MarvellousHairy 05

Part Two - The Human Ideal

In Episode Five (chapters four and five), Rob and Nick meet Seedy and Spider for an “exchange”, and then go to the Hated University to meet their friend Erma. The three old friends go to dinner at a place by the harbour called the Itchy Crab, where Nick regales them with tales of what his inner monkey can accomplish, and he and Erma fall in love. In chapter five, we see more of the bit players Blossom, Hippolyta, Mrs. Moth and Starveling, as they discuss what is to be done about the psychopathic Spider.

An excerpt from chapter four:

Nick was bugging me. He was making me feel stupid. Most of the time I think of him as a creative madman — sometimes as a visionary. I don’t really know any other visionaries, so I’m not sure what they’re supposed to be like, but I didn’t think so strange. Nick let his laugh turn into a kind of bark. A chattering kind of yap, and the next thing I knew he was standing on top of the table, slapping his chest like a gorilla and making these weird snorting, barking, laughing sounds. He was putting it on, of course, but it was odd — odd enough to bring the owner of the Itchy Crab over, who asked him to stop it. (Funny, you’d think someone who could name their seafood restaurant the Itchy Crab would have a sense of humor.)

Nick pretended to groom the owner’s hairpiece, and then sat down before the man got really angry. Erma was rocking in her chair, she was laughing so hard.