Chapter 9

Dave was keeping a close eye on the chipmunks. It was daytime now, and Dave took them all up to the deck of the cruise ship together. The Chipmunks and Chipettes were back in their regular clothes, and Dave was in shorts and a T-shirt. Theodore’s homemade pasta necklace was still draped around his neck. They were looking for something safe to do. The sun was shining on the waves. They were far out in the ocean, no land in sight.

“You’re lucky Captain Correlli has allowed you one more activity,” Dave said to Alvin.

“Hang gliding, Dave?” joked Alvin sarcastically. And then he gasped when he saw where Dave had brought them.

They were at the shuffleboard court.

“Shuffleboard?” said Alvin in horror. Only old people played shuffleboard.

“By my calculations, it appears to be ten percent shuffle and ninety percent bored,” added Simon.

Jeanette giggled. “That’s funny!”

Simon blushed, flustered. He adjusted his glasses. “You … you … really think so?”

Jeanette giggled again and looked down awkwardly. Simon didn’t know what to say. Jeanette was so pretty—the prettiest of The Chipettes, in his opinion.

Alvin was staring at the shuffleboard court. “You know, Dave, I think I’d prefer the plank.”

“Sorry, Alvin, this is what you get to do. And now I get to do something I haven’t done in a loooong time. Absolutely nothing.”

Dave pulled up a lounge chair and laid down on it with a magazine. At last! Now he could enjoy a little bit of vacation himself. From time to time he glanced up at the chipmunks playing shuffleboard.

Brittany lined up a shot, and Alvin began whispering like a sports announcer at a golf tournament. “Brittany approaches her puck, adjusts her stance, looks over at me, annoyed, wondering if I’m ever going to shut up, realizes I’m not, and makes her move…”

Brittany gave the puck a halfhearted push with her stick.

“Ooh! And it’s short! A costly error that’s going to haunt her the rest of her career,” narrated Alvin.

Brittany was not amused. “You can make all the jokes you want, Alvin, but not even you can make this interesting.”

There was nothing Alvin liked better than a challenge.

He looked around the deck of the ship at the sunbathing tourists. When he saw a kid holding the string of a kite, he got a mischievous look in his eyes. This could be a little more fun, he thought.

“Think I can’t make this interesting?” Alvin challenged Brittany.

“What are you doing?” said Brittany. “Dave is watching us.”

“Brittany, the poor guy hasn’t had a moment’s peace since he met us,” whispered Alvin. “He’s exhausted.” His back to Dave, Alvin held up his fingers and began counting backward from five. “In three … two … one…”

The magazine Dave had been reading slipped from his hands onto the deck. Dave’s chin fell to his chest. Alvin didn’t even need to turn around or wait for Dave to snore. He knew Dave was asleep. And Alvin was ready.

“Theodore, I’m going to need these doughnuts,” he said, turning to Theodore, who was holding a plate of chocolate-covered doughnuts. “Time to turn punishment … into funishment.” With a flick of his wrist, Alvin slid the plate of doughnuts along the deck so that they landed right at the feet of the kid flying the kite. The kid looked down at Alvin. Alvin raised a single eyebrow.

A moment later the boy was happily munching on Theodore’s doughnuts—and Alvin had strapped himself into the kite like it was a parasail.

It was time to take off!

Alvin burst into song as he flew up into the sky!

Down below, the girls and Theodore were using all their strength to hold on to the string.

“C’mon, Simon, grab on,” begged Theodore.

“Forget it. I am walking away from this one. All I ever do is try to save him, and it only gets me in trouble!” Simon stormed off.

Up in the cloudless blue sky Alvin was having the time of his life. He was flying! Far below him, he could see the tiny ship and the miniscule dots of color that were Brittany, Jeanette, Eleanor, and Theodore struggling to hold on to the string. The wind picked up, and Alvin soared even higher.

The kite string was dragging the chipmunks across the deck. It was lifting them into the air! They weren’t big enough to keep it from flying away. As they took off into the air, Theodore reached out and grabbed one last doughnut.

At the very last minute, Simon glanced back and saw what was happening. Alvin was in trouble. Again. But what could Simon do?

He rushed over, grabbed the very end of the kite string, and managed to anchor it to the leg of Dave’s lounge chair. Simon sighed with relief. They were safe.

“We’re okay!” squealed a relieved Brittany.

“Sh!” whispered Simon, pointing at Dave. He was still asleep, and the last thing they needed was for him to wake up.

“We’re okay!” whispered Brittany.

But they weren’t.

A gust of wind blew up, and the lounge chair began sliding across the deck.

The kite flew even higher.

The kite string pulled the lounge chair across the shuffleboard court, wrapped around Simon’s leg, and then broke as it hit the safety rail. The kite, with Alvin attached to it and five chipmunks clinging to its string, took off into the air.

“Aaaaaa!” screamed six little high-pitched voices.

But no one heard them. They were already too far away from the ship.