DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters here that I didn't make up myself. I don't own Lizzie McGuire, but she's not actually born yet at the time of this story, anyway.

"Let's do the Time Warp agaaaaaaaaain!"

In the car on the way back from the Rocky Horror Picture Show midnight showing, the six teenagers enthusiastically sang a catchy song from the movie they had just seen. They were excited about their experience, though rather tired by now, as it was past 2 AM and they had been out since the afternoon. Since they had arrived in the neighborhood of the theater hours before the movie was to start, they had acted like tourists and gone around and seen sights like the stars in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so by the time midnight came they were already worn out from all that walking. That didn't stop them from participating vigorously in the audience activity during the movie, taking their cues from the others in the audience who had been to multiple past showings and knew what to do.

"That was a fun movie," said Sam.

"The movie itself was kind of stupid," said Larry, "but I still kind of got into the spirit of the audience interactions, which made it an entertaining experience. It's not really about science fiction as a literature of ideas, but it's fun anyway."

"When I get to graduate school, I want to do my thesis about the psychology of cult phenomena such as this," said Howie.

"Yeah, but did you like it?", said Jo.

"It had certain entertaining aspects," said Howie, "if you put aside your intellect enough to overlook all of its glaring errors… like implying that Transylvania is in another galaxy, rather than being a region of Romania, as we all know it really is. And I don't think there is any greater proportion of transvestites in its population than anywhere else."

"Oh, you're not supposed to take it so literally," said Eddie. "It's a farce, making fun of the conventions of all the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror movies. The audience shows they're in on the joke by their participation."

"Well, I had a great time," said Daniella.

"Me too," said Jo. "I'm with Sam on this… it's a fun movie. You don't have to get all intellectual and try to figure out what it really means… just go along with the fun."

The discussion didn't last very long, since everybody was pretty tired. Soon, after a long quiet spell, Eddie turned on the car radio. He couldn't find any actual music, since in the early hours of Sunday morning the stations were fulfilling their FCC obligation of community service programming by airing various oddball talk shows in the time slot when there was least likely to be anybody actually listening.

"…and you're listening to Community Chat. Later we'll be discussing the case of Karen Ann Quinlan, currently going through the New Jersey courts; should she be kept indefinitely on life support, even though she's brain-dead, or should she be allowed to die as her parents want? Whichever way the courts decide, this is a case that will be a precedent for other similar situations for a long time to come. But first, a matter of local interest. The Los Angeles city council is currently debating a proposal to legalize… get this… pinball machines! Yes, these amusement devices with their bumpers and flippers, bells and buzzers, have been illegal in the city since the 1940s because they promote gambling and other disreputable activity. New York City and Chicago have similar ordinances, but most of the rest of the country, including our own suburbs, haven't seen fit to ban those things. Now the council wants to let them into L.A. proper. Pinball wizards will rejoice, but is this a good idea? We're taking your calls at 320-CHAT. Hello… you're on the air!"

"Hi, I'm Petunia, from Hillridge… I think it would be a mistake for L.A. to legalize those things, and I wish my town would ban them too. It's just one more pointless, annoying thing that kids are wasting their time and money on. Same with those new games… what do they call them? 'Vidiot games', I think… and only an idiot would be interested in them. You know the things, those boxes with a TV screen on them where you hit an electronic ball back and forth… pretty stupid, but people keep putting in more quarters to play them. The kids today are getting stupider and stupider. Back in the '50s, I organized comic book burnings to clean up the kids' reading matter, but now their morality is at an even worse level. Kids should be outside getting good exercise, when they're not doing their chores or their homework. Ban all of those stupid games! Ban television, too, while you're at it. But don't ban radio… I love to call your show!"

"I know her," said Sam. "She's that nutty old lady down the street from me, with a dozen cats. She's always griping about something. All the kids know not to go near her house on Halloween… she doesn't give any candy, but she sure gives a mouthful about how evil the kids are."

"This is another time when I wish I had one of those portable phones that's coming in the future," said Larry. "I'd love to rebut that lady on the air."

"Yeah, and she'd probably tell your parents you were up late at night calling radio shows," said Eddie. "So, once again, it's for the best that you're not able to do it."

Just then, there was a loud THUD, followed by bumping noises, and the car came to a halt.

"What's that?", asked Sam.

"I think we have a flat tire," said Eddie. "We'll have to get out and change it."

"This doesn't look like such a good neighborhood," said Jo, looking slightly scared.

Indeed, they seemed to be in one of the worse parts of town, with derelict cars up on blocks along the side of the street, and some unsavory-looking people standing at the corner.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: In 1976, L.A., New York, and Chicago all finally legalized pinball machines.