Chipwrecked

by Perdita Finn

  From the blackjack table to the dance floor, the chipmunks had triumphed. By the end of the night, everyone was talking about them.

  Chapter 6

  Dave was squirming in his seat in the dining room. “Captain, I’m truly sorry about what happened. But Alvin—he’s a kid, and he’s just trying to have some fun.” He smiled at the ship’s captain, but the captain was not amused.

  “There’s nothing wrong with fun,” said the captain, stone-faced. “Our pelican mascot makes sure everyone on our ship has fun. But my number-one priority is my passengers’ safety. We simply cannot have Alvin put himself, or anyone else, at risk.”

  Dave nodded. “I understand.”

  “I’m afraid,” added the captain, in an even more serious tone, “that if Alvin breaks any more shipboard rules, I will be forced to make him walk the plank.”

  Dave looked taken aback. “I’m sorry, what?”

  Without cracking even a hint of a smile, the captain explained, “That was a joke.”

  Dave wasn’t so sure, but he tried to muster a weak laugh. “Oh. Yes. Very … funny.”

  “But in all seriousness,” continued the captain (who seemed to be nothing but serious), “if Alvin violates any more of our rules, there will be consequences.”

  “Of course, Captain. Last thing we want is anyone getting hurt.”

  The waiter was about to pour pea soup into a bowl in front of Dave when the pelican guy bumped into him—and the soup went all over Dave’s lap! Dave screamed and jumped up. The waiter, apologizing to both Dave and the captain, tried to wipe at Dave’s pants, but Dave didn’t pay him any attention. He’d noticed something about the pelican, who was hurrying away. Something familiar. He wasn’t so sure that what had just happened was an accident. Excusing himself, he followed the guy out of the dining room and met up with him in the corridor.

  “Do you have a problem with me?” Dave asked.

  A voice, muffled behind the pelican mask, answered, “You bet I have a problem with you.”

  “Why?” Something about the way the guy waddled and the way he spoke reminded Dave of someone, but he couldn’t think who it was.

  “As if you don’t know,” sneered the pelican.

  “I don’t know,” said Dave.

  At that moment the pelican guy whipped off his bird mask and revealed the bald head of Ian Hawke. Ian Hawke—former CEO of Jett Records, former music producer, former manager of The Chipettes. Ian Hawke—the guy who would do anything to The Chipmunks to make himself famous. Ian Hawke—pelican guy.

  “Ian? What … what are you doing here?”

  “I’m working, Dave,” said Ian sarcastically.

  “This is your job?” Dave was confused. Ian was a wheeler-dealer. A big gun in the music industry. But apparently something had gone wrong.

  “Yes!” said Ian bitterly. “There aren’t too many record labels dying to hire the guy who blew it with The Chipmunks, blew it with The Chipettes, and passed on Justin Bieber. Twice.”

  “Ian, I’m sorry you lost your job and”—Dave caught a glance of the ridiculous pelican mask—“and your dignity. But spilling things, hot things, on me isn’t going to bring any of that back.”

  Ian looked thoughtful, like he was really taking in what Dave was saying. “You’re right, Dave. It is too late for me to get my old life back.” He smiled brightly. “But it’s not too late for me to ruin yours!”

  “You want to ruin my life?”

  Ian rubbed his pelican wings together. “Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. How about we just start with your vacation? If I see The Chipmunks break so much as one rule, I’m going straight to Captain Correlli. You’re in my house now!”

  If he had been wearing a fancy suit and dark glasses, he might have seemed more menacing. As it was, he just looked like a pelican throwing a temper tantrum. Dave had to stifle his laughter.

  Ian was clearly flustered. “I mean, technically it’s not a house, it’s a ship. And technically it’s not really mine, it’s owned by the cruise line. And technically I don’t work for the cruise line but for a temp agency that provides costumed characters to cruise lines and auto shows and minor league ball games. But”—he stopped and pointed two fingers at the googly eyes on the pelican mask tucked under his arm and then at Dave’s eyes—“I’ll be watching you!”

  And this time Dave really was worried. Ian was angry and a little crazy, and he clearly wanted revenge. Ian had tried to steal The Chipmunks from Dave once before, and he’d also tried to ruin their biggest concert, so he couldn’t relax for a minute with Ian onboard. It was a good thing he’d made sure the chipmunks stayed safe in their room tonight. They were all going to have to be careful.

  He opened the door to their cabin and saw little Theodore sitting on the edge of the bed staring at the television. He was chewing on his paws. And his fur was standing on end as if he’d placed his finger in an electric socket.

  “Theodore?” said Dave quietly, concerned.

  Theodore leaped up into the air like he’d been hit by lightning. “Please don’t eat my brain!” he screamed.

  Dave glanced at the screen and instantly recognized the movie. It was a grown-up horror movie filled with gore. He couldn’t believe it! “What are you doing? That’s Jungle Monster Four. Alvin, how could you let him watch this?”

  He’d instinctively turned to Alvin’s bed to yell at him, and it took him a moment to realize that no one was in it. It was empty. Alvin wasn’t there. “Simon!” said Dave, whirling around in his fury. “How could you let Alvin sneak out?”

  But Simon’s bed was empty, too.

  Frustrated, Dave turned to The Chipettes. “Girls, how could you let Simon…” But before he could finish, he realized that they were gone as well. All the chipmunks were gone except Theodore. It was beginning to sink in. They were in trouble. Now Dave looked like he’d been watching a horror movie. He noticed the sparkly fabric from the gift basket had three dress-pattern shapes cut out of it. “Oh no. No, no, no!”

  Chapter 7

  Alvin and Tessa, the girl he’d met while playing dice, were now hanging out at the roulette wheel. He’d been letting her know that he was a pretty famous singer.

  “Seriously? You’re up for an International Music Award?” she asked, clearly impressed.

  “Yup,” bragged Alvin. “We fly there right after the cruise. Hoping to take home Record of the Year.”

  “Whoa! That would make you, like, the youngest winner ever!”

  “I’m not that young,” said Alvin, trying to act suave. “I mean, I’m hanging out in the casino way past my bedtime. Not that I have a bedtime. No one tells me what to do.”

  Unfortunately, he was interrupted by Dave running pell-mell into the casino and shouting at the top of his lungs, “Alvinnnn!”

  Alvin froze. Gulped. Oh no. “Who’s Alan?” he said to the girl. He was trying to act cool. “Anyway, love to chat more, but right now I gotta run.” He took the girl’s hand in his paw, gave it a quick kiss, and leaped away—but unfortunately he landed on the roulette wheel going round and round and round like an amusement park ride. He was stuck, running in place.

  Dave grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. “You are in a lot of trouble, young man!”

  Alvin glanced over at the girl, humiliated. He didn’t look like a suave pop star anymore—just a naughty little chipmunk.

  Dave, holding Alvin by the scruff of his neck, was storming through the casino when he passed by Simon—at the blackjack table. The little chipmunk was staring mesmerized at the cards in front of him.

  “Simon?” Dave couldn’t believe it. Simon had disobeyed him, too!

  “I wasn’t betting, Dave, I swear!” exclaimed Simon when he saw him.

  But at that exact moment one of the casino dealers slid a huge pile of money right in front of him. Simon had just won big. “Your winnings, sir,” he announced.

  “Awww, the new guys always win,” said another gambler next to Simon.

  Dave gr
abbed Simon and dragged him out of the casino—without his money. He was furious. He marched down the cruise ship hall with both of them in his arms.

  “I didn’t sneak out,” protested Simon. “I mean, I did. But only to stop Alvin.”

  Once they got back to their cabin, he’d make Dave understand everything. Only it didn’t look like that was going to happen. Because standing in front of the stateroom door was a giant pelican. And next to the pelican was the captain of the ship. And he was very angry.

  Chapter 8

  Alvin was defiant. The captain had given all the chipmunks a stern warning about what would happen if they got in trouble again. Alvin sat on his bed, mad. “So what’s the captain gonna do?” he said to Dave. “Make us walk the plank?”

  “There’s a plank?” said Theodore, terrified.

  “There’s no plank!” yelled Dave, at his wits’ end. “But if you disobey me one more time, you will be off the ship. And you will miss the International Music Awards. Do you understand?”

  Eleanor, like Theodore, was near tears. “Yes, Dave.”

  “Uh-huh,” said Jeanette, showing no emotion.

  “Of course,” chirped Brittany, rolling her eyes. “But if those girls challenge us to another dance-off, is it okay if we…” Dave was glaring at her. “No, of course not. Never mind.”

  Alvin was scratching his head, thinking. “Uh, Dave?” he said carefully.

  Dave turned to him. He knew Alvin was the ringleader.

  Alvin continued, “But what if we need to disobey you?”

  “And why would you need to do that?”

  “Well, let’s say for instance that you tell me to stay put.” He stood up and pretended to be Dave, making his voice lower. “Alvin, if you move from that lounge chair, you’re grounded!”

  All the other chipmunks had crowded around, listening.

  “But then,” continued Alvin, getting carried away, “I happen to see pirates climbing up ropes on the side of the ship. Now, it would be easy for me to take my pocketknife and cut the ropes. But I have to stay put. Or do I?”

  Dave shook his head, not amused in the least. “Yes, Alvin, you do. And what are you doing with a pocketknife?”

  Alvin threw up his paws and assumed an expression of complete innocence. “What pocketknife?”

  “Give it to me,” said Dave sternly. He held out his hand. “You could cut yourself.”

  “So, I could have saved the whole ship from robbage and pilgering, and you’d still ground me?” asked Alvin, reluctant to turn over his pocketknife.

  Simon sighed. “There’s no such word as robbage, Alvin. And it’s pillaging. But Alvin has a point, Dave. There must be times when you trust us to take matters into our own hands, even if you’ve told us otherwise. Surely you trust me.”

  Dave met Simon’s eyes. “I trusted you tonight, and look where that got me!”

  Simon hung his head in shame. Dave was right. He had messed up. Big-time. He’d have to show him that he was responsible. He needed to earn back Dave’s trust.

  But Alvin just wanted to find a way to keep on having fun.

  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 t
hey 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.

  Chapter 10

  Dave jolted awake. Where was he? Why was his deck chair slammed up against the railing? And where were the chipmunks? He whirled around, looking for them. They weren’t by the shuffleboard court anymore. They weren’t even on deck.

  From far away up in the clouds, he heard the faintest high-pitched wail.

  Dave shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun and looked up. Squinting, he could just make out six chipmunks attached to a kite disappearing beyond the horizon.

  “No. No. No!”

  Dave was frantic. He had to rescue them. At once. There wasn’t even time to call for help. He scanned the cruise ship looking for a solution, and his eyes settled on a hang glider that was on display. He ran over to it and began releasing it from its security ropes.

  “Hey!” Ian, still in his pelican suit, was right there. He took off the pelican mask and tucked it under his arm so that it was easier to talk. “You want to go hang gliding, you sign up at the excursions desk like everyone else.”

  “No, you don’t understand…” Dave looked up. By now the chipmunks were just a tiny speck in the distance.

  “I think I do. Dave Seville is soooo special, the rules don’t apply to him,” said Ian sarcastically.

  “That’s not it, Ian,” protested Dave. “You need to get the captain.”