Timothy Zonin High (known as the Time Zone) seems to be an unexceptional school populated by an assortment of offbeat personalities. Its key areas are the vice principal's office, where Mr. Rope, who almost has a sense of humor, holds court; the hallways, where characters inevitably meet, and which are seven rolling automobile tires wide; the back, where the "stoners" get stoned; the boys room where pizza is sold; and the detention room, not actually shown but always a lurking menace.

Nicole and Chase live next door to each other, where Nicole's mother and Chase's father can see each other through windows while chatting with each other on the phone. Chase's home undergoes mysterious changes where neatness intrudes on what had been disorder. The community seems fairly ordinary, with a suitable number of schools, two-story and ranch-style homes, and a good view of the night sky, where the...