text: [Themes: Humor, science fiction, aliens, female protagonist, teenagers]
  
  > Look around
  Generations of garbage have been piled here in haphazard stacks, rusting and slowly sinking into the earth under the weight of tons of scrap. The only way out is to the east.
  
  McDillingfitty's "house", a rusting metal silo, stands empty, slowly falling apart under the weight of the ages.
  
  A goat is eyeing you hopefully.
  
  > Go east
  You're standing on Saguaro Road, in a part of town your mother doesn't like you going. A junkyard squats to the west, and to the east, an old barn has been painted black and blue and hung with a neon sign reading "The Beat Barn." A dirt road leads north to the drive-in, and Saguaro Road itself heads into town to the south and curves northeast into the woods.
  
  The goat trots after you.
  
  > Go east
  You knock politely on the barn door. It opens just wide enough for a man with a goatee and a beret to stick his pointy nose though. "Like, beat it, chicky," he says. "We're, like, closedville until tonight, you dig?" He shuts the door in your face.
  
  > Go northeast
  From here, the road plunges northeast into the sheer cliffs and curves gently southwest towards town. Twisted-looking pines frame the tunnel entrance itself, which is pitch black and smells moist and alive. Far above you, you can see the sleek modernist wedge of Minsystems Labs perched at the edge of the cliffs.
  
  The goat trots after you.
  
  > Go northeast
  Gosh, why? It's nearly a mile of damp, dark spookiness, and there's not much on the other side except cattle ranches, and eventually Albuquerque.
  
  > Go upwards
  What, straight up the cliffs? Better teen-agers than you have tried! Well, not so much better as deader.
  
  > go south
  The pavement here is filled with cracks and potholes, but the shop windows are neatly polished and more than one shabby building has been given a fresh, bright coat of paint. Yoshida Floral is on the east side of the street, and the sidewalk in front of it is scattered with petals. A faint sickly yellow glow is emanating from inside the shop. Saguaro Road runs north and south from here.
  
  Jenny Yoshida is sweeping up in front of her family's shop.
  
  The goat trots after you.
  
  > talk to Jenny
  [Picture number 3 here.]
  
  "Hi, Bonnie!" Jenny says brightly. "Thanks for stopping by. Are you on the way to the parade? Jeepers, Bons, you don't look too good. Is everything okay?
  
  1) "My boyfriend was just devoured by some kind of...of brain guzzling monster!"
  
  > 1
  ["My boyfriend was just devoured by some kind of...of brain
  guzzling monster!"]
  
  "Ha, ha, real funny, Bons."
  
  1) "No, really--this huge, hulking, slimy thing guzzled Jimmy's brain right in front of me!"
  
  > 1
  ["No, really--this huge, hulking, slimy thing guzzled Jimmy's
  brain right in front of me!"]
  
  "Well--um--if you say so." Jenny bites her lip. "Look, uh, if something bad happened to you, maybe you should tell the police about it. The station is just down the street, just turn left when you hit the parade."
  
  1) "Parade?"
  2) "I should get going."
  
  > 1
  ["Parade?"]
  
  "The Pine Nut Days parade, of course!" Jenny says. "Gosh, it's only about the biggest event of the year. Why, Mary Jane Minsky is Miss Canyonville Pine Nut Queen of 1959! How could you forget a thing like that?"
  
  1) "Oh, that's swell! I'm glad MJ won the pageant."
  2) "That airhead? Ugh, how embarrassing."
  
  > 1
  ["Oh, that's swell! I'm glad MJ won the pageant."]
  
  "Well, of course, isn't absolutely everybody? She makes such a pretty Queen, and she's so passionate about pine nuts and their many commercial uses!" Jenny sighs. "Gosh, I wish I could be there in the crowd, cheering for her!"
  
  1) "You and Mary Jane must be best friends."
  2) "So why AREN'T you at the parade?"
  3) "I should get going."
  
  > 2
  ["So why AREN'T you at the parade?"]
  
  "Don't you think I want to be?" Jenny says bitterly. "But it's my job to sweep up all these petals and trimmings, and Granny says I have to do my chores EVERY DAY, even if there's a parade. Plus she's worried someone will break in if I don't guard the place. Even though there's not even any merchandise!
  
  1) "You and Mary Jane must be best friends."
  2) "If there's no merchandise, what's that glowing in the store?"
  3) "I should get going."
  
  > 2
  ["If there's no merchandise, what's that glowing in the
  store?"]
  
  "Oh, that's just a little plant I'm growing from a seed I found in the woods. Well, it's still just a seed, so far, but, uh, any day now!"
  
  1) "You and Mary Jane must be best friends."
  2) "Can I take a look at your seed?"
  3) "I should get going."
  
  > 2
  ["Can I take a look at your seed?"]
  
  "Uh, Granny will pitch a fit if I let you in while we're supposed to be closed. Sorry!"
  
  1) "You and Mary Jane must be best friends."
  2) "So, still sweeping?"
  3) "Hey, Jenny, how about I find someone else to do this for you? Then you could go see the parade."
  4) "I should get going."
  
  > 3
  ["Hey, Jenny, how about I find someone else to do this for you?
  Then you could go see the parade."]
  
  Jenny smiles. "That would be wonderful! Who do you have in mind?"
  
  1) "I'll do it!"
  2) "I bet this goat is hungry enough to eat these clippings. He's a real rough customer, too!"
  
  > 2
  ["I bet this goat is hungry enough to eat these clippings. He's a
  real rough customer, too!"]
  
  "Wow, uh, you know, that could work!" Jenny is beaming ear to ear. She grabs you in a sudden hug. "Which means I can go to the parade now! Thank you, Bons! Thank you so much!"
  
  Jenny is practically skipping as she heads south toward the sounds of marching band music.
  
  The pavement here is filled with cracks and potholes, but the shop windows are neatly polished and more than one shabby building has been given a fresh, bright coat of paint. Yoshida Floral is on the east side of the street, and the sidewalk in front of it is scattered with petals. A faint sickly yellow glow is emanating from inside the shop. Saguaro Road runs north and south from here.
  
  A goat is here, happily chomping away at the trimmings.