Back to the Future: Retold

Chapter 1: Late For School

October 25th, 1985. Hill Valley, California.

The early morning sun shown through the open door of the garage, a noise erupting as a key hit the concrete floor, echoing off the wall.

The door slammed shut.

"Hey, Doc! You in here?"

A young teenager named Marty McFly had emerged from the entrance.

Now, Marty was nothing more than your average seventeen year old from the town of Hill Valley. And this certainly wasn't the first time he'd come to the Doc's place to find it vacant.

But maybe his dog Einstein was still here.

"Einstein! Come here, boy!" Marty called out, walking further into the garage.

"Woah!"

Suddenly, he slipped on a small pile of dog food, loosing his balance.

He fell into a stack of boxes, which all tumbled on top of him.

Marty quickly searched his way out of the mess.

"Hmm, guess nobody's here."

Then he noticed an amplifier in the middle of the garage.

Marty smiled. He had an idea.

He put in the plugs and turned the volume up to max, the hum vibrating the whole area.

He grabbed his guitar sitting beside the amplifier, plugging it in.

A confident smile came to Marty's face as he slowly got out the guitar pick, holding it up proudly, as if he were about to perform a big solo act.

In a flash, he strummed the guitar, but the sheer power of the overdrive was perhaps too much, even for Marty.

"YOW!" He exclaimed as the force sent him straight into the shelf against the garage door.

He sat there curled up in the floor, taking in what had just happened.

"Ok, maybe that was too much."

He jumped as the phone rang suddenly.

Marty scuffled out of the floor, taking the call.

"Hello, Doc?!" He yelled into the receiver, his head still ringing.

"Marty, my boy! Is that you?" He heard Doc's voice on the other line.

"Yeah, yeah!" Marty shuffled around as he spoke, trying to avoid getting tangled up in the phone cord. "I, uh, was just coming to see you but I-"

"Listen to me, Marty! I need you to meet me at the Twin Pines Mall. 1:15 AM on the dot! Tell no one!" Doc said rather hurriedly.

"What?!"

"Also, Marty, I should warn you, don't hook up anything to the amplifier, there's a slight possibility of an overload."

Marty frowned, "Yeah, sure thing."

Suddenly, all the clocks on the wall went off.

"Oh, yes. All those clocks are part of an experiment of mine. They say the time now is 8:00, however you'll find that they are actually 25 minutes slow."

Marty's eyes widened.

"Wait a minute, Doc! Are you telling me that it's 8:25?!"

"Precisely!"

"Dang!"

He slammed the phone down.

"I'm late for school!"

(One Huey Lewis song montage later...)

Marty had barley made it to the entrance of Hill Valley High School when he was suddenly pulled into a bush.

"Hey! What the-"

"Shh, it's me, Marty."

"Oh, Jennifer! Uh, hey! What're you doing in here?"

"Strickland's looking for you." Jennifer said.

"Oh, so that's what this is all about. Don't worry, Jen, I've got a plan."

She crossed her arms, "Let me guess, you're big plan is just to sneak in, right?"

Marty took her hand, "Ok, maybe it's not that great of a plan, but it's better than nothing!"

The two quickly ran into the school building. When they got inside, the halls were empty.

"Ok, I think the coast is clear!" Marty whispered.

"Mister McFly! Miss Parker!"

Marty and Jennifer stopped in their tracks.

"Oh, man. We're in for it now."

The principal crossed his arms, "I heard that."

Without saying another word, he handed Marty and Jennifer two slips of paper.

"Four. That's how many times you've been late, McFly. Now what do you have to say for yourself."

Marty looked at Jennifer, who took a step back.

Great, I'm on my own now.

"Well, Principal Strickland, I have a very good explanation as to why I was late. You see, it's about my friend, Doc."

"Oh, I see! You've been spending too much time with that nutcase Doc Brown. I'm telling you, McFly, you should steer clear of him, he's nothing but trouble. And it's obvious that he's been affecting your functionality to get here on time."

Marty sunk down, slightly embarrassed.

"Yes, sir, I know. But if you would just let me explain-"

Strickland put up his hand, "I don't need to hear your excuses, McFly."

"Your family has always been a strange bunch, I must admit. Your farther, your brother and sister. And I'm certain your younger sister will surely follow in your footsteps. A bunch of slackers! That's what you McFly's are. You'll never amount to anything."

Marty had kept his gaze on the principal the whole time.

He narrowed his eyes, "Well, history has a way of changing."

Without another word, Marty turned and walked out of the hallway, Jennifer trailing behind him.

A few hours after school had let out, Marty and Jennifer started toward home.

"You've been awful quiet, Marty." Jennifer said, after a few minutes of silence.

Marty sighed, "I dunno, Jen. Guess I'm just thinking about what Strickland had said about my family, that's all."

"Oh, Marty. Don't take anything like that personal, ok?"

He turned to Jennifer, the light of the sunset practically shining on her.

"Remember what Doc always says, your future is what you make it."

Marty thought for a moment, "Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't let people like Strickland put me down!"

Jennifer smiled, "I'm sure things will turn out alright."

"Yeah."

Marty looked at his watch, "Oh, gosh! I gotta get home!"

He turned to leave, "Bye Jen, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Don't forget about our plans for Saturday! I'll call you later, ok?" Jennifer said as she waved goodbye.

Marty nodded, "Don't worry, I won't forget."

By the time Marty reached his house, he was out of breath from running so fast. As he started heading home, it suddenly occurred to him that he had forgotten something important and decided that he was in for it anyway, so he might as well get it over with.

He wasn't even at the top of the steps when he remembered: his little sister, Judy. He was supposed to take her to school today.

Oh man, am I in for it now!