1:00 PM PST
Marty Sr felt nervous, as he left the hospital with his future son. He was supposed to pose as Calvin's son, Alex, and partake in a talent show. He really felt nervous about to having to learn to sing a new song in such a short period of time. He really couldn't help but feel worried that he might end up letting down his future son and nephew.
"Okay, uh, Dad," Marty Jr said, nervously, "the song's called On The Other Side. I sing the lead vocals for the verses, you sing the harmony, and we sing the chorus together in unison. It'll take a little bit of practice, but we do have until 2:30 PM."
"I'll see what I can do," replied Marty Sr. "I'm not that very good at singing harmony, but I might be able to manage. By the way, don't call me 'Dad'. It sure makes me feel rather funny - when I haven't even quite had you, yet. I guess, just call me 'Alex'. It is who I'm suppose be posing as - so, I guess, just think of me as a method actor."
"Okay, well, uh, Alex," Marty Jr stammered, "I guess you can just call me, uh, Marty. Anyway, why don't we stop by the Cafe '80s for a quick bite to eat? Here is the lyrics sheet, which you can study - while we're eating. Thank you so much for doing this!"
"You're quite welcome," Marty Sr replied, smiling. "Anyway, it's really sort of my fault for inconviencing you like this. I mean, I do one irresponsible act - and it just starts a chain reaction that creates trouble for quite a number of people. I feel pretty bad."
"Well, as Grandma Lorraine once said," Marty Jr pointed out, "we all make mistakes in life. Actually, she said that several times - but that's beside the point. You can't quite beat yourself up for every little mistake you make. Anyway, it's rather good that you take responsibility for your actions. It's a very admirable trait, if I quite must say so."
"You do have a good point," Marty Sr replied, as he smiled at his son. "It is fortunate that Doc does happen to have a time machine, and that we have advanced medicine in this era. It rather upsets me, to see how him quite injured." Tears came to Marty's eyes, as he added, "I really wish I had stood my ground more, and not let him..."
"You can't keep blaming youself, though," Marty Jr said, very gently. "I mean, you're not responsible for what other people do. Calvin himself chose to make that decision, and I hope he's learned from that incident. Otherwise, it could screw up our lives."
"Yeah, well, that's the thing," Marty Sr replied, as he began to cry. "The last time we came here, you were just different - and so was Alex. He was Calvin Jr then. It sure wasn't a very pretty sight. I just would like for us all to have a wonderful future!"
"Everything will be just fine, Dad," Marty Jr commented, as he placed his arm around his father. "Just try to think positively. Anyway, we just have to head over to Aaron Nelson's home. He's the bassist from our band, and I play lead guitar. We decided to call ourselves Machinehead. The name comes from an early album of Deep Purple's."
"That's sure cool," Marty Sr replied, admiringly. "So I'm guessing that Aaron would be the son of Zach Nelson?" As Marty Jr nodded, he added, "That's pretty cool that you ended up being best friends with my best friend. I must say that I'm happy for you."
"I'm actually closer to Andy Hopkins," Marty Jr explained. "The two of us have been best friends, ever since we were in preschool. The Nelsons spent some time outside Hill Valley, until Aaron was ten. We're sure pretty close friends right now, though."
"Jeez, I have so many questions I'd like to ask you right now," Marty Sr commented, sighing, "but I know how it's not good to know too much about your own destiny. I'd like to, at least, find out who Calvin ends up with. I guess I might, at least, take real comfort in knowing that I don't end up screwing up my own future this time around."
"Yeah, Doc did give me explicit instructions about that," Marty Jr replied. He looked at his watch, and then added, "I suddenly remembered, I just have to make a very brief stop by the music store - so we'll rather have to skip the Cafe '80s. The Nelsons might have a little bit of food, though. I really have to go pick up some new guitar picks."
oooooooooo
As the Martys stepped into the music store, Marty Sr felt rather nervous. He felt very tempted to see if he had any recording out, but he knew it was rather best to respect Doc's wishes. He was rather dismayed by the music he heard, which sure sounded like talking over music. The music, if you could even call it that, didn't have any melody.
"Just what is this sort of garbage?" Marty Sr blurted out, and then he felt bad. After all, this was probably the type of music that his son's generation listened to - and his son himself might like that music. "I'm, uh, sorry," Marty Sr stammered, "I meant..."
"That's okay," Marty Jr replied, gently. "You're absolutely right. This music is just garbage. I hate that my generation is expected to like this crappola. At times, I really wish I grew up back in the 1980s. I mean, your generation just had such cool music."
Marty Sr could hardly believe what he heard. Of course, it was real cool to know that his son liked the music from his generation - but he just couldn't help but think of how hardly anybody he knew liked '50s music. He did have a real certain appreciation for songs from that era, like Johnny B Goode - but he couldn't listen to it all the time.
"Welcome to the music store, boys," greeted a young man, who really looked familiar to him. "I don't exactly like this type of music, either - but the manager sure won't let me change it. My older brother, Billy, sometimes regrets leaving your father's band."
"You must be Bobby Winterson!" Marty Sr suddenly blurted out, before he could stop himself. He knew how Billy had a younger brother who also played the drums. It very much felt strange to think that the little boy he knew was now actually in his thirties.
"Well, of course!" Bobby exclaimed, as he burst out laughing. "Who else would I be? I am the same person as I always was before." After a pause, he added, "You must be nervous about the talent show. I sure wish I could be there, in order to see you boys perform. It's quite awesome how you wish to walk in your father's footsteps, Marty."
"Actually, that's why we came here," Marty Jr explained, nervously. "We just needed to pick up some new guitar picks, for the talent show in a few hours. By the way, you should maybe talk to your manager about all the gangsta rap. Not everyone from our generation listens to this garbage, and I would love to see rock make a comeback."
"Oh, I have just the perfect guitar picks for you," Bobby explained, real warmly. "I've really tried explaining to my manager about this, but he rather insists that it's just the best way to draw in our younger customers. Well, I guess it's his store - his rules."
"My Lit teacher gives me grief for liking '80s rock," Marty Jr said, sighing. "I guess she believes that it's abnormal for me to like music from my parents' generation. I'd simply love for her to fall into a ravine, much like schoolteacher Clayton did 130 years ago."
Marty Sr felt very stunned to discover that the story was a known legend, even thirty years later. He then realized that Clayton sure died in the same year he, his twin, and Doc had just visited. He wondered what might've happened, if Doc had saved Clayton from falling into the ravine - in a similar fashion to how he had rescued Clara Parker.
"Whoa! Don't you really think that's a little harsh?" Bobby asked, gently. "I remember feeling the same way about some of my teachers, back when I was in high school. At that time, I didn't realize just how disrespectful it was to poor Clayton. We sure don't know what he... or she... was like, but the schoolteacher may have been very nice."
"I guess I just didn't think of that," Marty Jr said, blushing. "This Clayton teacher may well have just ended up with a descendant who might be my girlfriend - had he or she lived. Of course, I really can't imagine being with anyone else but Stephanie Stebbs."
"Well, anyway," Bobby said, as he reached for a box, "here are some nice guitar picks for you - for only a hundred bucks. This might be a great deal for you. I'll just ring you up right away, and then you'll have to tell me how well you do at the talent show."
Marty Sr was stunned by how a hundred dollars for guitar picks could be considered a good deal. He then realized that the inflation from the last thirty years had sure been insanely high. It even costed 45 dollars to pick up a bottle of Pepsi at the Cafe '80s.
"Thanks very much for the encouragement, Bobby," Marty Jr replied, as he placed his thumb on the pad. "This might just be our one chance to get people to recognize us. I love my father very dearly, but being compared to him so much could place quite a lot of pressure on you. If I ever become famous, I might change my name to Norman."
"I do have a lot of confidence in you, Marty," commented Bobby. "I thought it was so awesome, how your father became famous. It was more awesome, though, when he chose to end his career - so that he could actually spend more time with his family."
"Yeah, take care, Bobby," Marty Sr called out, as he could hardly believe what he just heard. Turning to his son, he added, "I sure become a famous rock star? Also, what is this you've said about wanting to change your name to Norman? What's with that?"
"You weren't supposed to find that out," Marty Jr said, blushing. "It's quite my luck he should bring that up. Anyway, I don't mind being Marty. Mom said that she wanted to name me Norman, after her grandfather. It's really just to tell the two of us apart."