There was only one thing to do. Marty slugged him all over again - smack in the jaw. Biff obligingly passed out. Marty just hoped not too many people in the crowd noticed that little maneouvre.
He quickly rolled the other teenager over, and lifted up his jacket. There was the Sports Almanac, still stuck into the waistband of Biffs pants. Marty pulled it free, rapidly flipping through the pages full of row after row of sports scores - just to make sure.
This was the real thing at last.
Marty sighed. It was good to have that over with. He stood up and turned to the crowd.
‘It’s OK, everybody,’ he said in a loud, calm, clear voice. ‘He’s gonna be fine.
The scrawny kid stared at Marty in suspicion.
‘Hey,’ he whined, ‘did you just take his wallet?’
Marty shook his head and pushed his way through the crowd. It was time to get out of here before anything else happened. He walked quickly back toward the school.
‘He just took this guy’s wallet!’ the scrawny guy yelled to the crowd. But nobody seemed to be listening. At least Marty hoped they weren’t.
He stepped back into the shadows and pulled out his walkie-talkie.
‘Yo, Doc!’ he called, holding up the Sports Almanac as if Doc Brown might be able to see it. ‘Success! I’ve got it!’
Doc’s voice replied:
‘Thank goodness! I’ll be on my way as soon as I reload Mr Fusion. I’ll pick you up on the roof of the gym!’
‘The roof of the gym!’ Marty replied. ‘Ten-four!’
He shoved the walkie-talkie in one jacket pocket, the Almanac in another. Now, to get to the top of the gym, and get this whole thing over with for good. Marty had to admit it; he’d be glad when all this was history.
He heard the song ‘Earth Angel' coming from the gym as he climbed the stairs. He remembered the dance band ~ the Starlighters. It had been fun to play with them that time - the last time he was here.
Marty realised there were three pairs of legs, male legs, coming down the stairs toward him.
He looked up, and saw Match, 3-D. and Skinhead coming his way.
Marty turned around and went the other way.
‘Hey!’ Skinhead yelled as Marty went from a walk to a run. ‘That was him! In disguise! He got out!’
‘The Calvin Klein creep?’ 3-D added. ‘How’d he change his clothes?'
But Match had a simple solution to all of this:
‘Let’s get him!’
Marty’s heart sank as he heard three pairs of shoes clumping heavily down the stairs after him.
Wouldn’t this be over - ever?
Chapter Nineteen
Marty ran into the gym again. He headed immediately for the shadows behind the refreshment table. The fewer people who saw him, the better!
He looked over at the stage and saw his other self, introducing ‘Johnny B. Goode’. Wow! He’d never seen himself perform before. He didn’t look bad, in the coat and tie and all, up there on stage. Now, if Marty could just get rid of Biff’s gang somehow, he could actually stand here for a minute and enjoy his act!
Biff’s boys came through the same door Marty had used. Marty ducked down behind the refreshment table. It was pretty dark, here in the comer. Maybe he could get rid of them, after all.
‘Look!’ 3-D said to the others. ‘How’d he get on stage?’