Biff shook the girlie magazine in his hand.
'I'm readin'.'
Marty continued to pivot away from the gang members as hey climbed the stairs past him.
Marty found himself looking back down at Biff. The burly teenager had stuck himself in a corner on the next landing, between the doorway to the high school annex and a chain link fence. Biff leaned against the fence and flipped through the magazine, grunting or snickering whenever he found anything particularly to his liking.
But, besides Biff’s laughter, Marty realised, there wasn’t a sound out here. His three buddies had gone back into the dance, to look for ‘Calvin’. Biff was all alone. And Marty could see the Almanac, shoved in the back of Biff’s pants.
Maybe it was time for Marty to make his move. He glanced around to see how many other kids were around - the fewer the better, Marty figured. This confrontation with Biff might get messy.
He stopped when he saw a yellow Packard pull into the parking area. That yellow Packard was very familiar. He pulled out his binoculars to get a closer look. Yep, there was Lorraine in the passenger seat, wearing that dress she’d bought earlier today. And he, Marty McFly, was driving. Marty was standing here, with the binoculars, watching himself. He was two places at one time.
Marty had to admit it.
‘This is getting strange,’ he whispered.
Strange or not, there was nobody else around this corner of the schoolyard at the moment. Marty might not get another opportunity as good as this. He had to get that book now.
He jumped from the landing, vaulting into the stairwell on the other side of the chain-link fence. His feet scraped the concrete as he landed. Biff glanced behind him. but Marty had crouched down low, in the shadows. Biff went back to his magazine.
Marty crept across the stairwell. The Almanac was in his reach. All he had to do was silently put out his hand and -
The doorway opened, and Mr Strickland stepped out.
'Well, well, Mr Tannen,’ Strickland remarked in that voice that always found you guilty until proven innocent, ‘how nice to see you here.’
Biff looked around at the newcomer, whipping the magazine behind his back in a single fluid motion.
‘Why, Mr Strickland, sir,’ Biff-the-soul-of-inno-cence replied. ‘Nice to see you here, sir.’
Strickland stuck his bald head right up against Biff’s surprised face.
‘Is that liquor I smell, Tannen?’
Biff shook his head, still as wide eyed as before.
‘I wouldn’t know, sir,’ he answered, slowly and patiently. ‘I don’t know what liquor smells like because I’m too young to drink it.*
Strickland stared at Biff with those trained vice-principal’s eyes, guaranteed to see into your soul.
‘I see. And what do we have -’
Quick as a cobra, Strickland reached behind the teenager and snatched the magazine from behind Biff’s back.
'- here?’ he finished triumphantly.
Marty started when he saw the cover in the vice-principal’s hands. Somehow, Strickland had grabbed hold of the Grey’s Sports Almanac!
’Sports statistics,’ Strickland muttered as he glanced at the cover. ’Interesting subject.’ He opened the book and casually flipped through the pages. He raised a single eyebrow as he looked back at Biff.
‘Homework, Tannen?’
Biff had obviously had enough of the vice-principal. He leered and shook his head.
‘No, it ain’t homework,’ he drawled, ‘ 'cause I ain’t at home.’
Strickland gave Biff one of his disciplinary shoves.