After spending what felt like hours baking that replacement batch of muffins with Theodore, Eleanor finally arrived home that night. As she walked into the kitchen and put the tray of freshly made muffins down on the table, she took a good, long look around the kitchen. The smell of blueberries was still lingering in the air. The blonde Chipette then sighed with a wistful expression on her face.

She started to recall what had happened the last time she was in this very kitchen. The whole fight with Brittany, every hostile word exchanged between them, Brittany writing her name on the yogurt container and angrily putting it down on the table. Then finally, Brittany storming off into the bathroom and slamming the door. This was the last time Eleanor had seen her sister that day.

The youngest Chipette had not seen any evidence of her oldest sister being downstairs at that moment, so she figured she must've been up in her room. Probably getting into bed already. Sure, it was still fairly early for any of the Miller sisters to be in bed at this time of night. Especially given that their bedtimes were now later than ever. But the oldest Chipette seemed to be turning in much earlier than usual as of late.

This was just one more troubling sign Brittany was exhibiting. Eleanor knew just what she had to do this very second though. She needed to try to clear the air with her big sister about what happened earlier that day.

Eleanor made her way up the stairs. The next thing she knew, she was standing right in front of Brittany's room. The room that used to be Miss Miller's when she was still alive. Having this thought dawn on the young Chipette made her heart feel even heavier.

For what felt like the millionth time that day, she found herself getting overwhelmed with flashbacks once again. She remembered what it was like when she and her sisters first came to live with Miss Miller back when they were only eight years old. How on some nights, Miss Miller would insist the three of them come into her bedroom before going to bed that night and she would read them all a bedtime story.

Granted, the Chipettes had all been a little too old for bedtime stories at that point. And these were usually children's books like The Little Engine That Could or Goodnight Moon. Usually Jeanette would read one of her more advanced books on subjects such as calculus, Brittany would read a fashion magazine, and Eleanor would catch up on reading whatever book their school assigned that week so she could catch up on her homework while Miss Miller would be reading books well below their grade level to them.

And sometimes the "stories" would be pages out of ten-year-old or more magazines and tv guides that were never thrown out instead of actual books. But it was still a sweet thing that their adoptive mom did for them and the three girls all loved the only mother they ever knew for it. It was just nice for them to all have that time together when the girls were younger.

There were also some very fond memories she had of helping Miss Miller get ready and pick out clothes for events like her high school reunion or various reunions she'd have with her old group Miss Miller and the Thrillers. And sometimes Eleanor would also go up to their mother's room when she needed to talk or get advice on something that she, for some reason, did not want to go to her sisters with.

Eleanor would also frequently listen to Miss Miller's stories about the old days with her group and what life was like when she was their age in that room of hers. In fact, the youngest Chipette probably spent more time with Miss Miller than her two older sisters did. Jeanette was normally busy studying or reading and Brittany was typically off shopping, partying, or just out with her friends from the squad.

Then there was the more recent memory of having to clean out Miss Miller's room and go through all of her belongings after she had passed away. Trying to decide what they should sell, give away, or keep for themselves had been one of the most distressingly difficult things they ever had to do. As if the loss of their mother was not traumatic enough for them. Thank God Dave and the Chipmunks were able to help them out with a good portion of that.

And even less long ago, she remembered fighting with Brittany to get Miss Miller's old room as her own for several months before Brittany's fall during that fateful cheerleading practice. The one that she was sure played a huge factor in her sister's recently concerning behavior. Eleanor knew how devastating being forced to drop cheerleading and performing was going to be for her attention-loving eldest sister. This led to Eleanor feeling bad enough to give in and let Brittany have the extra room.

And then getting Brittany moved into that room had not exactly been a piece of cake either. With Brittany's knee being in such bad condition at the time, she was not capable of helping with the process at all. Although Eleanor had a feeling she likely would not have lifted a finger anyway, even if her knee was in better shape.

The entire task of moving Brittany's bed, vanity set, full-length mirror, numerous amounts of clothing, shoes, jewelry, and cosmetics took almost a full month. But again, Eleanor was super grateful for Dave and the boys for helping out with all of it. She truly did not know what they would have done without their next door neighbors being such an amazing support system throughout all of this. And their constant willingness to help the girls out. Even though she realized Alvin likely had to be coerced into giving this help by Dave most of the time, she was still happy to receive it.

After being lost in reminiscing for a while and suddenly noticing she had been absentmindedly pacing back and forth in front of Brittany's door this whole time, Eleanor decided it was time to finally face the music. She took a deep breath and held it in. She realized it was possible Brittany might have fallen asleep by now. But she also figured she was not going to answer her if that was the case. But she really hoped her sister was still awake.

She felt she had waited to apologize long enough at this point and just wanted to get it over with. She had no idea how Brittany was going to react or if it would just end up resulting in an even bigger blowup than the one in the kitchen before. She was starting to believe there never truly would be a perfect time for an apology. Especially with the way Brittany's moods have been lately.

Eleanor mustered up all the strength and courage she had, right before finally knocking on the eldest Chipette's wooden door. She stood there in that same spot for about a minute or two. When she got no response, she had just assumed Brittany was already asleep. Ready to give up for the night, the youngest Miller sister started to turn around and began to head for her own room right across the hall. That is, until she heard her sister's voice coming from her bedroom. It was faint, but still audible.

"Come in..." She heard Brittany call out softly inviting her into the room that was now hers.

Eleanor turned back around and slightly cracked the door open. She saw Brittany lying on the bed, clearly exhausted. It looked like she did, in fact, wake her up. But Brittany was still in her bathrobe and sprawled on top of the covers instead of underneath them. This seemed a little odd to the brown-eyed Chipette, for some reason.

She also couldn't help but notice all the lights in the bedroom were still on. This part was not so strange though. Brittany had always been afraid of the dark ever since their days in the orphanage.

Even as a teenager, her eldest sister had never quite outgrown that fear. So she often slept with all the lights on, even back when the three sisters shared a room. Or at the very least, she would insist on keeping the bedroom door open a crack or demand that the blinds be pulled up so that she could have the moonlight shine through their bedroom window. Brittany refused to keep a nightlight on hand, however. She was a bit too proud for that, despite being pretty open about her fear of the dark with those closest to her.

Eleanor cautiously approached Brittany's pink-adorned bed that she was still lying on top of. Her eyes were barely open and her auburn hair was ruffled, indicating that she must have been asleep for quite some time now. The youngest sister now felt a pang of guilt for waking her oldest sister up. However, it was too late to turn back at this point. She was already there and if she decided to leave the room now to say they could talk about it tomorrow, Brittany would only get angrier at her for disturbing her beauty sleep over nothing.

Eleanor found space at the corner of the bed and sat on the pink quilt, careful not to disturb Brittany who was lying above it. Eleanor was positioned right below Brittany's feet which were curled up into a fetal position as she continued to lay in the bed, her relaxed form shifting ever so slightly.

Eleanor could not help but let a small smile form on her face. Brittany's breathing was calm and steady. She actually seemed to be at peace for once. Something the green-clad Chipette had not seen in her eldest sister since the moment they all received the news of Miss Miller's passing.

"Listen, Britt," Eleanor started out. "I'm really sorry about the whole muffin thing earlier. I didn't mean to flip out on you and..."

"Whatever, Ellie." Brittany responded in a groggy voice. "It happened. And now it's over. So let's just forget about it, ok?"

"But, Brittany..." Eleanor tried to plead with her sister to hear her out once again.

The tone of the younger Chipette's voice and look on her face made it very obvious that she was hurt at the way her sister was shutting her out. Yes, she was aware of how exhausted Brittany must have been at that second. But even when awake, this was pretty much standard behavior for the auburn-haired Chipette nowadays.

Brittany then let out a huge yawn as she rolled her body over so that she was now lying on her right side instead of her back as she had been previously.

"Ellie, I'm really tired." She cut her baby sister off for the second time that night. "I just don't wanna think about it anymore. Just let it go, ok?"

Eleanor then nodded her head and had a dejected look on her face. Her lips formed a frown and her shoulders drooped. And while she was not quite on the verge of crying or anything, her sincere brown eyes had a very sad look in them. She felt defeated. A feeling the youngest of the Miller sisters hated very much.

"Ok." The youngest Miller sister responded in barely a whisper, as she hung her head down and instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.

She gently rose up from the bed and walked out of the bedroom, practically dragging her feet. She quietly shut the door behind her, so as not to disturb Brittany any more than she already had. She knew she needed her rest and wanted to make sure she got back to sleep as soon as possible.

Eleanor took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. That definitely did not play out the way she hoped it would. And now she actually felt there was more distance than ever between her and Brittany. Was there any hope left in getting through to her? It was getting harder and harder for the normally optimistic Chipette to keep her signature sunny outlook.

She made her way over to her and Jeanette's bedroom across from Brittany's and decided to retreat there for the rest of the night. Her plan was to listen to some music for a while and maybe also do some yoga for a little bit to help calm her mind.

When Brittany woke up for school the next morning, she was still exhausted beyond belief. She knew she had definitely gotten more than eight hours of sleep last night, given how early she turned in after her bath. But no one would ever believe it based on how drowsy she felt this morning. It was as if she had been up almost all night. Not to mention, her head felt like it was spinning.

She had some vague memory of Eleanor being in her room last night, which felt kind of like a dream to her now. She also seemed to recall that her little sister attempted to apologize. But of course, Brittany had immediately shut her baby sister down. An apology was not what she wanted from her.

No, what she wanted was to have the whole event erased. She wished she had never even touched those blueberry muffins that were supposed to be for today's bake sale. She wished she never smelled them or saw them either. She would have been better off simply running upstairs to her room, shutting the door, and going to bed right then and there. Instead of eating a whole tray of muffins and forcing herself to throw them up so she could avoid getting fat from yet another binge.

And now that it was over, she just wanted to forget that whole incident had even happened. And she really wanted Eleanor to forget all about it as well. Was hoping her youngest sister could just forget the whole fiasco really too much to ask for?

As if things had not already been bad enough for the Chipette in pink. She was going back to school the day after that scandalous article about her was printed. And she had no doubt in her mind that almost everyone (if not everyone) in the entire school would have seen or heard about it by now. How was she going to face them all?

She considered calling in sick. But with her social worker monitoring her attendance and her already less than great track record at school this year, that really was not an option for her. Somehow, she was just going to have to suck it up. She tried desperately to remember the strong, sassy girl she used to be before all this started.

The old Brittany Miller she used to be who would never take that kind of crap from anyone. She would make anyone who dared to say anything to her about all the lies in that article deeply regret it. That Brittany must have still been inside her somewhere, right? Even though her old self seemed like an extremely distant memory now.

After lying in bed with all these dreaded thoughts invading her brain for a while and when the feeling of dizziness faded away, Brittany decided to go downstairs and get breakfast with her sisters over with. She kept her robe from last night on. This was actually pretty standard for her now, ever since she had changed her whole morning routine to after breakfast as a way of coping with her new habits last semester.

Once downstairs, the blue-eyed Chipette sat across from her bespectacled younger sister as she awaited her own breakfast. Jeanette was already eating. In fact, it looked like she was nearly finished. Her plate was mostly empty and she was sipping the last little bit of orange juice in her glass.

Brittany braced herself as Eleanor walked over to her and placed her plate of breakfast in front of her on the table. She knew Eleanor was going to attempt to start up another conversation in regards to Brittany eating her muffins. And she was so not ready to have that discussion right now. Or ever.

Still, Brittany could not help but take in the saccharine scent of the stack of golden pancakes soaked in maple syrup, with a side of fluffy scrambled eggs that were sitting right in front of her. She dug right in and enjoyed a few bites of the warm pancakes coated in sugary syrup until Eleanor cleared her throat. This caused the older Chipette to drop her fork with a clatter and look up at the standing Chipette in front of her, effectively preventing Brittany from getting another bite in.

"Brittany," The blonde girl started out hesitantly. "I really think we should talk about..."

"Eleanor, enough!" Brittany exclaimed with an irritated groan, as a scowl took over her face. "I said I don't want to talk about it anymore. Let's just pretend it never happened. That's all I want."

"But I'm worried about you, Brittany. I just..."

It was then that the Chipette in the pink bathrobe abruptly stood up and promptly picked up her plate of breakfast foods after.

"Clearly, I'm not getting any peace down here. I'll just eat in my room this morning."

The eldest Miller walked away from the table in a huff. As she was almost out of the kitchen, she took one last glance behind her. She could see both of her little sisters looking at each other. They both looked concerned and scared.

A part of Brittany was overcome with guilt for putting them through that. But the other half of her was also annoyed with them. She was the oldest and their guardian. She was the one who was supposed to be taking care of them. Why did they seem to think it was the other way around?

Once Brittany was upstairs, she sat down on her bed with her plate and fork and quickly shoveled all that food into her mouth, barely even coming up for air. Her grip on the fork was so tight, her knuckles were turning white. Once finished, Brittany put the now dirty dishes down on her nightstand and went into the bathroom for her morning routine. But before getting ready, she knew she was going to do the thing she dreaded the most.

Fear of what she was about to face at school today continued to plague Brittany as she walked the short distance there. It was a nice warm day outside and the sun was brightly shining. This was a complete contrast to how the teenage Chipette felt on the inside.

She had chosen her outfit for school carefully that morning. A flowy chiffon pink top with flutter-sleeves that she knew was a full size larger than what she wore. But it still didn't feel loose enough to hide her body. She felt it clinging to her and thought it made her stomach stick out so much. It almost made her look pregnant, which is something she was definitely not.

She chose a pair of faded jeans to go with the top. Again, they were supposed to be loose on her. The kind of thing she would wear on her bloated period days. But they felt tight and she swore they made her butt look huge.

However, this was the best she could do for now in choosing an outfit that would not draw attention to all the extra weight she was currently carrying. And she also still needed to try to look like she was following the fashion trends as well. She did have an image to maintain, after all.

Before she knew it, the pink-clad Chipette was standing right outside of the high school building. She watched as a bunch of other kids all surrounded the building. Most of them were walking in through the doors. A few were standing outside and talking. Well, gossiping most likely. And she wondered right away if her own name was being mentioned at any point.

As Brittany prepared to enter the building herself, she felt a knot form in her stomach and her heartbeat quickened. She was shaking like a leaf as well. On the way in there, she noticed a group of four teenagers halt their coversation. And in confirmation of her worst fears, it appeared they were all staring right at her. She could feel their judgemental eyes nearly burning her.

When she finally made it inside the school with one final step, she noticed even more students gazing directly at her out of the corner of her eye. She was followed by pointing and whispers from groups that would start as soon as she walked by them, which was then accompanied by their laughter. As humiliating as this all was, the teen Chipette couldn't let any of them know how much all of this was really getting to her.

Brittany tightened the straps of her pink tote bag so that it sat high on her right shoulder. Then she held her head high and kept her nose up in the air, giving off the impression to everyone that she believed she was better than them. She also strutted down the hallway like it was a runway as much as her knee would allow her to. It didn't matter how much she was falling apart on the inside more and more every day. As long as she could feign her signature confidence, nobody would ever catch on.

However, the worst was still yet to come for the pony-tailed Chipette. When she got to her locker, she was faced with her worst nightmare. The dreaded trio of Missy Snootson, Erika Sheridan, and Shelby Cassidy. Her old clique that she could still be hanging with right now if she had not been dealt the crappy hand she was last year. Something which the new ringleader, Missy, had taken full advantage of.

"Wow," Missy sneered with a sinister smirk on her face and a mocking glint in her eyes, as if she thought the Chipette was some kind of joke now. "Look who had the nerve to show her face today. The Painkiller Princess herself. Kinda sad, actually."

Brittany heard a group of nearby students who were listening in on the confrontation whisper and snicker uncontrollably. Great! Just great. She now had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that the new nickname Missy just dubbed her with was somehow going to catch on. Even if it was a nickname based on a lie, it still bothered her so much.

"Back off, Missy!" Brittany said through gritted teeth as she clenched her fists. "Don't mess with me!"

"Or what? You're gonna kick my ass? Try it. I can take you. I'll just tell Principal Talbot that the druggie Chipette started the whole thing and I was only acting in self-defense. I think we know who he's more likely to believe."

Just then, Brittany's ex-friend Erika decided to chime in.

"Nice outfit, Britt."

The teenager with dark brown hair rolled her chestnut brown eyes and barely held back her own laughter. Then she turned her attention to the curly-haired girl next to her.

"Guess this proves she's totally on drugs!"

The two brunette teens both cracked up as they gave one another high fives. In the meantime, the wavy-haired blonde who was with them looked on with an unreadable expression on her face. She was not joining in on taunting the Chipette. Instead,her bright green eyes were fixated on the floor as she picked at the baby blue nail polish on her thumb and then folded her arms across her chest. Possibly an attempt to guard herself.

Brittany tried very hard to keep her cool, but it was so difficult. And even worse, she felt a wave of dizziness starting to hit her again. Just one more side effect she hated about purging her breakfast every morning.

Still, she knew there was no way she could just take all of this lying down. She HAD to say something back. Otherwise, the bitches were just going to think it was ok to continue walking all over her. And her reputation would suffer even more than it already has.

"Seriously, Erika?" Brittany retorted as she looked over her former friend's pink tank top with Hello Kitty's face on the front of it, white ruffled miniskirt and a dangly plastic strawberry ice cream cone earring that was peeking out from between strands of her dark hair. "This, coming from a girl who dresses like she's still in preschool. All you're missing are the pigtails. And even my baby sister ditched those two years ago!"

This caused a huge laugh to erupt from Shelby, which earned her a jab in the ribs from Erika. The blonde girl yelped in response.

"Shelby, shut up!" Erika hissed, as she flipped her long brown hair back and fluffed up her bangs. "You're supposed to be my best friend!"

Missy simply shook her head, as her smirk grew wider.

"You still think you're so tough with your sassy little comebacks, huh, Britt? But face it. Now that you're no longer Alvin's girlfriend or cheer captain, you're nothing. Even your career is all washed up, so I guess it makes sense that you turned to drugs. You're yesterday's news. I'm the most popular girl at this school now."

"Don't pretend you know anything about me!" Brittany virtually screamed at the top of her lungs, each word dripping with as much venom as she was capable of spewing while her hands shook.

But getting so worked up had its consequences. It aggravated the teenage Chipette's already fragile state. She blinked her eyes a few times as her dizziness worsened. Her vision blurring in a very similar way to how it did that day she had collapsed at rehearsal.

Her breathing was starting to become more irregular as well. Yet she still felt the need to say something back to Missy. No way was she going to let her worst enemy have the last word in.

"Missy..." The Chipette in pink started struggling to speak. "You wouldn't even...you're only on... squad... because..."

But the auburn-haired girl could not speak or even think coherently any longer. The whole room was spinning. She clutched her head with one hand as she attempted to catch herself on her locker before hitting the ground. She then slumped down with her back leaning against her locker as she clutched her spinning head with both of her hands.

The next thing she knew, she was being surrounded by a whole bunch of people in the high school hallway. It was difficult to make out their faces. But she did sense something familiar about the person who had crouched down across from her to be on her level.

"Brittany!" She heard Shelby cry out, her voice clearly expressing genuine concern. "Are you ok? Should I get the nurse?"

But Brittany felt too weak to respond just yet. She needed to catch her breath. Students must have been glaring at Missy and Erika, though. Because the next voice she was able to make out was the voice of the straight-haired brunette.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Erika asked in a shaky voice, possibly scared of being blamed for Brittany's condition. "I didn't do anything! We've all seen the article. She's a user! This is what painkillers do when you abuse them."

"Yeah," Missy agreed. "She's clearly high right now."

"Guys, stop!" Shelby scolded her friends. "You're taking it too far. This is serious now."

"Please! I bet she's faking." Missy responded dismissively. "She's a huge drama queen. Alvin used to say it all the time."

Missy then snickered again as she continued.

"Hey, Brittany! Remember that time when I won Carnival Queen and chose Alvin to be my king? I knew you were totally jealous! And why wouldn't you be? Not only did I win, but I also got to spend time with the boy you claimed to hate, even though everyone knew you were secretly in love with him. But even Alvin knows what a loser you are now and he dumped you for someone better."

Brittany wanted nothing more than to regain the strength to fight back and tell Missy that the only reason she beat her out in the Winter Carnival Queen contest was because she was forced to withdraw due to that stupid bet over King Rootentooten. She knew she would have won hands down if she had stayed in the race.

Suddenly, Brittany heard everybody go quiet as a set of footsteps approached. She could only guess it must have been an authority figure who they were all afraid might get them into trouble. Then, the bell rang.

"You hear that bell? Everyone go to your homeroom now! If I catch any of you still in the hall in the next two minutes, I'll report you to Principal Talbot."

It was Senora Rodriguez. She continued talking and clapped her hands for emphasis as she issued her instructions.

"Come on, I know you heard me. Vamos!"

This prompted all the onlooking teenagers to scamper off to their respective classrooms where they should have been at that moment. Brittany's symptoms were starting to subside and she could see a bit more clearly now. Shelby was still sitting on the floor right in front of her, a worried look on her face. The blonde teenager looked up at their Spanish teacher.

"I just wanna help her." Shelby stated timidly, as she glanced up at the teacher with uncertain eyes.

Senora Rodriguez nodded and let a small smile form.

"I understand. But I'll take it from here. Go on to your first class now. I don't want you to be late."

Shelby nodded in agreement as she got up, took one last look at her fallen friend, and scurried off to a nearby classroom.

"Brittany," Senora Rodriguez started out. "Can you get up?"

"Yeah, I think so."

The Chipette on the ground began to rise up on her own while balancing herself on her locker. However, she was struggling. Senora Rodriguez quickly reached out and grabbed her before she could fall again. She bent down to let Brittany put her arm around her shoulder for support.

"I'll walk you over to the nurse's office." The auburn-haired girl's teacher informed her.

Brittany reluctantly agreed. The school nurse was the last person she wanted to talk to about this. But she also had no energy left to argue and thought refusing might actually make her look even more suspicious. Especially now with all the false allegations of substance abuse surrounding her.

As the two were heading over to their destination, they happened to pass a certain Chipmunk sporting a red baseball cap. His ocean blue eyes widened upon seeing her.

"Brittany! Some kids were talking. Did you pass out again?"

He sounded alarmed. Something she was not used to hearing from her ex-boyfriend. He normally always tried to sound confident and in control. But now his typically cocky grin was replaced by an unsettled frown.

"It's all right, Alvin. I've got this. Just get to class."

Alvin hesitated and fidgeted with his hat. He looked like he had more that he wanted to say. As if there was information he thought their teacher should know. This was only making Brittany's anxiety worse. He'd better not rat her out by mentioning her eating habits or all her recent dizzy spells he had witnessed!

"Look," Senora Rodriguez continued. "I know she's your friend and you're worried about her. But you need to let the school staff handle this now. Just worry about not being late to your first class right now. I know you've missed enough school this year."

Alvin took one last lingering look at his ex. Again, he opened his mouth as if to speak, but then quickly shut it. Eventually, he reluctantly walked away as he dragged his feet.

Brittany found herself wondering if Senora Rodriguez thought Alvin's behavior was strange. He was usually incredibly self-centered and oblivious to what was going on with his peers. So it wasn't really like him to just walk up to a teacher and ask about another student.

Even Brittany was surprised by this. Why did her ex-boyfriend seem to care so much lately? Especially since they were no longer dating. He had Lindsay now. Why couldn't he just leave her be? She would have actually preferred it that way. She needed everyone to stop questioning her over everything.

When they reached the nurse's office, Senora Rodriguez guided Brittany inside and had her lie down on the cot. She then explained to Nurse Webber what had happened in the hallway. After the teacher and nurse finished talking, Senora Rodriguez approached the Chipette lying down on the cot.

"Remember what I told you last semester." The Spanish teacher reminded, with a warm smile on her face. "My door's open if you ever want to talk."

The blue-eyed Chipette tried to be polite and faked a smile back, despite the fact that she really didn't feel like smiling at all. She appreciated what Senora Rodriguez was offering, but she had no intention of ever taking her up on it.

This whole episode had been embarrassing enough. Like Eleanor with the muffins last night, she really just wanted everyone to forget this whole thing ever happened. But she knew she had a better chance of winning the lottery.

As soon as Senora Rodriguez left the office and the door clicked behind her, Brittany hugged herself on the cot and stared up at the white ceiling. She just hoped and prayed that the school nurse was not going to ask her a lot of questions.

Maybe she would just let her sleep through the rest of her classes. This would give Brittany a much needed break from the lion's den out there if she could hide out in the sanctuary of the nurse's office for the rest of the day.

The first thing Nurse Webber did was have Brittany sit up and check her blood pressure. When she read it, she had a frown on her face.

"Your blood pressure's a little low, sweetheart." The nurse commented. "Did you eat breakfast this morning?"

"Yes!" Brittany urgently replied. "Pancakes and eggs. Just ask Jeanette and Eleanor. They saw me."

Nurse Webber then sighed as she looked over the teenager very carefully, concern evident on her face.

"You know, Brittany," She began. "If there's anything you need to tell me, this is a safe place. My main goal here is to help you. But in order to be able to do that, I need to know exactly what you're going through."

Brittany's ice blue eyes shifted as she wondered what the nurse could have possibly been thinking. Was she referring to the rumors or had she actually figured out the truth?

"Wait, did you hear what the media is saying about me? Because it's all lies! Yeah, I took painkillers for my knee a while ago. But not for long. And I stopped when my doctor said to. And really, I hate..."

Nurse Webber cut the pony-tailed teenager off as she shook her head.

"No, Brittany, I don't believe you're on drugs. I've been a nurse at this school for twenty-five years now and I've had all different types of students in my office. Many who've had problems with substance abuse. You don't strike me as having that particular problem yourself."

The girl in pink sighed as a wave of relief washed over her.

"However," She started out, the look on her face becoming even more solemn. "I've also worked with several students who've had eating disorders. Now I don't want to jump to any conclusions. I can't diagnose you since I'm not a psychologist. But I also can't ignore all the red flags I see. I can't help but notice how much weight you've lost. You're also very pale and look tired. I can refer you to the guidance..."

"No way! I'm not seeing her!" Brittany snapped defensively. "You're not going to make me, are you?"

"Right now, I can't. I have nothing to prove you need to."

"Good! Because I don't have an eating disorder! So I don't need to talk to anyone!" The teenager declared, as she picked at her cuticles and avoided eye contact. "I... I've just been super stressed. I mean, it's been crazy since our mother died last year. And then getting emancipated to stay with my sisters."

The Chipette then snapped her fingers for emphasis before she spoke again.

"Then just like that, I'm their legal guardian, basically a parent when I'm still just a kid myself. And there's a social worker on my back 24/7. And now with this dumb rumor going around... I'm just not sleeping enough. That's all."

Nurse Webber looked skeptical, as she slightly tilted her head to the side. It appeared she was not entirely convinced. But at the same time, maybe she accepted that the teenager sitting on the cot was not ready to talk about this yet.

"All right, Brittany," She finally agreed. "I know you've been through more than any teenager should have to go through and I'm sorry. Try to get some rest. Even though you're technically responsible for yourself now, I still don't think you should go home alone in this condition."

Nurse Webber made her way back to her desk, sat down, and looked through her files in front of her. In the meantime, Brittany laid back down on the cot, as she was instructed.

"I see here that Dave Seville is listed as your emergency contact?"

The Chipette nodded from the cot in confirmation.

"I'll give him a call and recommend that he comes to pick you up. It sounds to me like you could use a day off."

Brittany started to close her eyes. She was relieved to be sent home so she wouldn't have to deal with any other kids there harassing her about the drug allegations for the rest of the day. And since today was a Friday and the last day before spring break, she would be getting a whole week away from that school. Not having to deal with this for a whole week was definitely a huge relief. But at the same time, she also feared her dizzy spell out in the hall was somehow going to make things worse for her.

Nurse Webber started to pick up the phone, but then paused for a second and put her hand over the hook.

"You know, Brittany," She said with sincerity laced in her voice. "I would still recommend you talk to the guidance counselor. Just because of everything you've been through in the last year. I think you could really benefit from talking to someone about it all."

"No!" The extremely stubborn Chipette protested as she closed her eyes again and folded her arms across her chest. "I already told you, I don't need to talk to anybody. I can take care of myself."

Nurse Webber nodded in acceptance of Brittany's answer as she let go of the hook and started dialing.

Meanwhile, Eleanor emerged from her homeroom looking distressed. She had not been able to focus on one word her biology teacher was saying and just hoped nothing he was going over in class today was going to be on the big test that was scheduled for after the break. Perhaps she could try to get the notes from someone else. Too bad she wasn't taking this specific class with either Jeanette or Simon so she could study with them.

She walked over to get her history book out of her locker for her next class. But as she started to open the lock, she heard a familiar voice call out her name. One she was actually rather surprised to be hearing.

"Eleanor?" She heard, as she turned around to face this person. "I think there's something you should know about your sister..."


A/N: Phew! This was my longest chapter yet! A huge treat for those of you who had been wanting me to write longer chapters. I want to start moving this story along in a very specific direction.

I actually intended to finish up and post this chapter days ago, but my kid is back to not sleeping good again. I was extremely sleep-deprived while proofreading, so hopefully no errors slipped through the cracks for this chapter! lol

I also just want to say that, despite Brittany's comment about Erika's outfit, I actually love Hello Kitty! I even own a few t-shirts and tank tops with her face on it myself. And I also have a pair of ice cream cone earrings just like the ones I described Erika wearing. But Erika insulted her outfit first, so of course Britt had to say something back!

So, who do you think it was that called Eleanor's name at the end? And what do they want to tell her?

I hope everyone enjoyed the school showdown scene! I know a lot of you have been waiting on that. Admittedly, I found the end of that scene a bit challenging. Mostly due to the fact that Brittany had a dizzy spell and was supposed to be unable to focus, but it was still meant to be from her point of view and I feel like she seemed a little more aware of what was going on around her than she should've been at times. But like, I felt I needed that for storytelling purposes. Well, I hope you guys still enjoyed it anyway.

What did you think of Shelby here? She seems nicer than Missy and Erika, right? And she even laughed at Brittany's comeback to Erika! What do you think that was about?

And Alvin's back! What did you think of him approaching Brittany on her way to the nurse's office? And for those of you who have been very patiently waiting for Alvin to have a bigger role, you're all in for a treat next chapter! I'm planning a big scene for him that I think all you Alvittany fans (and Alvin fans in general, really) will enjoy.

As always, thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed, PMed, or added this story to your favorites or follow list. I always get so excited when I receive these notifications. And thank you to everyone who's read this far into the story! The support you guys have given me continues to warm my heart!

Hope you guys liked this hearty chapter! Definitely let me know what you thought. Feedback always makes my day and encourages me to write more!

Happy Easter to those who are celebrating!