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.