btothef:

Pages 187-188

Lorraine asks Marty to go to the dance with him!  These two pages get taken care of real quick in the movie:

MARTY: Wow, you mean… nobody’s asked you?
LORRAINE: No.  Not yet.
MARTY: What about George?
LORRAINE [slowly advancing on Marty]: George McFly? Oh, he’s kinda cute and all, but, well, I think a man should be strong, so he could stand up for himself… and protect the woman he loves.

[Marty and Doc look at each other]

LORRAINE: Don’t you?
MARTY [reluctantly]: …Yeah. 

Then it cuts to George and Marty talking about how Marty’s now taking her to the dance.  Pretty tight!  We realize that Marty’s been put into a tight spot and can’t really say no to her, and fill in all the blanks ourselves.

But what if - what if we didn’t WANT to fill in those blanks?  WHAT IF we wanted every single detail about this exchange?  WHAT IF okay hah hah I’ll stop teasing YES OF COURSE the book describes this scene with lots and lots of words!  

It begins as Lorraine asks Marty to the dance and Marty clears this throat nervously and glances down at his feet (which foot?  His right foot!  YES OF COURSE IT’S SPECIFIED.)  Then most of the next two pages is taken up with Marty and Lorraine back and forth on why he can’t go to the dance which I will now summarize as briefly as possible but guys it’s pretty hard:

• Marty says he can’t go because he twisted his ankle running
• Lorraine says he walked home fine
• Marty says yeah but it’ll be bad tomorrow and he’ll be in bed for a week
• Lorraine says she doesn’t believe him and STARTS TO CRY (??)
• Marty says okay okay really he’s just a lousy dancer
• Lorraine says they don’t have to dance but anyone who has Marty’s skate moves must be good with his feet
• Marty mentally agrees that yep, he’s awesome 
• Marty suggests she go George instead
• Lorraine says she knew he’d say that
• Marty says that’s good because there’s chemistry between them
• Lorraine says she feels more chemistry with him and besides she already turned George down
• Marty demands “You did what?” and asks if she knows how much courage that took George, it was like sky-diving or getting into the ring with Muhammad Ali
• Lorraine doesn’t know who that is
• Doc says “Rocky Marciano” (sports!)
• Lorraine says she can’t worry about that, that George isn’t her type and FINALLY she gets to the “I think a man should be strong and protect the woman he loves” line and asks Marty, “Don’t you?”
• “Don’t I what?” says Marty, extending this out even longer (Marty are you doing this on purpose)
• Lorraine gets mad and demands a yes or no answer and it’d better be yes because if Marty doesn’t take her to the dance NOBODY WILL
• Doc says “looks like she really wants to go with you, boy” (??)
• Marty says yes
• WHEW we’re done!!

This version DOES make it clear that taking Lorraine is his only choice, but it’s not really needed: I don’t think anyone watched the movie and thought “Oh man secretly Marty wants to take Lorraine!” and the gentle pressure of Movie Lorraine is way more effective (and better for the character, keeping her sweet but determined!) than her outright emotional manipulation here, what with the crying and the ultimatums.

The page ends with Marty saying “Oh God, now I have to convince my father to go stag” and Doc saying maybe he can take someone else, and Marty says “Doc, you may be a genius with flux capacitors and electricity and space-time continuums, but when you say I have to find another gal for that nerd at this late date, you’re really asking the impossible.” and hah hah yep, Book Marty’s still calling his dad a nerd every chance he gets!