Chapter 4

Thursday, October 14th, 1982

Hill Valley

11: 13 A. M.

Marty sighed as he entered the cafeteria. There came those looks again, the same looks he had seen Doc get on occasion. "Hell, let 'em look. I've got real friends. I don't need them." Pulling out his money, he headed for the lunch line.

Only to promptly collide with someone leaving it. They were both knocked over, food and money flying everywhere. Marty, extremely embarrassed, got up to help the other party. "Hey, I'm really sorry," he said, offering his hand.

"No, it's my fault," the other party, a girl, said. "I was so intent on my lunch that - I. . . ."

She slowly stopped. Marty stared at her, jaw slightly open. The kid he had knocked down was a beautiful teenage girl, with fluffy dark brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes. Even with pudding splattered all over her face, Marty thought she was wonderful.

Apparently the mystery girl thought the same, the way she was staring back at him. Her eyes were filled with warmth and happiness. "What's - what's your name?" she asked, looking a little flustered.

It took Marty a moment to remember it. "Marty," he finally chose. "Marty McFly. You?"

"Jennifer," she said after a moment. "Jennifer Parker." She blushed shyly. "I'm usually not this clumsy. I'm sorry for-"

"No, it's okay, I should have been lookin' where I was going." Marty gathered up his cash and her napkin. He gently wiped the pudding off her face and helped her up. "I think I've got enough for 2 lunches."

Jennifer smiled, and Marty's heart melted. "I hope so."

It was. They got 2 small lunches and sat at a table together. For a while, as they ate, they were content to gaze at each other adoringly. Then they started talking. It turned out Jennifer was a big history buff, liked Huey Lewis, and loved Marty's favorite movie, "An American Werewolf in London". They were reluctant to leave each other at the bell, but made plans to meet at the Burger King near Doc's house. After school they met up and skateboarded over, continuing their conversation from before. They were ecstatic they had managed to bump into each other, literally. Anyone watching them could tell it was love at first sight.

Jennifer sipped her soda, smiling at Marty. "I've never met a boy quite like you, Marty. Someone who likes Huey Lewis as much as I do and can make me laugh with no effort at all."

"Well, I've never met a girl quite like you, Jennifer," Marty said happily. "It's like it was fate that we would smack right into each other."

"Certainly a cute, movie-like meeting," Jennifer giggled.

Marty could feel his heart melting all over again. Jennifer could be the only girl for him. "Makes sense. You're cute. In fact, Jennifer, you're the sweetest, most wonderful girl I've ever met."

"And you're the kindest, most adorable boy I've ever met, Marty." She drew her straw up and down in the plastic lid. "I was wondering - do you want to get together with me sometime? Like tomorrow night for a movie or something?"

Marty lit up. She was asking him for a date! "Sure! Great! I'd love to!"

Jennifer smiled in her adorable way. "I was hoping you'd say that." She glanced at her watch. "Oh, wow, it's 3: 30! Time just flies when we're together. I've got to get home!" She got up hurriedly and stuck out her hand for Marty shake. "It was great meeting you, Marty."

Marty shook her hand. "It was great meeting you too, Jennifer."

Suddenly, on a whim, he leaned forward and kissed Jennifer on the cheek. Jennifer blushed with pleasure and returned it. Then she ran down the street and started for the Town Square on her skateboard. Humming happily, Marty went next door to Doc's.

Doc looked up as Marty floated in the door. "Well, this is an improvement from yesterday!" he said with a grin. "What happened to put you in such a salutary mood?"

"I met a girl," Marty sighed. "Jennifer Parker. An angel. A goddess."

Doc's smile grew. "That's certainly good news. Is that why you're late? I thought you might have more detention."

Marty shook his head, sitting down lightly. "She's fantastic, Doc. She likes skateboarding, Huey Lewis, horror movies, and she's got the best smile. . . ." He gazed dreamily into space for a moment, then turned back to Doc. "We've got a date for tomorrow night. We're going to the movies."

"Which movie?"

Marty frowned. "Shit, I forgot to ask her."

Doc chuckled. "Ah, young love. It's nice to see him so happy after yesterday." "You could always just both show up at the movie theater and decide from there."

"Nah, I'll give her a call. I'll have to look her up in the phone book. Can't let my mom know, though."

"Why not?"

Marty grimaced. "Mom doesn't like any girls I like. She thinks all girls today are sluts and boozers. To hear her tell it, every girl I know is sex-mad and is gonna end up in jail or something. It gets worse when she starts moralizing about her own girlhood. She says that she was a pure maiden, and stayed chaste until marriage."

"Well, there's some sense in that statement."

"Doc, my mom's definition of 'chaste' is standing on the same carpet!"

Doc had to laugh at that. "Okay, that is a little too far. If you need to, you can call her from my phone." He went back to the work he was doing. Marty described their lunch and snack at the Burger King to Doc, spacing out briefly whenever he mentioned something about his girl. Doc could tell he was already deeply in love, and from the description of their meeting, Jennifer was too. He felt a faint pang of jealousy that he put down sternly. "I should be happy for Marty. Not envying his luck in getting a girlfriend. You're too old to be acting so juvenile." He returned his attention to his teen friend. "Sounds like you 2 were meant for each other."

"I know. I've liked other girls before, but none of them were like Jennifer." Marty looked at Doc, suddenly curious. "You ever feel this way about a girl?"

Doc considered the question. "I don't think so. I fell in love a few times, but my love was never reciprocated. The girls that 'loved' me were more interested in my money. And the rest simply ignored me. So, the answer is no. I never loved like that because no one else loved me like that."

This was the first Marty had heard of Doc's childhood, and it depressed him a little. He got up and gave Doc a friendly pat. "It's not too late, Doc. Maybe you'll find someone now."

Doc seriously doubted that, but he appreciated Marty's effort to cheer him. He smiled at Marty, dismissing the memories that had come up when he had discussed his childhood. "I'm okay, kid. I'm really married to my work. And I'm glad you've found love."

Marty sighed again as his thoughts came back to Jennifer. "Boy, I can hardly wait until tomorrow night. Maybe I'll pick a scary movie so we can snuggle. I bet she's a great snuggler." He shook his head. "I gotta call her, Doc. Where's-"

Doc already had the phone book ready for him, open to the correct page. Marty looked at Doc strangely, then relaxed into a grin. Doc grinned back and pointed out a row of names. "There's 3 Parkers in here, so you'll have to guess who she lives with."

"I'll find her." Marty took the phone book and started dialing. The first number was wrong, but the 2nd yielded Jennifer's father, Robert. He was very polite, mentioning he was very happy Jennifer had found someone she could get his excited about. Marty gave Doc a thumbs-up as Jennifer got on the line. "Hello, Jennifer?"

"Marty! Hi. What's new?"

"It's about our date tomorrow, Jen."

Jennifer's voice fell. "You don't have to cancel, do you?"

"No, no! I wouldn't dream of cancelling! It's just that you wanted to go to the movies, right?"

"Sure."

"Which movie?"

There was a moment of silence. "I don't know," she finally laughed. "I automatically chose someplace for us to go. Are there any movies even playing?"

"I don't know. Hey, do-"

He blinked at the paper suddenly in his hand, then rolled his eyes at Doc. "Stop reading my mind!" he mouthed at Doc, playing innocent, then returned his attention to Jennifer. "There's Watch The Skies out, and A Boy's Life, and they're still playing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial."

"Oh, I've been meaning to see E.T. again," Jennifer said. "What are the times?"

"Yeah, I liked it too. It's at - 3: 30, 6:10, and 8: 45."

Jennifer briefly checked with her father. "The 3: 30 show," she decided. "My Grandma's coming over tomorrow, and I want to be around to say 'hi'. That okay with you?"

"Fine, perfect. I'll meet you after school, we can go to the Burger King, then catch the movie."

"Sounds like a plan to me. I'll see you tomorrow then, Marty." She sounded like she wanted to speed up time.

"That won't be soon enough for me," Marty said, sounding the same. "I'll see you tomorrow."

They lingered on the phone, listening to each other breathe, until Jennifer's dad made her get off. Marty hung up, that dopey smile back on his face. "Man, that girl is great. Even her breath sounds sexy. Thanks for letting me make the call, Doc."

Doc gave Marty a pat. "My pleasure, kid. She certainly sounds like a terrific girl. Here, I need some help with this part, and you need to figure out how to tell your mother about her."

Monday, October 17th, 1982

Hill Valley

6: 35 P. M.

Doc waved to Marty as the teen skated away, his smile covering up a very sad mood. As his new friend car-surfed out of sight, he fell into a chair, thinking hard. Marty and Jennifer had really hit it off the last few days, spending as much time as possible together. Doc understood that and was very happy for Marty. But he knew that, eventually, their new relationship would hit a very important speed bump.

Him.

Einstein padded up and begged for a head-scratching. Doc scratched his ears absently, still deep in thought. "He already had a brief falling-out with his own mother about me. And the kids at school regard him as dangerous for being around me. What's to say Jennifer's reaction would be a deviation from the norm? Will she refuse to be Marty's girlfriend when she finds out he works for me? Marty will be devastated, he really loves her."

He sighed, debated getting up, and decided to stay sitting. "You may as well admit the truth to yourself, Emmett. You think of that kid as a son. The family you always wanted and never had. You don't want his romance to end up like yours did. You want him to be happy, and not have to suffer the label of 'outcast'. I'm used to it by now, but I don't want Marty to get used to it."

He got up, went to his window, and looked out at his small yard. The grass needed cutting, he idly noted. "Damn, and we've become such good friends. We truly care about each other. I've never had someone care for me like that, especially after so short a time. I would do anything for that kid." He sighed again. "You know what you have to do, Emmett," he said aloud. For Marty to be happy with Jennifer, he could only do one thing.

He had to make Marty stop being his friend.