Quickly everything started to speed up until I was heading full throttle backwards into nothingness. Then, it stopped. But I kept going.

"LOOK OUT!" a familiar voice shrieked. I had no way of stopping myself, so I hurtled straight into Lauren. We both crashed backwards into the two beanbags in my room. I turned around quickly, just in time to see a strange, rippling hole in the television screen disappear, revealing the rolling credits of "The Fellowship of the Ring."

"Whoa. Sweet," I said.

"What the crap, Laura? That hurt!" Lauren whined.

"Yeah, I deliberately aimed straight for you," I said dryly. "How'd you get back before me?"

"Uh, well, the elves found me hiding in the closet, and then they got mad when I tried to hit them with the candlestick I had, and they hit me with it instead, and I blacked out, and then I was back here. How'd you get home?"

"I died."

"…Nice. Good job."

"Thanks. I try." I went over to the computer and found it still on, and my away message still up: "having a LOTR extravaganza with lauren. don't bug me or you will die."

I hadn't even begun typing out a message to my friend Kelsey when a box popped up: "User MartySam99 has messaged you. Will you accept?"

"Gee, I wonder who that is," I said, clicking the Yes button.

MartySam99: Hey. Have a nice trip back?

Legolas Stalker: heya… uh, not really.

MartySam99: Haha. Well, it didn't hurt, did it?

Legolas Stalker: no. but i wish I could have gone another way.

MartySam99: Yeah. There wasn't really any other way for you to get home at that point in time.

Legolas Stalker: well, whats the normal way to go then?

MartySam99: Usually we use a "portal", if you will.

Legolas Stalker: a portal?

MartySam99: Yeah. Sounds very cliché, I know. There are specific places we've marked which are ways to get between the "real" world (as in our world) and other realities.

Legolas Stalker: i see… wait, who's we?

MartySam99: "We" are a group of Mary Sues/Marty Sams. Over the years, we've discovered ways of getting between realities.

Legolas Stalker: riiiiight…

MartySam99: I know. It sounds stupid. But it's true. Ever since about the 1950's, when movie stars were starting to become huge role models and icons, and when teenage girls started to go ballistic over characters in movies, people have been randomly poofing to different worlds. Occasionally, two people would bump into each other in the same story, and they started to realize that there were others like them. So they started making a list. Right now there are at least 500 people, that we know of, that know about the other realities. Only about 100 of them are active travelers, and 75 of them are girls.

Legolas Stalker: surprise, surprise.

MartySam99: Haha, yeah. And since LOTR came out as a movie, there's been a huge surge in travel to Middle Earth. We've had trouble avoiding overlaps in schedules.

Legolas Stalker: what do you mean schedule?

MartySam99: We keep track of peoples' trips and try to make sure they don't bump into one another. It makes for a better experience. We've figured out a pattern in the whole alternate reality system, and can calculate when and where they end up.

Legolas Stalker: so you control who goes and who doesn't?

MartySam99: Pretty much. There are some exceptions, like you and those other girls. Of course, we'll add your names to the list so you can travel when and where you'd like.

Legolas Stalker: really? AWESOME!

MartySam99: But you need to tell us in advance so we can fit you into our schedule.

Legolas Stalker: this is so cool. i want to go to every orlando bloom movie..

MartySam99: I'd recommend not playing a part in "Troy." Almost every person who has gone there has complained of being raped and/or killed.

Legolas Stalker: ….dag yo

MartySam99: Yeah. And "Black Hawk Down" isn't a good choice, either. He's on camera about thirty seconds, and then he falls out of the helicopter.

Legolas Stalker: …

MartySam99: Oh and I'm not sure if you can get into "Kingdom of Heaven" right now or not. There's already a waiting list, and it doesn't even come out on video for several months. Don't even get me started on that movie "Wilde"…

Legolas Stalker: STOP RUINING MY DREAMS!

MartySam99: Okay, okay. Sorry. Where and when would you like to go?

Legolas Stalker: hmmmmmm…

I thought about this for a minute. Then the obvious hit me.

Legolas Stalker: welllll…

"LAURA, GET DOWN HERE, NOW!"

Oh shizzle.

Legolas Stalker: damn brb

MartySam99: Sure thing.

I sulked down the stairs, Lauren following cautiously behind. There was The Mother, standing in the hallway. Crap.

"What?" I asked in an innocent way that pretty much admitted I was guilty of something. I tried to ignore the terrifying glare she was aiming in my direction.

"Where were you two? I've been looking for you for three hours!"

"Well, I-"

"I was this close to calling the police, Laura! I had no idea where you were!"

"Me and Lauren walked to the store."

She continued to glare at me. "It took you three hours to get to the store and back?"

"Well…uh…"

"We saw some people we know and talked to them for a while," Lauren broke in. Oooh, she's good.

"'A while' is not two hours, girls," my mom said slowly. "You didn't have your cell phones, you didn't leave a note… how did you even leave the house without me knowing?"

"We were acting like spies, so we climbed out the window," Lauren explained coolly.

This seemed to satisfy my mother who, after living with me for sixteen years, must certainly be used to my strange behavior.

"Whatever. Lauren, I think it's time for you to head home I'm sorry you had to see this argument."

Why does that always happen? Even when your friend is involved with some troublemaking, the parents are all like "Ooooooh, since you are the guest, you don't get into trouble." Such B.S.

When Lauren had left, my mom turned to me. "You're grounded, UFN." (Until Further Notice) I glowered and nodded. That usually meant a week or so. Not too long.

I dragged myself upstairs and plopped into my computer chair.

Legolas Stalker: ok, bak. sry bout that.

MartySam99: What happened?

Legolas Stalker: my mom is royally pissed off that i disappeared for 3 hours.

MartySam99: Yikes. Tough luck. Been there, done that.

Legolas Stalker: ya, but the good news is that i can book my little trip to the Caribbean and my mom won't be suspicious.

Wrong.

"LAURA. Being grounded does NOT mean "Plop your ass down in front of the computer and stay glued to it for two weeks". Turn it off. NOW."

I groaned.

Legolas Stalker: ok screw that idea…

MartySam99: Grounded?

Legolas Stalker: yep

MartySam99: That sucks.

Legolas Stalker: ya. i g2g, but I'll talk to you in like… 2 weeks

MartySam99: Have fun:D

Legolas Stalker: shut up

I shut off the computer, threw myself onto my bed, and turned on the TV to watch Jerry Springer.

"LAURA. No TV either!"

Blast.

I sighed and stared at the blank screen. Two weeks without computer or TV. Two weeks of Orlando deprivation. My eyes slipped to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" DVD case lying on the floor. I smirked.

I could wait.

Aww, it's over. For now. Bwahahaha. Yes, I'm thinking about going back on my promise of not writing more MS's and making a sequel. Woohoo! Anyways, I just wanted to thank y'all for supporting me for 2 years. It's been fab. Mucho lurve, homeslice!

!Laura!

P.S. If you ever want to get in touch with me, my AIM screenname is Veelagirl04. I'm online most of the