Music: Star Wars Main Theme

EPISODE LXVIX: RETURN OF THE GEEKS

A long time ago (May, 1983) in a city far away

(Chippewa, Michigan) our three heroes dreamed

of seeing the latest motion picture.

Much has happened in the lives of the three McKinley

High School Juniors since we last visited them.

Bill Haverchuck had mastered enough basketball

skills to earn him a slot as a Junior Varsity

Norseman in the 1983 season, thanks to his stepfather:

Ben Fredericks. Sam Weir was known as the technical guru

of the drama club and captain of the AV Squad. Neal Schwieber

was head of Chippewa's Model UN Club and currently is working

on prom finances as Junior Class Treasurer. Though they had went

down different paths, the three remain the best of friends.

Sam Weir was having lunch with his best friends Bill Haverchuck and Neal Schwieber in the McKinley High School Cafeteria. The three were juniors, which meant they had a bit more status than they did as freshman, but still not as much as the seniors. Sam and Neal were well known for their work on the McKinley stage, while Bill was even better known for his surprising performance on the JV Norsemen Basketball Team.

Cindy Sanders walked paste the table and said "Hi Bill, Sam"

"Hey Cindy," both boys replied.

When she was out of earshot Neal added, "What am I, chopped liver. Sure, Sam played tongue hockey with her a couple years ago, and Bill is Mr. Jock now. But she could have at least said hello to me. After all, I have to put up with her constant whining at me during the junior class meetings. So what if she is president. I have a responsibility to make sure she doesn't bankrupt us with that silly dance. "

Sam changed the subject. "Man, I wish I could go to the opening of Return of the Jedi."

Bill asked, "When is it?"

Sam replied, "In three weeks, Wednesday the 25th, at Midnight."

Bill said dejectedly, "there's no way our folks would let us go see it then. Maybe we can go this weekend."

Sam whined, "But I wanted to see it when it first came out… before other people could tell me about it."

Neal thought about the situation, and said to no one in particular, "There might be a way…"

Sam responded with, "How?"

Neal simply replied, "Let me think about it. Meet me after school, I should have it ironed out by then."

Sam agreed, "OK, we do have drama rehearsal after school, but we could meet up in my office."

Sam referred to the tech booth as 'his office' and nobody disagreed. The drama department was putting on "Grease" next week as their final production of the year. Sam was in charge of sound and lighting, and Neal played Kinnicke. Cindy Sanders, of course, was Sandra Dee. Sam suspected that she was friendly to him again so she would get appropriate lighting. Lindsay's friend Millie made a surprisingly good Rizzo. Sam got a kick out of that, seeing as Millie had a lot more in common with Sandy, and Cindy had a lot more in common with Rizzo. Harris played Danny. Harris had gone for a shorter hair-style senior year.

Later up in the tech room, Neal outlined his plan, "As you know, my brother is a grad student at UM up in Ann Arbor. He has access to stationary, and can even use the postage meter. I say we have him send our parents an invitation to attend an Academic Summit at UM taking place on Tuesday the 24th."

Bill complained, "I don't want to go all the way up to Ann Arbor, that's halfway across the state." Neal just rolled his eyes.

Sam caught on and explained, "No, Bill, we'll just say we're going there. That way we can go camp out for tickets and see the midnight showing of Return of the Jedi."

Neil continued, "Exactly. We can leave here after school Monday the 23rd, do some grocery shopping for some food to have in line. Head to the theatre in the city that's screening the midnight show. Its just as well that its not here in Chippewa. It would be pretty hard to explain why we were at the movie theater instead of at Ann Arbor. Then we'll camp out Monday night and be in a good place in line to see the movie midnight Wednesday."

Sam thought a moment then added, "Umm, can we call it something else besides an Academic Summit? That term might make my parents suspicious." Two years ago, Sam's sister Lindsay spent a summer following the Grateful Dead under the premise of attending an 'Academic Summit' at UM. Something both Weir children are not allowed to live down.

Neal winced, remembering about how Lindsay turned into a Deadhead, "Oooh, yeah, how could I forget about that. Don't worry. We'll call it a special Model UN conference. That will work out better anyway. I have contacts in that department, if anybody checks up on it."

A week later, the three were called in the office of Head Guidance Counselor Jeff Rosso.

Rosso put on his teacher face and asked the three, "Don't you boys have something to tell me?"

Bill and Sam immediately started to panic thinking they had been found out. Neal played it cool.

Rosso then smiled, "You three got invited to a special Model UN session at the University of Michigan next week! I would go with you, but you guys are old enough now to go on your own. Besides, there is far too much to do here for me to leave so close to the end of the school year." Rosso believed in the ideals of the Model UN, and served as its advisor for the past several years.

Sam shot Neal a look that sad I can't believe you had them send the invite to here! Neal's smile back to Sam said, yeah, but it worked.

Rosso wasn't quite as gullible as many think. Of course he checked the conference out before sending the three to it. As a matter of fact, the Model UN staff person that answered the phone was a former student of his, Ken Miller. Ken didn't join Model UN until his Senior Year at McKinley. Rosso suspected that Ken joined because his girlfriend, Amy, was a member. But Ken enjoyed debate, and Rosso suspected he was a closet intellectual. When Ken went on to the University of Michigan, Model UN was one of the first clubs he joined. Of course, MUN looks good on a law school application, and that's where Ken seemed to be heading.