It was shortly before dawn on a day in May. Everyone was asleep, except for Chuckie and Kimi.
Chuckie and Kimi went downstairs quietly being careful not to wake up their parents. They went into the kitchen and opened the refridgerator.
Chuckie took out the pitcher of water and poured Kimi and himself a cup. They both quenched their thirst before Chuckie put it back in the fridge.
"How about some juice too?" he asked Kimi.
"Sure!" said Kimi. "Pour me a big drink!"
"Shhh!" said Chuckie. "Keep it down would you?"
He poured Kimi and himself a cup of apple juice before putting it back in the fridge, but not before pouring himself another cup.
As he drank, Kimi went back upstairs to bed.
Just as he finished, he saw a chocolate cake covered with vanilla icing with seventeen candles on it. On it was were pictures of violets and roses in red and purple frosting.
He took the piece of paper stuck on it. He read it.
"Don't eat until Friday"
Chuckie was puzzled. "Why would I eat this on Friday?"
Chuckie knew that Friday was the seventeenth birthday of his cousin Lily. She was the daughter of Chazz' sister-in-law Isabelle and her husband Peter. They would be arriving at the house tomorrow afternoon.
As he closed the fridge door, the house began to shake. Panicking, he dived under the table.
Upstairs, Chazz and Kira were suddenly awakened by the shaking of the house.
"Earthquake!" cried Chazz.
"The kids!" cried Kira.
They bolted out of bed.
Kimi was just about to climb into bed when she felt the house shake. Panicking, she grabbed Superthing and Wawa before running out of the room. While they are heading into their teens, they kept their dolls as keepsakes.
At Stu & Didi's, Tommy and Dil awoke suddenly and ran out of their room. Stu and Didi hid under the table in the kitchen and they were soon joined by Tommy and Dil. Spike joined them.
At the DeVille's house, Betty and Howard hid under a doorway while Phil and Lil dived under their beds.
At Drew and Charlotte's, they gathered up some of their most precious valuables while Angelica grabbed Fluffy and hid under a table.
At the Carmichael's house, Susie grabbed Chowder and hid under the doorway while her brothers and sister dived under a table.
The earthquake lasted for thirty seconds before finally, the houses stopped shaking.
A little later, as the sun appeared at the horizon, turning the sky dark pink, everyone gathered outside on the street. Only Chuckie was absent.
"Is everybody ok?" asked Stu.
"We're fine" said Chazz.
"Everyone's here" said Betty.
"There hardly seems to be any damage" said Charlotte.
"Hey!" said Kira, "where's Chuckie?"
"He must still be in the house!" said Chazz.
Kimi and Fifi were the first to run towards the house.
"Chuckie!" she cried.
Everyone else hurried to the house, trying to keep up with the frantic Japanese girl.
Kimi was the first to enter the house. Fifi entered behind her.
"Fifi, find Chuckie!" she said.
Fifi began to sniff the floor as she searched for Chuckie. Soon everyone else began to search the house.
Several minutes later...
"He's not in his room!" said Kira.
"He's not in the living room!" said Howard.
"Where can he be?" asked Chazz.
Kimi started crying.
"Kimi don't cry" said Chazz gently. "We'll find Chuckie sooner or later."
Fifi started barking.
"I think she's found something!" said Didi.
Kimi was the first to enter the kitchen. Fifi was barking near the table.
Kimi got down on her knees and lifted up the table cloth.
Under the table, was Chuckie. He was sitting on the floor with his arms around his legs. He was shaking all over and speaking gibberish.
"I found Chuckie!" said Kimi.
Everyone gathered into the kitchen. Kimi helped her brother out from under the table.
"Chuckie you ok?" asked Kimi.
Chuckie was still shaking and speaking gibberish. No one cold understand him.
"He's going into shock!" said Lil.
"No, he's just scared" said Stu.
"Chuckie! Snap out of it!" said Kimi.
Chuckie finally stopped shaking.
"What happened?" he asked.
"We had an earthquake" said Stu. "Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be any damage at all!"
"Except for some broken dishes" said Didi.
"Well now, let's put all this behind us" said Drew.
Just then, everyone heard a radio broadcast.
"The earthquake that struck the state centering from the San Antonio fault measured 4.7 on the Richter Scale. The damage is not very serious although power is out throughout the southern part of the state."
"Oh dear" said Stu.
"And also, the school boards in the metro area each announced that school has been canceled for the rest of the week."
"Wow, no school!" said Phil. "I wish there was an earthquake everyday!"
"You wish!" said Tommy. "I like school!"
"Then why don't you live in it?" asked Dil.
"I would if I could" said Tommy.
"Now calm down everyone" said Stu. "This may not be over. There may be an aftershock later today. Also, since the water supply has probably been contaminated, we'll need to go to the store and buy several gallons of water. In a few minutes, we'll go and buy what we need."
"How do you feel Chuckie?" asked Kimi.
"I'm scared!" said Chuckie.
"You're always scared" said Angelica.
"But this time I'm really scared!"
"Get a hold of yourself Finster!" said Angelica, "you're a scaredy cat! You're afraid of everything!"
"You got that right" said Chuckie.
"Chuckie, I think you have a case of Castrophobia" said Stu.
"What's that?" asked Chuckie.
"It's when you live your life fearing that the worst could happen any minute."
"When did I get it?"
"I think during the earthquake."
"Well" said Kira as she opened the fridge, "at least Lily's cake is still intact."
"But the power could be out for days" said Stu.
"So what do we do now?" asked Angelica.
"Yeah" said Dil. "We're gonna get bored if we can't watch TV!"
"I'm gonna miss 'Teen Rage!'" said Angelica. "And if the power stays off for days, I'm gonna lose my temper!"
"Everything will be ok" said Chazz. "My sister-in-law, her husband, and my niece will be here in the afternoon. We'll all find something to do to pass the time."
"Well, I'm off to the store" said Stu. "I'm gonna go buy several gallons of water and some other supplies."
"We'll all go" said Chazz.
"Good idea!" said Howard.
"I think I'll just stay here where it's safe" said Chuckie.
"Oh Chuckie, don't be such a fraidy cat" said Angelica.
"You'll have fun Chuckie" said Kimi. "What could possibly go wrong?"
"Well" said Chuckie. "I guess you're right. How silly of me. What could possibly go wrong anyway?"
"Let's go!" said Stu. "To the cars!"
So they all drove off to the store. When they got there, they bought water, a lot of ice (to keep there food and water cool), and some other thing they thought they might need. Then they got in the car again and started back.
On the way, they heard a rumbling and felt the earth shaking.
"Everybody out of the car!" Stu cried, "It's an aftershock!"
Everyone scrambled out of the car. Stu lead them to the side of the road. Then
he did a head count.
"Someone's missing!" he exclaimed. The friends looked around.
"Where is Chuckie?!" cried Kira.
Then they heard a cry from inside the car. Chuckie! Kimi jumped up and ran
to the violently shaking car.
"Kimi! Come back!" cried Kira, running after her.
Kimi pried the door open. She crawled into the car. There she found Chuckie,
cowering under his seat. He had a small cut on his leg from a piece of glass
from the window. Kimi helped Chuckie out of the car. As soon as they were out,
a huge jug of water rolled under the seat and crashed against the wall, turning
the car on its side. When the earthquake was over, everyone ran to what was
left of the car.
"All the water spilt!" cried Angelica, "And the ice too!"
The water had poured out of the large jugs, and the ice was scattered, melting,
all over the road.
"My car is ruined!" Stu screamed.
So they walked back home. In the Finster's house, the refrigerator had fallen
down. Chuckie lified the fridge back up and opened the door. Inside, the cake
remained almost entirely untouched.
"It's a miracle!" he thought to himself.
This earthquake had done quite a bit more damage than the other. Many of the
windows were broken. Chairs and tables were knocked down and broken. Picture
frames and painting were smashed. Kimi's picture of her father remained intact,
as it had landed on her soft bed. Kimi was glad to see it wasn't broken or torn.
Spike, Fifi, Fluffy and Chowder were fine, just very scared. So the families
grabbed another car and drove back down to the store. They bought everything
they needed and drove back home.
This time there wasn't another earthquake.
An hour after their visit to the store, the rugrats were putting together a
puzzle. Angelica was listening to one of her CD's and complaining to herself
about 'Why did my newest one have to be broken!?'.
"I'm bored," said Lil.
"Teen Rage would be on right about now," said Kimi. Angelica had taken
off her head phones and ran suddenly to her house. She came back carrying a
small TV.
"Why didn't I think of the before?!" she exclaimed, "I've had
this battery powered TV since I was three or four!"
The rugrats dropped the puzzle and crowded around the TV. At first it wouldn't
work. Then Angelica gave it a good whack and a black and white picture appeared.
Angelica changed it to the channel Teen Rage was on. Over an on-screen slide
saying "Programming Change", an announcer came on saying:
"A new episode of 'Teen Rage', originally scheduled for this time, will
not be seen due to technical difficulties at the producers' studio, caused by
the recent earthquake. Please stay tuned for a 'Teen Rage' classic from 1977."
Then on TV, then-host Dave Hull, the legendary "Hullabalooer", introduced the show:
"Hello, I'm Dave Hull, and welcome to Teen Rage, America's favorite teen rock program. Joining me as co-host this week is a former dance-show host himself from Canada. You know him these days as the host of 'High Rollers' -- Alex Trebek. And this week, we'll be staying alive with the Bee Gees; boogie to the latest disco group, 'Many Moon Come A Niner'; and the super funky sounds of 'Lucky Sevennnnnnnnaaah'. And later, we'll talk with America's hippest square -- Paul Lynde from 'The Hollywood Squares'. Plus, our regular 'Rate-A-Disc' and 'Teen Rage Scramble' features. All this, and more, when Teen Rage rages on... right after this."
The kids groaned.
"Now what are we supposed to do?"
"I guess let's work on that puzzle some more," said Dil, disappointed.
Stu walked into the room.
"What's wrong with a rerun?" asked Stu. "Heck I'll watch it. I've been watching 'Teen Rage' ever since I was your age."
"Dad," Tommy replied. "You don't understand. We don't remember the music very well."
"I know," said Stu, "but 'Teen Rage' is the exact same show, except it was shown before you were born. I remember watching 'Teen Rage' back to back with 'Dance Fever' every Saturday."
Later on, the Rugrats were watching the news. The lead story, of course, had been the earthquake.
The anchor said, "the power will be out in some parts of our viewing area for the rest of the week. We can expect more aftershocks in the next few days. Most of these in the next few days will be minor, although others will be massive like the one recently this morning. So keep plenty of ice and water and keep your senses sharp!"
"What's today?" asked Dil.
"It's Tuesday" said Tommy. "Only five days left this week."
"This is the worst week of my life!" said Phil. "No TV and no music is going to make me go crazy!"
"But at least there's no school" said Kimi.
"Thank Bob!" said Phil.
"That's God!" said Kimi.
"And I'm gonna miss all-new episodes of 'Teen Rage'!" said Angelica. "And soon, I'm going to have some Teen Rage myself!"
"Relax guys" said Tommy. "It's all a natural thing."
"What do you mean?" asked Chuckie.
"Chuckie, don't you and the rest of the guys pay attention in Miss Guppy's class?" asked Tommy. "The earth is made up of many plates on its surface, and I don't mean the plates that Phil and Lil used to break when they were babies!"
"Those were the days" said Lil.
"The plates are always pushing together" said Tommy. "When the pressure becomes too much, the plates slide away. An earthquake is the result."
"An earthquake could never strike twice in the same place" said Angelica.
"That's lightning" corrected Tommy.
"Tommy, the day another earthquake hits this town is the day the Earth starts revolving around the sun!" said Angelica.
"Which explains the `F' you got on your science report" said Kimi. (rimshot)
"It won't be all that bad" said Tommy. "Within one week, all this will be over and we can get back to living a normal life. And let's not forget that Chuckie's cousin is coming tomorrow for her birthday this Friday."
"If the house is still standing" said Kimi.
The kids went back to doing their jig-saw puzzle. Dil placed a piece into an empty space.
"That piece doesn't go there" said Tommy.
Dil slammed the piece into place. "Yes it does."
"Now the man's eye is in his nose" said Lil.
"Now he can see what he's smelling!" said Dil. (rimshot)
"Oh brother" said Angelica. "This is going to be a long week!"
A little later, the grownups had the refrigerator upright again. Kira replaced Lilly's cake in the fridge while the men began to put the water and ice inside.
"That should do it" said Stu. "This should keep our food nice and cold until the power comes on, unless it all melts and we have to buy more."
"Don't forget your car Stu" said Drew, "I hope you have insurance."
"I do" said Stu. "As soon as I can, I'm going to get the insurance money and buy a new car!"
"If the earthquake hasn't destroyed them all" said Chazz.
Stu went over to the tap. "Now to wash my hands" he said as he turned it on.
To his horror, the water was brown.
"I was right!" he said. "The water is contamintated. Good thing we bought plenty of water and ice!"
Didi filled a small bucket with water and soap. "We'll all wash our hands in here" she said.
The men washed their hands and dried them off on a towel.
"What am I supposed to cook for dinner?" asked Kira. "I can't use the oven or the microwave without electricity!"
"We'll have to go out for dinner then" said Stu. "Along with supper for the rest of the week. Any suggestions?"
Tommy replied How about we eat at that new Ohio Fried Chicken place across from the Mall?
Yeah! cheered everyone else
Just then everyone piled into Didi's van and went to Ohio Fried Chicken.
The Rugrats ordered a 16 piece Buffalo Wing Basket with Southwestern Sauce and Blue Cheese Dressing.
After dinner the Rugrats played Video Games.
When everyone got home they went to bed
The next afternoon, Kimi decided to watch The Teen Rage rerun, which is being seen, as it was announced that the show won't return into production until next week. The repeat was from 1984 and her father grew up watching Teen Rage in the 1980s while his parents were working at the French Embassy in Washington.
Just then, then-host Rick Dees introduced the show.
"Hi, I'm Rick Dees, and welcome to 'Teen Rage', America's favorite teen rock program. Joining me as co-host is MTV's popular VJ, Martha Quinn. This week we will have the latest from Duran Duran and Wham! Also our usual Rate-a-Disc and Teen Rage Scramble, plus a new game that I think you'll like, Video Rage! All this and more when Teen Rage rages on, right after this."
Kimi said, "Why don't you guys watch the Teen Rage rerun with me? it is not that bad, I mean your parents grew up in the 1980s."
The other Rugrats, already bored out of their skulls, decided to watch.
And then, it's dinner time. With the power in their neighborhood still out, everyone planned to eat out at a restaurant again. However, Chazz has a better idea.
He took out of the freezer some hot dogs which were nearly thawed out.
"Let's have a cookout!" he said.
"Yes!" said Stu. "We got plenty of hot dogs for lunch, hamburgers for dinner, and bacon and eggs for breakfast. We'll roast the food over an open fire, just like they do in the good old days!"
"I think it's a good idea!" said Howard, "it would cost alot less than eating at a restaurant every day."
"Kids!" called Stu, "we're having a cookout!"
The kids reacted with excitement.
At dinner time, Stu gathered up some rocks and put them in a circle. He piled up some firewood and some crumpled up newspaper. Then he lit a match and started the fire.
As the kids began to roast their hot dogs, Didi and Kira buttered some buns, while Howard and Betty got the ketchup, mustard, and relish.
When the kids finished roasting their hotdogs, they gave them to Didi and Kira who placed them in buns. Then Howard and Betty gave them mustard, ketchup and relish.
The grownups soon began to roast hotdogs with their children.
"This is the life!" said Stu. "I guess you don't need electricity to have a good time."
"What if it rains?" asked Didi.
"On a day like this?" asked Stu. "Nonsense! There isn't a cloud in the sky!"
They had a wonderful meal. After lunch, they spend the rest of the afternoon playing in the yard. They also played Monopoly and Yahtzee, and even went to the park.
At supper time, Stu fired up the grill and cooked some hamburgers. It was a wonderful supper. They all couldn't wait to do it again.
That night, everyone went home to prepare for bed. The power was still out, so they used flashlights and candles, remembering to blow out the candles before going to bed.
At the Finster house, Chuckie and Kimi undressed for bed and put on their pajamas.
"That wasn't so bad for our first day without electricity" said Kimi.
"You said it!" said Chuckie. "But don't you remember what the newsman said? More earthquakes would come in the days to come!"
"Chuckie, don't worry about it? What does he know?"
"Well, I guess you're right" said Chuckie. "What could go wrong?"
The siblings climbed into bed.
"Kimi, I almost forgot something."
"Yes Chuckie?"
"I want to thank you for saving my life today."
"Ahh, it was nothing Chuckie."
"Does this mean I have to be your slave?"
"Of course not!"
Chuckie breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Shortly after, Chuckie awoke. Kimi was sound asleep. Chuckie had a feeling that something was about to happen. He was afraid another earthquake would hit while he was asleep. So he got out of bed, put on his glasses took his pillow, bedsheet, and Wawa with him and went outside.
Since it was a clear starry night, the sky was like a great nightlight. He put his pillow on the ground and went to sleep on it.
Hours later, shortly before midnight, something happened.
The ground suddenly began to shake.
Chazz and Kira sat up.
"Another aftershock!" cried Chazz.
"This one is huge!" said Kira. "I don't think the house can take it!"
"Grab what needs to be saved!" cried Chazz as he bolted out of bed.
Kira bolted out of bed and threw open the closet. She grabbed a box containing mementoes of Kimi's natural father. Chazz grabbed his mementoes of Melinda.
Kira ran into the hall. "Chuckie! Kimi! Get out of the house now! Grab what needs to be saved!"
Kimi bolted out of bed. To her horror Chuckie wasn't in bed. Kimi assumed that he had already woken up. She grabbed her Superthing doll and the picture of her father before she bolted out of her room.
As Chazz called for Fifi, Kira opened the refridgerator and grabbed Lilly's cake. Then she ran out the back door with Chazz, Fifi, and Kimi behind her.
Throughout the neighborhood, everyone grabbed their most precious belongings and ran out of their homes.
Finally, the earthquake ended, about one minute after it had started. Chazz and Kira noticed that their house had collapsed to the ground. They were now homeless.
"Is everyone ok?" asked Stu.
"I think so" said Kira.
"I wish I could say the same for our house" said Chazz.
"I least we got what we treasured most" said Kira. "But I don't know where Lilly is going to stay when she and her family come tomorrow."
"It looks like your house was the only one that was destroyed" said Howard. "Our homes are damaged badly, but I'm sure we can have them repaired."
"I can speak for everyone when I say we've once again experienced Nature's Fury" said Chazz.
"Everyone except Chuckie!" cried Kimi. "Where's Chuckie?!"
Everyone was stunned.
"Maybe he didn't get out?!" said Drew.
Kimi raced over to the remains of her home. "No! I won't believe it!" she said. She began to throw pieces of her home aside.
"Kimi don't!" said Tommy.
Kimi contined to throw pieces of the house aside. Everyone joined her side.
"Kimi, there's nothing you can do" said Kira. "Chuckie's...gone."
Kimi's knees wobbled beneath her. "No!" she cried. She collapsed forth to her knees, crying.
Everyone felt very sad.
"First my first husband" sniffled Kira, "and now my stepson!"
Meanwhile, in the backyard Chuckie who had been awakened by the quake saw that his house was gone. His senses had been correct! Everything was silent, except for a slight wind and Kimi's wails.
He began to walk towards everyone.
"I'll never forget the way he was always scared" sniffled Tommy. "In fact, it was Chuckie himself who taught me to be brave!"
Lil was also very sad. She remembered a time when she almost lost the brother who she loved so much. It had been ten and a half years ago when they were all lost in the forest, when suddenly, lightning struck a tree and sent it crashing down. Chuckie and Lil thought that the tree had fallen on Phil. Lil had never been sadder in all her life, but then, out of nowhere (behind her), she heard her brother's voice. It was a joyful reunion.
Even Angelica was sad.
"I'll never forget the way I used tease him and call him a scardy cat!" she said sadly.
Suddenly everyone heard a voice behind them.
"Hey! What happened to our house?"
"Not now Chuckie" said Chazz, "we're..."
Suddenly, he stopped talking. Kimi stopped crying and stood up. Everyone turned around.
"It's ok, I'm fine!" said Chuckie. "I was out here the whole time!"
Kimi was so happy! She ran past everyone towards her big brother.
"Sorry I had you all worried..." Chuckie started.
The next thing Chuckie knew, he was on the ground, pinned under a hysterical Kimi.
"Chuckie, don't ever scare me like that again!" she said.
"I'm sorry Kimi" said Chuckie. "I had a feeling something would happen, so I slept our here."
"You had me so scared!" said Kimi.
"I thought you never get scared!"
"Chuckie I was scared today. I almost lost you three times! I thought I would lose my step-brother, just like I lost my dad!"
Kimi stood, allowing Chuckie to stand.
"How exactly worried were you?" asked Chuckie.
Kimi smiled. "Does this answer your question?"
To everyone's suprise, Kimi kissed him!
"I guess it does" said Chuckie.
After everyone joyfully reunited with Chuckie, Stu and Didi invited the Finsters to stay at their home, until their home was rebuilt. Chazz had insurance, so he could hire professionals to rebuild their house as soon as the earthquake week ended.
As everyone returned to bed, Stu set up some sleeping bags for Chazz, Kira, Chuckie, and Kimi. Chazz and Kira's sleeping bags were in the room where Stu and Didi slept, while Kimi and Chuckie would sleep in Tommy and Dil's room.
Tommy turned on his battery operated lantern down low and put it on the dresser.
"Let's go to sleep now guys" he said.
As they climbed into their beds, the ground began to shake again.
"Oh no! Another aftershock!" said Tommy. Everybody get under the doorway!"
As Tommy, Dil, and Kimi ran towards the doorway, Chuckie ran over to Tommy's bed. "I'll be safer in here!" he said.
Just as he was about to climb into bed, the globe on top of Tommy's bedstand collapsed onto the pillow. One second after, the earthquake ended.
Fortunately, this quake was not even half as powerful as the previous one.
As Tommy, Dil, and Kimi walked out from under the doorway, Chuckie stood by Tommy's bed, his mouth twisted in shock.
"Just one more second and I would have had the weight of the world on my head" he said.
"Chuckie, that's a globe!" said Tommy. "And it's made of plastic. It wouldn't have hurt you!"
"Guys, you don't understand" said Chuckie. "This is a sign. No matter what we do, in the end, this planet is going to get us!"
"Chuckie, you're over-reacting!" said Kimi.
Chuckie soon realized that Stu was right. He did have Castrophobia. He feared that the worst could happen at anytime.
"What's gonna happen to me?" he asked. "What if I spend the rest of my life like this?"
"Chuckie, everything will be ok" said Kimi. "Tomorrow afternoon, your cousin will be here. Tomorrow morning, Tommy's dad will be making us breakfast over an open fire."
Chuckie however did not seem to hear a word she had said.
"This is going to be a long week!" said Dil.
The next morning, the kids awoke and went outside. Stu was frying bacon and eggs over an open fire. As the kids dished up and ate their breakfast, Stu cooked up some sausages which the kids also ate.
Chuckie and Kimi couldn't get to sleep last night at all. Now that they had
no house, they were depressed. Stu was still upset about his car, but today,
he was going to use his insurance to buy a new car. Also, Kira and Chazz were
starting to recover what they didn't salvage from the remains of their house.
They found Chazz's encyclopedias, Chuckie's baby toys, Kimi's aerobics tapes, and Kira's pots and pans. Chazz was going to get his insurance and use the money to rebuild his home after the week had ended.
After breakfast, Stu went over to his insurance company and got his insurance money. Chazz got his insurance money too. Then Stu went out and bought a new car. It was almost similiar to his other car, only it was red.
Stu drove home in his new car and parked it in his garage.
Back inside, the kids were playing games. Angelica and Kimi were playing Go Fish; Phil, Lil, Tommy, and Chuckie were playing Monopoly. Dil was outside, playing with Spike.
"Do you have any...kings?" Angelica asked Kimi.
"No, go fish" said Kimi.
Angelica drew another card.
"Do you have any threes?" asked Kimi.
"No, go fish" said Angelica.
The kids continued to play their games for the rest of the morning and into the start of the afternoon. They started playing checkers.
Just then, a red van drove up outside the house.
Chazz and Kira went out to meet the newcomers. Chazz's sister-inlaw Isabelle and her husband Peter shared their greetings. Their daughter Lily was getting her bags out of the back of the van. Lily had short blonde hair and was wearing a pink sleeveless shirt, pink shorts, and pink shoes. She would be turning 17 in a few days.
"Uncle Chazz, what happened to your house?" asked Lily.
"It collapsed in last night's earthquake" said Chazz. "I'm going to have it repaired when the week is over. But for now, come on in and meet your cousin and all his friends."
Just then the Rugrats saw a helicopter land in the backyard.
It was Pierre and Anita.
"Hello there," Kimi greeted Pierre.
"Hello Grandpa and Grandma," replied Kimi.
"What's with that plane in the backyard?", asked Kimi.
"Well," replied Anita, "we are going back to Paris until the earthquake blows over."
"Where's your mother?" asked Pierre.
"She's inside." replied Kimi.
Just then, Kimi ushered Anita and Pierre to the Pickles' living room. Kira was siting on the couch sewing.
"Kerima!" greeted Anita. "What happened to your house?"
"It got hit by the earthquake," replied Kira.
"I am very sorry," replied Anita. "You could stay over at our house, but we are going back to France until the Earthquake blows over. We will be staying there with our friends."
"Here is our phone number down there If you need to reach us," Pierre told Kira as he handed her a piece of paper. "Remember to call us when the Earthquake blows over. As for you Kimi... If you want to get in touch with us, your mother has the phone number."
Kimi hugged them both.
Kimi followed the two outside to the backyard.
The Rugrats waved at them as they got into the chopper and took off.
Kimi & Lily went back inside the house, as it was time for "Teen Rage", or rather, another "Teen Rage" classic. Lili watched along, as she was a big fan of 80s music.
The rerun was from 1982 and was hosted by Rick Dees.
"Hello I'm Rick Dees and welcome to Teen Rage, America's favorite teen rock program Joining me as co-host this week is the host of American Bandstand and America's oldest teenager, Dick Clark. Plus, we will have the latest from John Cougar, The Alan Parsons Project, and Men at Work, plus Rate-A-Disc and Teen Rage Scramble. All this and more when Teen Rage rages on, right after this!"
After the break, "Teen Rage" returned.
"Welcome back. Please welcome our co-host; he is America's oldest teenager and the host of American Bandstand, which will be celebrating its 25th year this fall on ABC. And also this fall, he'll host a new version of another American favorite -- The New $25,000 Pyramid on CBS. Please give a warm Teen Rage welcome to Dick Clark!"
There was applause.
"Hello, Dick", Rick greeted.
"Well, hello Rick," greeted Dick.
Rick: "Now I see that you are going to host a new game show this fall; is that correct?"
Dick: "It sure is. The New $25,000 Pyramid will premiere on September 20 on most CBS stations at 10AM Eastern, 9 Central, and those of you who are not familiar with the game should know that it's a word-association game with two teams of contestants and celebrities. Everyone tune in!"
Rick: "What about the old $25,000 Pyramid?"
Dick: "The one with Bill Cullen? That's also the great show. It's no longer in production, but some of you can still watch it in your area; check local listings."
Rick: "Wasn't there a higher-stakes $50,000 Pyramid that you hosted last year?"
Dick: "Yes there was, but unfortunately, it didn't do well. I don't know if it was the bad time slots or the lower winner's circle cash amounts, or even the countdown clock that counts up. But I think it was the great show, quality-wise."
Rick: "The Pyramid was long-associated with ABC, the same network that shows Bandstand. Wasn't it on CBS before?"
Dick: "Yes; during its first season, in 1973, CBS has shown the first version, The $10,000 Pyramid, but unfortunately, they felt that it didn't bring in good ratings, so they cancelled it. But, CBS's loss was ABC's gain; they picked up the show, where it enjoyed a good 5-year run."
Rick: "How about a game of Pyramid?"
Dick: "We don't have time for that Rick, we have to introduce our first guest -- here performing his hit ballad, 'Jack & Diane', here's John Cougar!"
There was applause.
Just then there was an interruption.
The announcer said, "We interrupt this program for an Action Eyewitness Newscenter special report."
"Man!" Kimi exclaimed. "I want to watch my show!"
To Be Continued
| Back To Rugrats Fan Fiction | Back To Main Rugrats Page |