Let's Suppose Chip, Dale and Gadget Where
A Bit Different At Birth - Many Years Before 'To The Rescue'
By: CD
Chapter Three
“What are you waiting for?” A girl asked Chip.
That girl was one of Chip’s friends from school, she was from the same class. She also bullied Dale, but wasn’t really responsible for the huge anti-Dale sentiment among the girls and even a lot of boys. Still, since today Chip started to feel herself stupid for maintaining a relationship with people who would tag along with bullies, and even blamed her for not trying to stop the others like she herself. But upon further thought, what did she herself ever do to prevent the big girls from harassing Dale? Nothing, she sat idle while they did what they wanted, and only acted after the dust settled. Could she call another a coward while being one herself?
“Dunno, just thinking I guess.” Chip answered, and decided to risk popping a question “How do you feel about Dale?”
“Her? Well she’s a real jerk. Right after she gets here she acts all classy you know. She had it coming that others would get annoyed with her and put one over on her. If she’s so rich, why won’t she hire a private teacher so we won’t have to put up with the snobby talk of hers?”
“You didn’t answer my question correctly.” Chip noted, still leaning with her back against the wall and holding her books and stuff in her hands “Don’t tell me what others think. You can say what you think of her yourself.”
“You’re not sticking up for that brat are you?”
“No, not at all.” Chip dismissed.
There was that cowardice again. She wouldn’t even admit she felt sympathy for someone. Why couldn’t she make a bold statement and forget about the rest of the class turning against her as well?
“Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow. If we survive our homework.”
Then the other girl was gone. Chip kept waiting until finally almost everyone of her class was gone. The last one to go as always was Dale, who didn’t want someone to follow her.
“Hi there.” Chip said as Dale passed, and followed.
“Thank you for helping earlier today, I really appreciate that.” Dale thanked a bit sombrely “It’s really nice that you’re not like all those other girls. You’re really the first one to offer to help me. If you’re interested in a reward, would you like to visit my place?” She then asked with a more enthusiastic voice.
“That would be swell!” Chip accepted “You mean right now?”
“Unless you’re busy, you can come another time.”
“No, I got plenty of time. So tell me, do you really live in a villa?”
“Oh yes I do! My daddy’s an important physician. He’s really nice and funny.”
It was only a short walk to Dale’s house. And it really was a big mansion. With big windows, black roofs, a stone fence. It looked somewhat like a Victorian style estate. The two chipmunks walked up the stairs that led to the front door where Dale ringed the bell, which sounded just as formal as the villa itself. A chipmunk woman opened the door for them.
“Hello Dale, welcome home dear. Did you bring a friend?” The lady asked.
“Yes mother, she eh-helped me a bit today.”
“Didn’t I tell you you’d find new friends? What’s your name?”
“Chip Maplewood.”
“Is that your birth name, Chip?”
“Actually it was Christabel, but my parents intended to call me Chip even before I was conceived. They gave it up as an official name to please the authorities.”
“I’m Janice Oakmont, Dale’s mother.”
“If you don’t mind, we’ll be upstairs mom.” Dale informed and entered, Chip followed her.
The inside of the Oakmont residence was decorated with carpets, paintings and a few statues. A large number of them had something to do with an oak tree on a hill. There where quite a lot of doors scattered throughout the hall, making Chip wonder if the family used every single room. Dale ran up the large stairs, pulling up the low part of her dress so she wouldn’t trip over it. Chip followed, and once on the first floor landing went right, after Dale. She opened one of the doors at the right side of the hall and waited for her visitor.
“This is my room. Come in.” Dale invited.
Chip saw that Dale’s room was quite spacey. There where large windows letting the sun shine right into the room, and the view from this room was not something to go unnoticed. On a desk on the left side of the room lay a few books and school equipment. On a large table to the right where a few building made out of Lego. On the other half of the table was a train landscape, with middle European buildings, mountains, trees, shrubbery, roads, tracks, painted rivers and lakes, bridges and tunnels. On the left side there was a clothes closet, and in the middle of the room a spacious bed. On the bed where a few plushies. And scattered throughout the room where some other things like a toy trunk and dollhouse.
“Wow! This is quite a kingdom.” Chip exclaimed with sincere fascination.
Dale sat down on her bed, but looked a bit disappointed.
“You know…” She started, drawing Chip’s attention to her again “I know I got just everything a kid like me could ask for. But sometimes these toys get pretty boring. I do know how to fill in my free time, with swimming or dancing and music. But I’m pretty lonely. I got a younger brother, who is not very interesting. And although I love my dad, he is usually gone during the day. When he is home he does keep me occupied, until I wear him down too much. Because we moved out I don’t get to see my old girlfriends anymore, and I really don’t have any friends at all now. Please don’t be angry if I get too intimate, I just never had a friend who was like a sister to me. To have a sibling of the same age is the only thing I cannot be granted. And I was hoping you could fill a gap for me. It’s part of the reason I asked if you wanted to come, if you feel like I trapped or cheated you that’s okay. I’ve seen people blow up to me for that before.”
Chip was a bit taken aback by Dale’s words, but the impact of her lasts few sentences only made her feel for the young lady.
“Gee, I’m not going to blow up against you at all. I’m not really sure if I could be a sister but there’s nothing wrong with you needing attention and wanting to feel loved.” She approached Dale, hoping to comfort her.
Dale grabbed her left arm and looked at her with some despair in her eyes.
“Chip, would you be my friend?”
“Well, guess I can.” Her own words conjured up some doubts to her. What if she couldn’t give Dale the kind of friendship she needed? And what would be her position in the problem of Dale being bullied? “But I don’t know what to expect from you yet.”
“Well, we could stop with this gloom and go for a swim. There’s a swimming pool in our backyard, and it’s very hot.”
“I don’t have my swimsuit, so I can’t.”
“Then you can borrow my old one. It’s only problem is that it’s a tad loose, but nothing that would embarrass you.” Dale rummaged through her closet for a moment and pulled out two bathing suits. She threw one to Chip.
“Ehm, is there anywhere I could change?” She asked and looked around prudishly.
“Self conscious are we? Well the bathroom is right in front of my room.” Dale said and pointed outside while she began to undress.
Chip gave her some privacy to get changed and entered the bathroom across from Dale’s place and locked it. She turned on the light and looked at the swimsuit. It was black, with a white line where at the middle, with shoulder bands and very short bit spacey trouser-legs. She convinced herself that borrowing clothes wasn’t that bad, and quickly changed into the suit. After she was done she noticed that the swimsuit was indeed too wide, but it was no serious bother and didn’t reveal her privates. It was just baggy, that’s all. She exited to see Dale waiting. Dressed in similar swimwear, the only difference was that hers was horizontally striped green and white. Chip handed Dale her clothes.
“First I need to tell my parents I’m here. See you in a moment.”
Chip told her and ran down to the telephone which she had seen earlier in the
hall.