Part One (633 KB) - Whoa is (Not)

Curious, Frank walked over to the sofa and placed a hand on it.
The effect was immediate. Eddie’s murmuring stopped… and then he leapt up at Frank. “GET YOUR
HANDS OFF MY SOFA!” he shrieked.
Frank raised an eyebrow. He didn’t scare easily.
Eddie went into hysterics, fitfully flying about and yelling incoherently at Frank.
“I told you, he’s a little particular about that couch,” Bob said.
“IT’S A SOFA!” Eddie yelled, frothing at the mouth and spitting as he spoke.
Frank finally removed his hand, wiping bits of ectoplasmic spit off his face. “Hey, calm down,” he said.
Eddie whipped out a ghostly cloth and aerosol can from a pocket and proceeded to painstakingly clean
the area of the sofa that had come into contact with Frank’s hand.
Frank tentatively reached out a finger and touched another part of the sofa. Eddie rewarded him by
bashing the aerosol can against Frank’s head.
Frank winced. “Nice guy,” he said to Bob, then strolled out of the room.
“He’ll calm down after a while,” Bob assured him, following him out. “He’s not always like that. Just
don’t touch his couch.”
“IT’S A SOFA!” came Eddie’s loud retort.
The aerosol can flew whizzing out of the doorway and hit Bob squarely on the head.
“Ow,” he said, and collapsed in an ectoplasmic heap on the floor.
“How long has Eddie been here” Frank asked when Bob had picked himself off the ground.
Bob shrugged. “He was here before I moved in. All the other haunted houses were occupied, and I
didn’t like living in a house full of living people who screamed whenever I picked up something or moved
about. This place is big, and Eddie never knew I was here until quite late. He was too obsessed with
his couch to notice me.”
“IT’S A SOFA!” came Eddie’s angry shout. A damp cloth flew out the doorway and fhwapped Bob on
the head.
“He’s got a good aim,” Frank observed. 4
Chapter Eleven
14 th December 1985, Saturday
Hill Valley, California
“These are the rules for the Hill Valley Band Competition 1985,” Mrs. Challis said slowly, as if she were
speaking to very young children. She passed out two sheets of paper to each of the four bandleaders in
the school, ignoring the incredulous looks most of them gave them. On the first sheet was a list of rules
Marty considered simply ridiculous, and on the other was a list of the competing bands. Seeing the
name of one particular band there, Marty’s face fell.
“If you don’t follow the rules, you will be disqualified,” the head of the Hill Valley High music department
continued. “Simple There will be bands from other towns coming in to play as well, so please do not
give them a bad impression of our school, or of Hill Valley. Understand”
Half-hearted nods filled the room that didn’t seem to satisfy Mrs. Challis very much, but there was
nothing much she could do about it.
4 This chapter was adapted from a screenplay version of this novel that my brother wrote for fun.