Based on the Episode: Alvin in Analysis (1988 version)
Chapter 1 Tuesday November 19 1988 mid night 2 ;am
'Sleep was fickle...my mind is racing with a million thoughts good and bad and weird...restlessness filled my limps as I lay my bed staring up at the ceiling of my shared room, the sounds of my brothers soft snores, sounds that used to be comforting...but thanks to this heavy tightness in chest...I can't...breath...just breathe...' Alvin thought as he passed out.
But all too soon the sun was up, it's morning in the Seville house, which meant that once again, Alvin was the last one out of bed, everyone was unaware that he was struggling at night.
As usual, Simon was in charge of getting him out of bed, which was difficult to say the least, especially during winter time, the boy was always wanting to practically hibernate, as he set to start this tiresome process, he failed to notice the dark rings forming around Alvin's eyes or the grimace on the boy's face as a bad nightmare took hold.
"Exactly how I want to spend my mornings," grumbled the blue-clad chipmunk, "waking up the sloth."
Just as Simon was getting ready to wake Alvin up, the boy bolts up, causing the boys' foreheads to collide, which had them both groaning in pain
"Ow! Simon!" Groaned Alvin, "What are you doing?"
"I was going to wake you up," replied Simon, rubbing the new ache on his forehead.
"Oh...well, thanks..." Alvin notices that his usual shirt is missing...causing a jolt of anxiety through his body "Where is my shirt?" he asked as he gets up and quickly finds it and gets dressed before heading downstairs to kitchen.
"Well look who it is!" Laughed Dave, turning away from the stove for a moment to place a plate of freshly made hash browns in front of the drowsy chipmunk, "he has awakened!"
"Mhm...ughhh" groaned Alvin, less than pleased that he's away from the luxuries of sleep. He pushed his plate away to let his younger, green-clad brother devour it. Something felt strangely out of place to Alvin. He felt unbalanced, anxious, achy and exhausted more than usual. He was no stranger to growing pains or sore muscles, but this was different - the chipmunk felt heavy, however, he tried not to be too bothered by any of it. Ignoring this strange new sensations, he placed his head on the table.
"Don't go back to sleep, silly!" laughed Theodore with a mouth full of hash browns, shaking his brother's arm, "wakey wakey!"
Simon simply rolled his eyes, paying no mind to his brother's annoying tendencies to relapse into sleep mode at the kitchen table. It happened nearly every day in wintertime, so this wasn't anything new.
"Now Alvin," began Dave, "if you can't wake up, perhaps it would be a better idea to let you sleep instead of showing up at the concert tonight-"
"I'M AWAKE!" Exclaimed a wide-eyed Alvin, propping himself up stiffly, "I'm awake! I can do it!"
"Well, I'm glad," laughed Dave, "Now you'd better go get your bag for school."
Alvin shook his head, scooting carefully out of the kitchen booth and heading toward the main staircase to their upstairs bedroom. Ascending to the top of the stairs, Alvin disappeared into his bedroom, taking a second to stand in front of the mirror, his expression one of dread as the heaviness from last night came back full force, causing him to gasp for air for a moment, soon he was able to move again he grabs his school bag, turning to head back down, only nearly bump into Dave.
"Hey, Alvin? You okay, buddy, you look a little pale are you sick?" Dave asked concerned as reached down to feel the boy's forehead.
"Y-yeah...no... just tired," replied Alvin amid a yawn, just as he started to follow Dave to head downstairs, he was greeted by his older sister, Devita, who went under the stage name Bilateral since her name meant sweet or divine.
Alvin just gives her a quick greeting before heading out the door with his brothers and Dave, he starts singing the song he had written recently in secret, as Dave drives towards the school.
Alvin
Well since my baby left me
I found a new place to dwell
It's down at the end of lonely street
At Heartbreak Hotel
Baby I, I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely, I could die
Although it's always crowded
You still can find some room
Where broken-hearted lovers
Do cry away their gloom
Oh baby, I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely, I could die
Now the bell hop's tears keep flowing'
The desk clerk's dressed in black
They've been so long on lonely street
They'll never, ever look back
Oh baby, I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely, I could die
Well if your baby leaves ya
And you got a tale to tell
Just take a walk down lonely street
To Heartbreak Hotel
Oh baby, I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely, I could die
Although it's always crowded
You still can find some room
For broken-hearted lovers
To cry away their gloom
Well baby, I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely, baby
I'll be so lonely, I could die, woah!
After he got to the last note, they were soon dropped off, waving Dave goodbye before heading inside.
Simon and Theo went off to go find their friends before classes started, Alvin just walked inside and headed towards his locker, after unlocking it, he quickly takes out what he needed and practically runs towards homeroom, in hopes of avoiding the crowds.
He stood outside the door, waiting for the teacher to open it, soon he was joined by a few of his peers, but he didn't or rather get himself to speak, it was like his vocal cords froze, soon he was at desk, the day started out pretty typical, the only thing being was Alvin kept his head down, barely speaking or really doing anything, but he was often the target for students that wanted to avoid getting in trouble, he had tried to get the teacher see his side, but do his past antics, they mostly just ignore it or scolded him harshly, so now school wasn't just an annoyance, it was hell.
The lack of sleep due to anxiety for almost 4 months, combined with the anxiety about the upcoming concert, and depression with school, he was just barely functioning at all, his grades were awful no matter how much Dave scolded him for it or offered to help him, he just stopped caring, eating was a chore, it got the point where he had lost dangerous amount of weight, he ate barely enough to live, he was just on autopilot, but soon he was going to crack...
That came when Ms. Smith was scolding him for falling asleep in class, after being startled awake by her slamming her pointer ruler on his desk, the snapping sound and her harsh tones, just everything became too much, he snaps.
First it started with him feeling the room was closing in, he started to curl up the constant heaviness surrounding him, causing him to hyperventilate, he started to gasp for air, soon he start crying and screaming not able to hear anything beyond the ringing in his ears, the sense of someone or someones touching him makes him flinch badly, it all becomes too much, his eyes hurt from all the brightness, his heartbeat added to ringing, it all became too much, he just passes out.
Ms. Smith was scared when Alvin passed out, she held him, practically booking for the school's nurse's office, where she was able to explain the situation, the kind nurse nodded, directing her to put the boy on one of the beds as she goes to call the boy's father and had the teacher go get Devita, Simon, and Theodore.
The three siblings were, of course, curious and worried about why they were pulled out of class, but when they saw that they were heading to the nurse's office, they were met with a worried Dave who had just got there, soon they were sitting around Alvin's bed, the nurse was quick to explain what had happened in class, Alvin started to stir a bit, he opens his eyes, but he didn't react when he saw the concerned faces of his family at first, just then he tries to smile but it came out as more of a grimace, so he just stops and looks up at Dave with an unsure look in his eyes and put his arms up in the universal gesture of wanting to picked up and carried, the man was quick to scoop up the boy, frowning with alarm at how light he felt.
"Let's go home." He says softly as they all leave the school and get into the car, heading for home.
By the time they got inside the house, Alvin was set up on the couch, with a ton of blankets, TV, and some food, but all the boy wanted to do was sleep, so he laid his head on Dave's lap, sighing when he felt the large fingers run through his hair, he just dozes off and on at first until he finally sleeps, tears of exhaustion and possibly sadness streamed down his face.
The rest of the day was mostly Dave and the kids taking care of Alvin, but he was mostly just apathetic towards them.
Devita was trying to keep the other two boys distracted so that Alvin could rest, but even she was worried, soon it was time for lunch which was a simple PBJ sandwich, Devita had to practically beg Alvin to eat at least half of his sandwich, seeing her sad eyes, made Alvin do it to make her smile a little.
Dave was busy talking with the school principal about the incident and it was recommend that Alvin might benefit from seeing a therapist.
Meanwhile in the living room Simon was trying talk with Alvin about movies, the somber boy gave him a small smile,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah!" mocked Alvin, "I still think you're wrong. Jaws: The Revenge was made in 1982."
Simon sighed, not surprised by his elder brother's absence of mathematic skills and lack of cinematic knowledge, "By that assumption, that would mean that the third Jaws was made in 1983, not 1982. 1978 plus five years would be 1983 - you did the math wrong. But it wouldn't matter because the FIRST Jaws was made in 1975, not 1973. Hence your theory is incorrect anyway."
"No, you're wrong. It was in 1987...and because it did tragically in the box office, I haven't a clue how you even knew that movie existed in the first place!"
"Well, then you underestimate my knowledge of movie history, which I happen to have a lot of!" Boasted Alvin mildly, guess all four siblings started laughing at the craziness of the conversation.
It made the feelings of anxiety and sadness go away for a bit.
Later on that evening, Dave was helping Alvin take a bath since the boy was still pretty out of it, so after he removed the large shirt, he was alarmed by the state of his oldest son, the boy's usual cubby body was now reduced to almost nothing, all the ribs and spine were visible, and without thought he quickly scoops the boy and shouts for the others to get to the car, Alvin was confused and a little scared when they made their way to St. Michael's Children Hospital, the moment he was admitted he fought tooth and nail, it all happened to so quickly that soon Alvin was sedated and restrained to a hospital bed with an IV in one hand, a feed tube up his nose, feeding food straight into his stomach, monitors beeping as they watched his vitals.
Dave sat down by Alvin's bedside with Theodore in his lap, trying to comfort the distraught boy, Simon was more unsure, but Devita was upset as well, see her little brother in such a fragile state.
The doctor had come by and explained that it was a good thing that they brought him when they did, his body had started to show signs of severe weaken, he wouldn't have lasted much longer, severe dehydration, and the word anorexia was mention at some point, but everyone was such shock that they didn't really take all in, soon the kids had to go back home, so they got a ride from Ms Croner .
It wasn't until the next morning that Alvin finally started to stir, he was confused at first, but then he quickly starts to panic when the events of the night before came rusting back, he tries to reach up the tube that he felt on his face, but soon discovers that his wrists were in restraints.
"Alvin...it's okay, just relax," Dave said softly, as he tried to comfort the boy, but he was harshly cut off by
Alvin screaming. "RELAX?! HOW CAN I RELAX WITH A TUBE UP MY NOSE AND CUFFS ON MY WRIST?!"
While Dave normally would never accept this attitude from any of his kids, he knew Alvin was just scared and upset.
"Alvin, you were dangerously underweight, if I hadn't brought you in, you would have died, I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but I do care about all of you kids, I love you like family, you have to understand that I have do some hard things in ordered to keep you healthy and safe, even if that is protecting you from yourselves," Dave explains calmly.
Tears stream down the boy's face as he turns away from Dave, feeling hurt and betrayed.
For either time of his stay, Alvin was mute, not engaging just staring blankly at the walls of his room, the tv was on playing low in the background, somehow, word got out to the media about Alvin's forced admission to the hospital, saying all sorts of made stories with only a hint of truth to them or just completely fiction, Dave and his siblings were pretty tight-lipped about it wanting to protect Alvin's privacy.
During that time, Dave was pulled into Dr. Carlyon's office for a chat.
"Dave I would like to talk with you about Alvin's condition and how to go forward from here." he states
Dave looks at the man confused, "What do you mean? This is just a one-time thing isn't it?"
The doctor shake his head, "No, I am afraid not, now I want you to meet a colleague of mine."
Just then a soft knock was heard, before opening to admit a woman wearing purple nurse scrubs.
"Hello, I am Becky, I specialize in Nutrition and Disordered Eating, I will be helping Alvin with his Anorexia, which is a lifelong condition I will be helping making sure that he relearns how important eating is, while I know that he will not like this, but for him to continue his music career he needs to be completely healthy."
Dave was stunned, but nods in agreement, just then Dr. Carlion gave him a written prescription and explains.
"This a medication that I would recommend Alvin take, Zoloft is an antidepressant that can help ease symptoms of anxiety, as well as depression, but it can cause drowsiness so I would just let him rest as much as possible that side effect should go away with time, but if for some reason his symptoms worsen, I might recommend an Antipsychotic, but that is only in the worse case, just keep reminding Alvin that you are there for him and to make sure he eats, keep an eye out for food that is hidden in unlikely places or if his weight doesn't improve after each weigh in, now we will like to see Alvin in 3 weeks time, now go be with your son."
Dave thanks them and leaves to rejoin Alvin who was pouting as he pokes at the bowl of red jello, the man sighs as he tries to convince to the boy was eat a few little bites of it, even if the boy winces about it, but eventually gives in.
Slowly over the next week Alvin was able to have the feeding tube removed and eat some soft foods, gain some much-needed weight, soon he was allowed to go home.
Meanwhile back at home, Devita was busy making Theodore and Simon some lunch, once everyone was sitting and tucking in the food, Simon decided to asked his older sister about something that was bothering him.
"Hey D, do you know a man by the name of Dave Sr.?" he asked.
Devita nods, "Yes he is our grandfather and also our Music Agent, why do you ask?"
Simon pulls out his phone and quickly pulls up a video, titled "Sick or Fake? Lead Singer of The Chipmunks, Alvin Johnson was rumored to have had an a severe mental breakdown followed by admittance to hospital for a possible eating disorder, I am Jillian Reynolds with Today's Entertainment NEWS, I have with me a the Chipmunk's Agent, David Johnson Sr."
A man who looked like a slightly older version of Dave greets the hostess kindly.
"Now then Mr. Johnson, I understand that you want to address the rumors of your grandson's supposed illness." Julian states.
The older man nods, "Yes, I want to assure everyone that these rumors are just that, rumors, the trio in fact will be starting their much anticipated Christmas Tour at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles tonight."
Devita had to bite the inside of her cheek hard to keep her temper in check, as she was quick to put the boys fears at ease, knowing that she would have to bring this to Dave's attention.
So after making sure she was alone, she quickly calls Dave and quickly explains the situation, the man wasn't happy to hear this and reassured her that he would have a word with his father about this and thanked her before hanging up.
Dave had read his father the riot act and while the older man just coldly explained that the schedule was set and there was no way out of it, Dave sighed as he quickly helped Alvin's get ready, while giving Devita a quick call to have them all packed for their trip to L.A.
The trip was mostly silent as Alvin was sleeping, Simon was reading, Theodore follows Alvin's lead and fell asleep, Devita was listening to some music, soon they were all checked in to the hotel and met up with their team for the show, Alvin was still kind of out of it thanks to the meds, but somehow he was able to fool everyone as he and his brothers sang their hearts out, by the time they were done, Alvin was out like a light, followed by Simon and Theodore.
Devita just kept to herself, looking at Alvin as he slept, soon she too goes to bed.
