September 5, 1925
3:00 PM PST

After Steve and Lou had decided to go home, Marty then looked around to see if he could find Arthur McFly and Harold Collins. Marty had never taken Grandpa Arthur to be a troublemaker - unless he had the same problem that Marty used to have, where he let people goad him into doing foolish things by calling him names like 'chicken'.

Marty then found Arthur and Harold by the cotton candy stand. After ordering some cotton candy for himself, he decided to sit by them at the picnic table and say 'hi'.

'Well, hello, there,' Marty said, in a friendly voice. 'How are you doing?'

'Uh, hello yourself,' said Harold. 'My name is Harry Collins. Who are you?'

'My name is Huey Lewis,' replied Marty. 'It's nice to meet you, Harry.'

'I'm Artie,' Arthur said, quietly. 'Say, I saw you with Steve and Lou a little earlier today. Can I ask what you were doing with them? I mean, how do you know them?'

'Oh, I just met them at the ferris wheel,' explained Marty, 'when they were putting us into groups of three. Otherwise, I never met them before today.'

'Well, I'm surprised you still wanted to see us,' Artie said, blushing. 'I thought for sure they would have turned you against us. We're not exactly on the friendliest of terms with them, you know. Even though we did use to be friends with them.'

'Actually, yeah,' Marty replied, 'they didn't exactly paint a very good image of you guys. In fact, they called you 'backstabbers'. Can I ask what happened between you guys? I felt I should give you a chance to tell your side of the story, as it's only fair.'

'Yeah, sure, I might as well,' replied Artie. 'This actually happened two years ago. You see, I was invited to join this elite club, and I quickly jumped at the opportunity.'

'Then what happened?' Marty asked, concerned. 'They became jealous of you?'

'Well, that's what I told myself,' Artie said, sighing. 'The thing is, I was told that I had to do three pledge tasks in order to join the club. I feel so ashamed of it, now - but what I ended up doing was really mean. I really regret my actions, now.'

'How do you mean?' asked Marty. 'Did your pledging involve playing some pranks on your friends, and they just happened to not be very good sports about it?'

'No, they weren't pranks,' Artie said, shaking his head. 'Actually, what I did was very mean. Steve had showed the rest of us where he hid his liquor, and he had sworn us to secrecy. One of my pledge tasks involved reporting him to the police - so, as a result, he was in jail for a few days. Then his parents got very mad at him. So he never spoke to me again. I can't really blame him at all.'

'Well, it's not like you framed him, right?' Marty asked, gently. 'I mean, he was hiding liquor - so he was doing something that was illegal. So it's not like he's innocent.'

'Yeah, well, that is true,' Artie said, slowly, 'but, the thing is, neither am I. We used to always hang out in his hiding spot and drink with him. So I was just as guilty.'

'Oh, I see,' Marty said, quietly. 'So, is that all that happened - or is there more?'

'Unfortunately, there was more,' Artie said, sadly. 'At the time, Lou was friends with a girl named Hilda - and they often studied together. Another one of my pledge tasks was to write a very gushy love letter to Hilda, and sign it with Lou's name.'

Marty bit his lip, to keep from laughing. He could certainly see the humour in that situation, but it was obviously a rather troubling memory for Arthur.

'Hilda got very mad at him,' Artie continued, 'and she told him to never talk to her again. She also handed the letter to him, and told him to keep 'that stupid letter'. It was then that he recognized my handwriting, and he knew that I wrote it.'

'Oh, boy,' Marty said, stunned. 'So those were two of your pledge tasks - and you said there were three of them? Did the third one, by any chance, involve Harry?'

'Yeah, it did,' Artie said, blushing. 'I was supposed to call him some very nasty names, in front of everyone. I'm amazed that he, at least, forgave me.'

'Well, I don't believe in holding grudges,' Harry said, gently. 'Besides, to be honest, I maybe would have done the same thing - had I been in your situation.'

'So are you still in the club?' asked Marty, with concern. 'I mean, it doesn't exactly sound like a club I would want to be a part of. They did sound pretty mean.'

'I never was in the club,' Artie said, shaking his head. 'You see, the two people who were having me pledge to get in - were pledging themselves. Their pledge involved convincing an unpopular student, that he was pledging for an elite club. You can probably guess who the unpopular student was. It was none other than me'

'Oh, Artie, I'm so sorry,' Marty said, as he placed his hand on his grandfather's shoulder.

'Well, I realize now how foolish I was,' Artie said, blushing. 'I was so determined to become popular, and be accepted - that I ended up stabbing my friends in the back. I take full responsibility for what I have done, and I realize now how meaningless being popular is. Instead, I ended up losing two very good friends - and I don't blame them at all for not forgiving me. I guess all I can do now is move on.'

'Well, nobody is perfect, y'know,' Marty said, softly. 'We all do foolish things, from time to time. Our imperfections are what makes us human. So I can relate.'

'So, you still want to be our friend - even after everything I told you?' Artie asked, amazed. 'Let's go on the ferris wheel then, shall we? So, are you new in town?'

'Actually, no, I'm just staying here for a week or so,' replied Marty. 'My doc, er, uncle and I are here to visit some relatives. We're actually from San Francisco.'

'Oh, yeah, I've been to San Francisco a few times,' Harry said, nodding. 'It's a nice city, but I like it better here in Hill Valley. It's a nice small town here.'

Then Marty followed Artie and Harry to the ferris wheel, as he was pondering over everything Artie had told him. To be honest, he could understand both sides of the situation. Perhaps, this was where Steven Strickland's grudge against the McFlys had come from. Even though he seemed to barely like anyone, he did seem to harbour a particular resentment against the McFlys - especially in the old timeline.