gaze locked on Alvin and she attempted to start ANOTHER fight with him. "Hey look, everyone! It's the world's biggest breakout star!"

He ignored her and scurried to his seat. Good for him, but also a sign that he was acting out of character.

"Worried about passing the exams?" Simon asked his older brother, with a mix of sympathy and mirth.

"Yeah." Alvin opened his history textbook. "Wait, how can you tell?"

The boy in the blue argyle sweater-vest and white shirt chuckled. "It's written all over your face."

"Oh no! Not again!" Alvin rubbed at his face to feel the bumps. "Urgh! Freakin' stress rash." He hid his face from view with the history book.

"I gotta go help distract him from his face." Theodore told me. "But, before I do, I wanna ask you something really important."

"Shoot." I said, in a way that implied that he could ask me.

The little chipmunk's eyes went wide. "I would never shoot you. I just wanna ask a question."

I burst out laughing. "Oh Theo." Man, that really made my day. "I mean, tell me."

"Will you ever stop betting on baseball?" He clasped his hands together. "I'm worried about you. One wrong bet and you'll owe people so much money! I think it would be best if you went back to betting cookies instead. It's easier for us to make cookies than earn lots and lots of money."

"I'll stop eventually." I promised. "I haven't been betting that long."

He looked grumpy all of a sudden. "Yes you have. It's been like a couple weeks!"

Shoot! Had it been that long already? Maybe. "I'll be more careful with my next bets, alright?"

"Okay. Just remember, that Ms. Croner is in this too. Your actions can hurt her. I don't want you both ending up in trouble."

"I got it, Theo. I got it." I gently ruffled his hair. "Thanks for looking out for me. You're awesome."

Then, he scooted his desk back across the floor with a grinding noise that made him wince and Simon plug his ears. I turned my attention to my phone and checked on the status of the bets Ms. Croner and I placed. Was Theodore right? Was this too risky? Maybe I DID have a gambling problem.

After school, Ms. Croner and I watched one of the three games we'd bet on, while I kept checking the status of the other two online. We'd bought actual tickets to this game, to support the college. I may never get into a college, but I wanted to give back to the community in a way other than pretending to be Santa Claus.

Midway through the game, both of us began to worry. The home team wasn't doing so hot. The other team was pulling ahead of them by a landslide. To make matters worse, we'd bet more on these last three games than we had on the previous ones. We thought for sure we had it in the bag.

"Lousy no good first baseman!" Ms. Croner cursed angrily. "What is he doing?"

"I'm sure this team will turn it around." I reasoned. "The statistics don't lie." Unless, this was one of the 20% times.

"I know my baseball and I am telling you that there's no way they can win." Ms. Croner looked up at the scoreboard. "There's no coming back from that. There's not enough time left."

"They'll win." I insisted. "They HAVE to win."

"I played in a league. Are you trying to tell me I don't know baseball?" The old woman huffed angrily.

"Okay. Okay. Maybe they will lose." I admitted. "But at least we have two other bets that we'll still win. This team's just…the outlier."

I checked the current scores on my phone for the other two games. OH NO! The teams we bet on were losing those too! And both games were almost over now! WHAT WAS GOING ON?

"Strike three! You're out!" The umpire called.

Ms. Croner threw her hands in the air. "This is madness!"

"Oh no oh no oh no!" I turned off my phone and shoved it away. If this bad luck kept up, we'd owe money!

Later, Ms. Croner threw her container of popcorn in an angry outbust. The game was over! We'd LOST the bet. I turned my phone back on to learn, we'd lost all three bets. Why hadn't I listened to Theo? And Simon and Jeanette? Even Alvin tried to warn me this was a bad idea, and he was the KING of bad ideas.

"This is terrible. How could I let you talk me into this?" Ms. Croner walked down the bleachers with me following behind.

I was panicking, and trying to hide it. "I don't know what happened. We lost all three. I guess I can't handle the statistics without the Nerd Squad. I'm so sorry, Ms. Croner. I'll find a way to pay off the debt! I swear!"

"I should hope so." The old woman sighed heavily. "I guess this means our betting days are over. We had a good run."

"Yeah." I thought about what Theodore would do in this situation. "Maybe this is for the best. I was getting pretty addicted."

"Me too." She shook her head. "It really sucks you in. Well, I must get home. I the new season of Alien Cat Invasion premieres today."

"Can I watch with you?" I asked, feeling unbearable guilt from my mess up.

"If you want." She picked me up and carried me on her shoulder.

The show was awesome! I'd never really watched TV with Ms. Croner before. She was a riot! Her takes on some of the scenes were so corny! Her humor was outdated, but in a cool way.

The next day was Saturday, and my sisters and I visited the boys' house. I had woken up to an interesting out of context text from Alvin this morning. It said "I'm sorry" with a tiny sad emoji after the words. Sorry for what? Being a quitter? Or just for being Alvin? Or for not being Alvin enough? Who knows?

Dave answered the door and looked down at my sisters and I. "Hello, girls. Nice to see you."

"Would the boys like some company?" I asked.

"I'm bet they would." URGH! Don't say bet! "Simon and Theodore are playing a game in the living room and I'm not sure where Alvin ran off to." The adult guy informed us. "I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

My sisters and I rushed into the living room, to find Simon drawing hilariously bad drawings on a notepad while Theo tried to guess them.

"Is it a bunny?" The youngest Seville boy asked.

Simon groaned. "No."

"Is it a monkey?" Came his next guess.

"No." Simon spotted Jeanette and his face changed from a grouchy expression to a sweeter one. "Oh good, you're here. Now we have someone who can actually draw."

"I draw too." Brittany put a hand on her hip. "Jeanette isn't the only artist around."

"I draw too." I added. "Sometimes." I'm not sure they heard me. The focus was on Jeanette and Simon.

The boy in blue handed his best friend the notepad. "I'm much better at guessing."

"But you're really good at sculpting and drawing blueprints." My sister in purple reminded him sweetly.

"What was the animal you were trying to draw, Simon?" Theodore questioned innocently.

Simon's cheeks turned pink. "It was a kangaroo."

"Ohhhh." The boy in the lime green button up shirt said. "I would never have gotten that."

"In what universe is this a kangaroo?" Alvin, once again in his sports jersey with the cyan jacket now tied around his waist, jumped out from behind the couch and grabbed the notepad. "Looks more like an aardvark to me and even that's a stretch."

Simon groaned and yanked the notepad from Alvin's hands, returning it to Jeanette.

"Hey ya, Poindexter." I greeted the boy in the red baseball cap.

Alvin looked smug. Like he'd pulled off some sort of master plan. "Oh, hey, gamblin' woman."

"Call me a woman one more time, and I'll pummel you." I threatened.

"Gamblin' girl?" He held up a pillow to protect himself.

"Better." I was starting to get used to the fact that I'd never grow up. At least that meant most people would call me a girl instead of a woman, which I preferred anyway.

Simon sat next to Theodore as Jeanette started to draw. "How did your latest bet go?" The tallest of our group of six inquired.

"Honestly…" I decided to come right out and say it. "Not great."

"I figured as much." Jeanette squeaked softly. "I hope you didn't lose a lot."

"Three whole games back to back, so, yeah. It was a lot." I sighed.

Simon grimaced. "Dreadful that it had to come to this, but there was no better way to curb your addiction."

Oh! Was Simon implying they DID something to MAKE me lose!? "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing!" Alvin interjected, his ears drooping with guilt. "He's talking about nothing."

"I am so lost right now. You guys didn't have anything to do with Eleanor losing. Did you?" Brittany asked, slipping in between Theo and Simon.

"Well…." Simon looked at Jeanette and then to Alvin. "Maybe we did a little bit."

"Nonsense." Simon's annoying brother stood on the table with the lamp. "Eleanor's hubris caused her downfall."

"That's only half true." Jeanette admitted.

I was so confused, but I did enjoy trying to solve this mystery. "Okay, you three." I said to the trio of Ani-brainiacs. "I'm gonna need the full story. Now."

"We were, uh, talking about how you were going down a dangerous path." Simon began.

"And we weren't sure if you could realize the consequences before it was too late." Added Jeanette, still doodling a picture of a kangaroo next to Simon's terrible attempt.

Alvin jumped off the table with the lamp and walked around the coffee table. The entire time, babbling nonstop. "So I said to them, "Si, Netta, what can we do to help snap Eleanor outa this?" He put an arm around Jeanette. "Then, darling Netta here came up with the brilliant idea of swapping the stats around to make you bet on the team most likely to lose. Bam! That's how we did it!"

I gasped. OF COURSE! How could I have missed that? "YOU DID WHAT?"

"All's well that ends well. You're welcome." The annoying munk continued. He even had the nerve to boop my nose with his finger.

Jeanette looked uncomfortable now. "Simon tampered with the spreadsheet on your laptop when you weren't looking." She murmured. "It was wrong, but it was the only way."

"So you three are the reason Ms. Croner and I owe people a buttload of money? Wow." I rubbed my forehead.

Simon gulped and backed away from the coffee table. He looked nervous. "We didn't expect you to make three super expensive bets back to back! That part's on you."

I sighed. He was right. "Yeah….Yeah it is. Isn't it?" I climbed up and sat in one of those cushy orange chairs. The one to the right of the TV. "You were…right. I was addicted. I am addicted. But I promise, from now on….no more betting on baseball."

"No more betting money on ANY sport." Simon instructed.

"Does this mean she can still bet other things?" Theodore's tail wagged like a puppy. "Like cookies?"

"As long as she doesn't make bets she can't handle, then yes." Alvin replied.

"I would rather her not bet at all." Simon muttered. "But, I suppose a compromise is doable."

"Maybe don't do it as often as you used to." My kindhearted sister in purple added.

"Deal!" I smiled.

I was still feeling guilty, but less guilty than before. And sure, I'd once again failed at getting true recognition, but my idea was...pretty stupid. Kids make stupid ideas sometimes. I'm just a kid. I'll always be one. Live and learn, I guess.

When Thanksgiving break rolled around, Ms. Croner and I sold fresh homemade pies to pay off our gambling debts. We made blueberry, cherry, rhubarb, apple, pecan, key lime, and pumpkin ones. Theodore helped, even though he had like nothing to do with this. That's just the type of guy Theodore is. I'm really lucky to have a friend like him. With him by my side, the universe doesn't seem as frustrating.

ELEANOR: I'm tired and I'm going to shoot some hoops. Wanna join?

ALVIN: Gosh, Ells, I would, but I gotta write the last part of this chapter.

ELEANOR: Bummer. Guess I'll go ask Simon.

ALVIN: I'll join you as soon as I finish! Shouldn't take long.

ELEANOR: Alright! See ya soon!

Alvin 2.0's POV

Let's see, what do you guys wanna know? Give me a minute to get my train of thought back in the station. Here we go.

I passed my exams before Thanksgiving break started! I didn't ACE them, but I did pass! I guess my hard work was really paying off, even if I was preoccupied with my invention idea. I still hadn't managed to make it work yet. It was taking a toll on me.

So, when Britt reached out and texted me, asking to hang at the mall, I actually said yes. I figured this could help us stitch up the tears in our friendship, metaphorically. As long as she never mentioned, YOU KNOW WHAT, I wouldn't mind looking through a beauty store with her.

"How do I look?" I asked, getting my face closer to hers. "And please don't insult me."

"Insulting you is fun." The always fashionable girl, in the light pink ruffle skirt and fake diamond encrusted tank top, replied.

I sighed. "Brittany."

"Okay, okay, you really want my opinion?" She put a finger on her cheek. "I think that makeup really hides the blemishes. You look almost attractive. ALMOST."

I tossed my head back and laughed. "I'm not wearing any." I squeaked. "The rash went away after I took the exams."

"Oh." She picked up some makeup samples from the counter. "In that case, you could use some blush, and maybe a tiny tiny bit of eyeliner."

"Nah. I think I look good." I stepped away from her and started reading the names of all the makeup colors because they interested me. It was funny when they seemed mislabeled. Sage green? That is not sage green eye shadow. It's clearly mint. Aka Eleanor color.

Brittany was beginning to get irritated with me already. "If you're not interested in buying anything, then why did you agree to come here?"

I stopped reading labels and leaned against the makeup counter. "To spend time with my friend. Duh."

"Oh so we ARE still friends?" Her icy blue eyes looked hopeful. Then, she switched right back to being irritated. "Gosh, you are so confusing!"

I spotted a mirror next to the makeup counter and ran over to it.

Brittany followed me and tried to pull me away from it. "Oh no you don't."

"But I wanna see if you're right about me looking attractive again." I explained, in what probably came across as a whine.

Her eyes narrowed and then she groaned. "Okay, but only if you can look in a mirror without being weird."

"I cannot promise that." I told her truthfully, walking up to the mirror with slightly nervous energy. Sometimes, mirrors and I got along, other times…they still triggered hallucinations.

Britt went back to sampling different eyeshadow colors. I dunno why. She would always pick from the same 4 shades of pink.

I gazed at the makeup counter mirror. Yeesh, I was still geeky as heck. Strangely though, I didn't even CARE. It didn't bug me. This was the first time ever that I didn't feel even a little uncomfortable with my appearance.

Surprised and delighted, I started talking to myself. "Yep. This is what I look like now, this is really me." I made a few funny faces in the mirror. My smile looked pretty nice, even with the braces. These things have to come off eventually, right? "Gosh, no wonder people pick on me." I looked down at my outfit. The cyan jacket, sports jersey I designed that said "Alvin 2.0", and galaxy leggings to boot. "I mean, look at me! Look at this! Who is this guy? I don't know. I may never know. But I like him!"

"I don't. You've ruined us." Classic Alvin appeared, transparent and glitchy as ever. He floated over top of the mirror.

I was prepared to handle him this time. "Not exactly. We might look like a total dorkus, but we're CUTE!" I insisted.

He frowned. "Not the kind of cute that attracts the ladies."

The words hit me, but there was no sadness. They didn't even make a dent in my new quirky, zombified confidence. ",We don't have time to focus on the ladies anyway. Plus, who knows? Someday we might find a girl who is into all this."

"The only girl I can think of is Jeanette." He gagged.

I started to laugh. "Hahaha! Me and Jeanette!? Dating? That's a good one! Ohoho! You're so funny."

"Hey, Two Point Psycho." Brittany pulled me away from the mirror. "You're making a scene again."

"Eh, I don't care if people know I talk to myself." I shrugged.

"Unbelievable." She murmured, rolling her eyes.

After I was finished tagging along with Britt at three different stores, she sent me away to do whatever I wanted. I planned to hit the arcade, but I was distracted by the food court. I had spotted Theo and Eleanor there, selling pies with Ms. Croner. I had some unfinished buisness with the pigtailed girl to clear up.

Eleanor looked more like her usual self again, wearing her ponytails up instead of down. I kinda liked them down. Maybe she'll try the look again sometime.

"Thanksgiving pies! Get your Thanksgiving pies here! Each pie is only 10 dollars!" Ms. Croner was shouting while waving a cherry flavored pie. "Or you can buy two for the low low price of 18 dollars!"

"Hey, Miss. Watermelon Hoodie." I called playfully.

"Unless you wanna buy a pie, scram." She responded.

"I don't wanna buy a pie, but I do wanna talk." I motioned for her to follow me.

"Alright." She jumped off the table. "Theodore, watch the money while I'm gone, okay?"

"You can count on me!" My youngest bro squeaked.

Eleanor and I scampered over to another table in the food court. I decided to start the conversation. "Why does me leaving the soccer team bother you so much?"

"It's nothing." She seemed like she was fibbing. "In fact, I'm already over it."

I wasn't at all convinced. "Really?"

"Yeah. It's your decision and I will try not to mock you about it…it just…" She trailed off, staring at me.

I urged her to finish. I had to know what was upsetting her. "Just what?"

"Feels like we're gonna start drifting apart like you and Brittany did." Her ears drooped and her face was filled with sorrow.

Ohhh. And there it is! That made sense. What could I say to make her feel better?

"I just spent almost an entire day at the mall with her." I chuckled. "If that's "drifting," I think we'll be fine."

Eleanor didn't seem reassured. "I dunno." She sighed and glanced at the alien head pin on my jacket. "It feels like you're a stereotype now, Alvin. A stereotypical nerd."

"But my whole thing is NOT being a stereotype." I replied. How could she not see I still had a fraction of my old self around! A big fraction!

She put her hands on the table, palms splayed downward. "Then maybe don't quit playing on a sports team!"

I jerked my thumb at myself, standing up in the chair. "I still play sports." I reminded her. "They're just less important to me than….inventing." Whoah! Wait! Why did I say that? But it was true, wasn't it? I cared about finishing that flying skateboard first and foremost.

"You see?" Eleanor turned her palm of one hand up and gestured to me.

I felt ashamed. Had I really become a stereotype? I still didn't think so, at least not entirely. I can tell why she'd think that though.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips. "We live in a stereotypical cartoon, Eleanor." I confessed. "I tried to fight it as much as I could, but like it or not….well….the universe has re-molded me to fit my new role. And, I kinda like the new mold. I've almost fully adapted to it. Like Britt, you're going to have to accept the fact that I've been 2.0-ified. 2.0 has different priorities than classic. Plus, well, I still do stuff like karate and ballet and other non-nerdy things too!"

"I guess you're right." She stood up from the table. "Please, don't stop playing sports altogether." She begged

"Ohoho! It's not part of the plan." I batted playfully at one of her pigtails as we started to walk back to the pie table.

"Yes, well, I don't think you planned to become nerdier than Simon either." The girl in minty green teased.

My eyes widened and my face felt flushed. "NERDIER THAN SIMON!?" I exclaimed. "SINCE WHEN?"

"Oh come on." She laughed. "You mean you haven't noticed?"

"I am not nerdier than Simon." I folded my arms.

"Sure thing, Mr. Delusional." Her green eyes sparkled with their typical playfulness.

I looked up at the table with all the pies. They were gonna have to sell a ton to make back the money they lost. "Uh, you aren't mad that we flipped the stats, are you? I don't have to watch my back for your upcoming revenge?"

"Nah, we're cool." Eleanor winked. "I mean, I'm cool. You, not so much." I sensed she was talking about my hopelessly endearing dorkiness. She leaned close to me and quietly added something else. "Also, between you and me, "I was the one who put the laxatives in Miss. Smith's coffee."

"That was you!?" I was shocked, though this was on brand for her. "I got a week of detention for that. I used it all to study, but still."

She grinned a devious smirk. "Guess we're even then."

"I guess we are." I fist bumped her. "Oh, hey, before I head out, I have a little somethin' for ya at home. You can swing by after ya pack up the pies for the day." I turned my glasses into sunglasses with the press of a button and slipped away, flashing her the peace sign using my fingers.

Back at home, I prepared the fire extinguisher as I tested another flying skateboard prototype. This was test number 89. Or was it 98? I'd lost count, honestly. I was keeping tally marks, but then I lost the paper.

The wings of the skateboard slid out and….it zoomed off, crashing into the wall of Simon's closet lab. FRACKITY FRACK! NOT AGAIN!

I set the fire extinguisher down. "At least it's not on fire."

Simon entered the lab with quiet footsteps, barely audible, startling me. "You're not going to like what I have to say." He quipped.

"Come to mock my failures?" I scowled. "As you know, failure is a very important part of the learning process."

"Even when you've failed almost 100 times?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Yes!" I wasn't in the mood for his negative outlook.

Then, Eleanor swung in on the zipline and ran into the closet lab. "Hey-yo." She greeted. Aw nuts! I had told her to stop by later.

"Maybe it's time we cut the cord on this inventing business." Simon helped me clean up the busted up skateboard prototype.

I felt my heart start to sink. His faith in me was all dried up after the sheer amount of times I failed. "But I have a feeling I'm really close to a breakthrough!"

"Maybe you aren't cut out for inventing." Eleanor added, trying to look at Simon's invention idea notebook, until he snatched it and hugged it to his chest.

"I applaud the effort." My brother said, salvaging some parts that could be re-used. "But, this isn't your thing. No matter how much you try to make it your thing, you'll never have the same knack for it that I do."

"He's right, man." The pigtailed Chipette came over to me. "Do you really wanna spend your time cooped up in the lab when you could be out having grand adventures?"

"But….but….my flying skateboard." I blubbered. "I should be able to do this! I'm a physicist!"

"No you aren't. You're just a person interested in physics." My brother argued.

"Nuh uh!" I insisted.

Simon groaned. "Yes."

Eleanor nodded. "Sorry to break it to ya."

I pouted at them both. "Why can't I be a physicist?"

Simon started out talking calmly, but by the last word he was pretty furious lookin'. "Maybe, because you don't HAVE A DEGREE!"

"You don't always need one!" I argued.

"WHAT!?" My brainy bro was surprised.

Eleanor impatiently tapped her foot. "Hello? I came over here to get that thing ya said ya have for me. Are ya gonna hand it over? Or do I have to stand here and listen to The Seville War for the next 3 hours?"

"Shoot!" I squeaked. "I almost forgot."

She wasn't amused. "That doesn't surprise me."

I ran out of the closet lab and opened the toy chest by Theodore's bed. From inside, I pulled out the black leather jacket that Brittany had given me during my makeover to regain my popularity. It hadn't worked, and I didn't feel like keeping the jacket, so I had bedazzled a teal colored rhinestone E onto it.

I held the jacket out to Eleanor. "Here. I added your initial. I want you to have this. Consider it payment for me quitting soccer and giving you the gambling statistics idea…and, you know, any other horrible decisions I might make in the future."

She took the jacket and laughed as she slipped it on. "Gee thanks. This originally was mine, so….nice to have it back again."

"D'oh." I said, quoting Homer Simpson unintentionally. Maybe I'd watched too much Simpsons lately.

"It's the thought that counts." She ran her fingers over the rhinestones. "I love the E. I take it Jeanette taught you to bedazzle stuff?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She did." I smiled fondly thinking of the beautiful brunette girl.

"That is very sweet." Simon commented, watching both of us with his judgmental eyes that were always staring at stuff.

"Me giving Ells the jacket or Netta teaching me how to bedazzle stuff?" I asked.

He gave a little half smile. "Both."

"Maybe you are pretty cool." Eleanor winked. "For a nerd."

That night, as I went to sleep, I thought about all my friends and how hard I would work to make sure that we never ever drifted apart. I was Alvin 2.0 now, and it had taken some time, but now everyone was starting to actually get used to it. Simon sure was, even if he was still skeptical about my inventing skills. Brittany was even adjusting to being a popular chick with a best friend on the opposite end of the social ladder. Ohoho! The six of us were truly inseparable. No matter what, we always would be. Theodore would get his big happy dysfunctional family back before he knew it.

How did you like this chapter? It's been a fun one, though still really emotional. Do you think I delivered enough Theonor? A little light on Alvinette this time? Don't worry, the Alvinette is coming up in the next chapter!

Did the twist surprise you? Also, poor Eleanor. Her idea STILL didn't get her recognition. At least she'll always have Theo by her side.

And isn't Alvin 2.0 cute now that he's really getting used to BEING Alvin 2.0? I've had that particular mirror scene planned for AGES.

In the next chapter, Alvin discovers he has another superpower besides seeing physics! One thing leads to another and the kids face a dangerous threat. You won't wanna miss it!

As Eleanor would say, peace out!