About a boy https://www.bbc.co.

uk/bitesize/guides/z997wxs/revision/1
Chapters One - Four
Marcus, a 12-year-old boy, is puzzled by adults. He has moved to London with his mother, Fiona, after
his parents split up, and he watches his mother go through one relationship after another. Marcus
knows that his mother is sad because she often cries, but he is unsure of the actual reason. He hopes
that it is to do with boyfriends and he thinks that as she is pretty and nice, and sometimes even funny,
she should eventually meet somebody who will make her happy. At the start of the novel, Marcus and
his mother have only been in London for a few weeks.
We next meet Will Freeman, and see life through his eyes. His view is extremely child-like, and as the
chapter opens Will is in the process of completing a questionnaire in a magazine to see how cool he is.
For example, for sleeping with a woman he did not know very well during the past three months he
awards himself five points. Will only has money because his father found a gap in the market and
wrote a famous Christmas song years earlier. It means that Will never needs to find a job. Will thinks
of his recent visit to his friends, John and Christine, who have two children. Their house is in a terrible
mess, with toys and clutter everywhere and Will wonders how anybody can live like that. Since he has
plenty of money, he reasons that he will never be in that situation. Will thinks back to when he was
going out with a woman called Jessica; they used to go out clubbing with John and Christine before
any children came along. Will and Jessica split up because she wanted a more serious relationship.
They still meet up sometimes and Jessica shows him photos of her children. She also tells him that he
is wasting his life.
Marcus hates his new school. At breakfast, his mother notices how quiet he is and tells him that he will
get used to it, so Marcus nods and smiles at her; he reasons that all difficult things become easier after
a while, as they did after his dad left. He arrives at school and goes straight to his form room where he
feels safer than in the corridors. Sometimes, Marcus has a tune in his head and he cannot help letting it
just slip out – this happened the previous day at school and everybody laughed at him. The lessons
begin and Marcus has double Maths, which he likes and is good at. Then he arranges to join the
computer club. However, in English the discussion is about which characters in One Flew Over The
Cuckoo’s Nest are mad. The teacher is young and nervous and wants the class to like her, so she uses
Marcus to score an easy victory – she refers to the way he sang for no reason in the lesson the day
before. Marcus hates her for this. He understands that she is feeling vulnerable and has picked on him,
the one person in the room who is even more vulnerable than she is. This shows his mature
understanding of human nature.
Will meets a woman called Angie in a record shop. He obtains her phone number and a date for dinner.
At dinner, Angie tells Will that she has children, which makes him want to run away. However, he
stays and points out that he has never been out with a mother before. She tells him that a lot of single
mothers end up hating men. Will begins to see an opportunity here, and figures that if single mothers
really think that all men are bastards, then he is going to prove that it is not true. He thinks that single
mothers are more grateful to a man who is kind to them and their children and are therefore more
loving. One night, in an Indian restaurant, Angie tells Will that the relationship is over. For Will, this
break-up is wonderful – for once he can watch a woman cry without feeling responsible! He decides to
begin his career of going out with single mothers, with all the benefits of being a family man, and
none of the drawbacks.
Chapters Five - Eight
One Monday morning Marcus is alarmed because his mother starts crying before breakfast. He goes to
school, where he now has two friends, Nicky and Mark, who also hide in the form room before school
begins, and who also go to the computer club to avoid being bullied. Marcus has even been to Nick’s
house once after school. But one day they tell him that they do not want to be friends with him any
more, as he attracts bullies.
Meanwhile, Will decides to pose as a single father and go to a local single parents’ group. He invents a
two-year-old son called Ned, and arrives early at the meeting of SPAT (Single Parents Alone
Together). He feels depressed as he goes into the building because he had been expecting a happy
group of people laughing and getting drunk, but there is nobody about. As he enters the room he sees
one woman, who introduces herself as Frances, unloading bottles of wine, beer and soft drinks onto a
table. As the other single parents start to arrive, Frances introduces Will. Most ignore him, and he is
not very interested in them either, but one woman, Suzie, is very attractive and friendly, so Will sticks
by her all evening. She tells him her history – her husband, Dan, left her the day before she had her
daughter, Megan. She also tells him the histories of most of the other women in the room. Will feels
that he is making progress.
Marcus goes to stay with his dad for the weekend in Cambridge. His dad’s girlfriend, Lindsey, is also
there. Marcus watches a lot of television and on the Sunday they go to visit Lindsey’s mother in
Norfolk. Marcus has a nice time, and Lindsey’s mum, whom he likes, gives him £5 for no reason.
When he goes back to school he goes into his favourite newsagent’s on the way home, and the
newsagent, Mr Patel, asks how his mother is. Suddenly the bullies are in the shop, laughing and
pushing Marcus. After the bullies leave, Marcus finds that his pockets are stuffed with chocolate and
chewing gum. Mr Patel tells him not to worry as he was watching the whole time. He asks whether the
bullies are at the same school as Marcus and advises him to keep out of their way. Marcus wishes that
life was that simple.
When he gets home, Marcus finds his mother lying on the floor watching cartoons. She tells him she
took the afternoon off sick. He asks her what is wrong and tells her not to treat him like an idiot. She
announces that Marcus is going to a picnic in Regent’s Park the following Saturday, which is being
organised by SPAT. Marcus replies that he hates the SPAT people, and has done since his mother took
him to one of their summer parties when they first moved to London. Will is also going to the picnic
with Suzie, and they go in Suzie’s car. Megan, her baby, has to be in the front in her car seat, so Will
travels in the back with Marcus, whom he has never met before. Will feels uncomfortable among all
the single parents as he has no child with him, so he takes part in all the activities enthusiastically so
that he does not have to talk with them. He sees Marcus wandering about on his own, and just then
Suzie approaches him and they begin to talk about relationships. Will thinks that he and Suzie are
about to move to the next stage in their relationship when Marcus suddenly appears in front of them
and tells them that he thinks he has killed a duck.
Chapters Nine - 12
Marcus is horrified yet amazed that he has killed a duck by throwing a piece of bread at its head. Will
tells the keeper that one of the ducks is dead and is outraged when the keeper says that he knows that
either Will or Marcus is responsible. The keeper assumes that Marcus is Will’s son. Will goes along
with this and tells the keeper that Marcus would never hurt a duck and only threw the bread at the
already dead body to try to sink it, as it was upsetting Megan. At this moment, Marcus thinks that he
sees his mother standing in front of them in the middle of the path, smiling. He waves and turns to tell
Suzie that his mother has decided to join them, but when he turns back his mother has disappeared.
Marcus never tells anybody about this. When Suzie takes Marcus home, she insists on coming into the
flat with him. He, Suzie (carrying Megan) and Will all walk into the flat and the first thing Marcus
sees is his mother lying across the sofa, her head near the floor and a pool of vomit in front of her. Will
calls an ambulance and makes black coffee. Fiona begins to come round, making an awful noise.
Suzie goes in the ambulance with Fiona, and Will drives Marcus and the baby, Megan, in Suzie’s car.
He asks Marcus how he feels and Marcus replies that he doesn’t know. At the hospital, Suzie is in the
waiting room and Fiona has been taken away somewhere. When Will and Marcus arrive they sit down
and Suzie tells them that the doctors are pumping Fiona’s stomach at the moment. Will and Suzie sit
together through the evening; the baby goes to sleep and Marcus goes back and forth to the vending
machine. They watch all the people who come to the Accident and Emergency department, many of
them drunk, or on drugs, or mad. Will thinks to himself that people need to look after themselves. He
does not really care about anyone else at this stage. A woman comes over to tell them that Fiona will
be kept in hospital overnight and arrangements are made for Marcus to stay with Suzie.
Will finds himself thinking about Marcus and Fiona quite a lot, and wonders if they need him. He
imagines building a relationship with Marcus, taking him out here and there, possibly to watch Arsenal
play football. He considers taking Fiona out to dinner or the theatre as well. Strangely, as he is
thinking about this, Marcus telephones him to say that Suzie has told him that Will would like to take
him out for the day. He adds that he will come if Will agrees to take Fiona too. It takes Will a few
moments to realise that Marcus is afraid to leave his mother alone. They agree to meet the following
Saturday and Will makes an excuse for not being able to bring Ned with him.
Chapters 13 - 16
While Marcus is waiting for Will to collect him and Fiona for their outing he thinks about how he can
bring Will and Fiona together. He decides that because his mum is pretty and Will is wealthy, the
relationship would work and then all four of them could live together – he is, of course, including
Will’s invented son, Ned. He even thinks that his mum, at 38, is not too old to have another baby with
Will so then there would be five of them in the family. He is happy with this plan because with five
people around it would not matter so much if one of them were to die. Marcus has been following Will
secretly so he knows where he lives and does his shopping. Marcus tells his mother that he wants Will
to take them to Planet Hollywood, which a boy at his old school had told him about, and he is hoping
to see a famous person there, such as Bruce Willis.
When Will arrives, he introduces himself to Fiona, even though he had seen her the previous week
when she attempted suicide. As Fiona introduces herself, Marcus looks at her and feels proud. She is
wearing her best leggings, a baggy, hairy jumper, dangly earrings and has put on make-up. They agree
to go to Planet Hollywood, even though Will is not very keen. However, the queue is so long that they
go to Twenty-Eight, which is nice and serves good fries. Soon, though, Will is thinking that Fiona is
not his type. He likes tall, long-haired, classically beautiful women who dress smartly, but Fiona is too
much like a hippy, in his opinion. He plans instead to take Fiona and Marcus out now and then as his
new do-good project. However, a few days later Fiona invites him to supper. The food is not to his
taste as it is vegetarian, but the conversation is pleasant enough. Then the awful part begins - Fiona
decides to play the piano and sing. Will decides that he cannot even be friends with this woman.
One afternoon as he is waiting for Countdown to begin there is a ring at the door. It is Marcus, who
announces that he has come to see Will, and that he knows that Will does not have a child. He asks if
he can use the bathroom, and while he is out of the room Will desperately tries to think of a story to
explain his child’s absence. However, Marcus has a good look around while he is supposed to be in the
bathroom and when he returns he tells Will that there are absolutely no signs of a child in the place,
such as toys or photos. He starts going to Will’s house most days after school. Will is not very
enthusiastic at first but he lets Marcus come in and watch Countdown with him.
They talk and Marcus eventually admits that he hates school because it doesn’t suit him. When Will
asks if people give him a hard time, Marcus tries to play it down, saying that there are just a couple of
kids who mock his haircut and his glasses, as well as his habit of singing at inappropriate times.
Marcus continues to visit Will regularly and they fall into a routine. They watch Countdown and chat
about what is happening in Marcus’ life. Marcus is still very frightened that Fiona might try to kill
herself again, and one of the reasons that he visits Will is to put off going home for a bit longer. When
Will asks him how often he thinks about the day of his mother’s attempted suicide, Marcus mumbles
that he doesn’t know, because he cannot admit that it is all the time. It seems that Will has understood
how scared Marcus is. He invites Marcus to stay a bit longer that day.
Will resolves once again not to get involved with Marcus’ problems and congratulates himself on not
having a single problem of his own. One afternoon there is the sound of gravel hitting Will’s window
and a frantic ringing of the doorbell. Standing on the doorstep is Marcus, being bombarded with hard
sweets – a couple of which hit Will too, and they hurt. Will sees two older boys with mean-looking
faces and skinhead haircuts, and he swears at them and tells them to go away. Will takes Marcus out to
buy a pair of new trainers. Marcus chooses a pair of Adidas basketball boots which cost £60, and
which Will says make him look cool. The next day when Marcus arrives on Will’s doorstep he is in
tears and standing in his socks. The new trainers have been stolen.
Chapters 17 - 20
Marcus is taken home by Will, and Fiona notices instantly that Marcus is wearing just his socks on his
feet. She takes Marcus straight back to Will’s house and asks him why a grown man would want to
hang out with a 12-year-old boy. Will is angry and asks her if she is suggesting what he thinks she is.
He adds that she is suggesting that he has been fiddling with Marcus. Will loses his temper, and using
a lot of swear words he tells her that he has no choice, because Marcus comes round every night, and
that he is being bullied mercilessly. At home, Marcus feels relieved that his mother knows the truth
about where he has been going in the afternoons. She tells him that Will is not a good role model and
that she has been Marcus’ mum for 12 years, so she knows what she is doing. Marcus doubts this and
tells her that she has always made his mind up for him, such as about being a vegetarian or watching
violent films. Fiona says she wants him to think for himself, but Marcus argues that as soon as he does
that, Fiona takes over and never lets him win an argument. He then does something which he feels bad
about because he knows it will make her cry. He tells her that he wants to carry on seeing Will because
he needs a father.
This year, Will has no plans for Christmas and thinks that he will stay at home, watch a lot of films,
and get drunk and stoned. He feels that he is entitled to a break even though he has no work to have a
break from. Will thinks of Marcus, whom he has not seen since Fiona’s outburst the previous week. He
thinks that, actually, he and Marcus are not so different, even though Will grew up with money and
Marcus has none. Will’s father was an alcoholic who killed himself with drink, and Marcus’ mother
tried to commit suicide with sleeping pills. The following day Fiona rings Will and they agree to meet
for a drink the following evening. She accuses Will of being selfish and he replies that he is on his
own, he has nobody else to think about, and therefore he cannot help putting himself first. Fiona
contradicts herself when she tells Will that Marcus is in his life and he can’t just shut him out.
Marcus is left alone in his flat while his mother goes for a drink with Will. He locks the door, does his
homework, watches some TV and plays on the computer. The next day he has to go to see the
headmistress, Mrs Morrison, about the stolen trainers, which his mother has complained about. He
waits outside Mrs Morrison’s office with a girl called Ellie McCrae, who is in Year 10. Ellie is famous
throughout the school for being bad. Ellie is wearing a sweatshirt which is not part of the school
uniform but which she refuses to take off. It has a picture of a man with straggly hair and half a beard.
Marcus thinks he looks like a modern, blond Jesus. Just then the headmistress calls him into her office.
Marcus says goodbye to Ellie but is glad to leave her as she frightens him a bit. In the headmistress’
office Marcus loses his temper, because Mrs Morrison starts telling him about survival strategies and
suggesting that he keep out of the bullies’ way. He is so frustrated that he stands up to leave, and when
Mrs Morrison tells him to sit down again he just walks out.
At the same time, Will is driving around London. He enjoys driving and feeling a part of the hustle
and bustle of the city. As he is driving along Upper Street he sees Marcus walking along, in a world of
his own. He wonders why Marcus is not in school. At 16.15 Marcus rings the doorbell. Will leaves
him on the doorstep and Marcus just presses the buzzer for half an hour while Will continues to listen
to Nirvana songs. Eventually he lets him in and he asks Marcus whether he had a good afternoon.
Marcus is rather hesitant in his answer, mumbling something about a History lesson. Will reveals that
he saw him in Upper Street and Marcus replies that he had to nip out for something. Will realises that
the kind of help that Marcus needs is the information to let him be a kid, not an adult. Will can teach
him about football and music and all the other important things that a 12-year-old boy at a
comprehensive school needs to know.
Chapters 21 - 24
Marcus goes to school the next day and nobody has noticed that he was not there the previous
afternoon. He meets Ellie and her friend, Zoe, at break time. Ellie is still wearing her Kurt Cobain
sweatshirt and she asks him his name. She tells him that Marcus is a cool name, but when Marcus asks
if she really thinks so, Zoe says No, and they both laugh. They say that they will see him around and
Marcus thinks that it is the longest conversation he has had in school for ages. The next day in school
he sees Ellie with Zoe by the vending machine. Ellie greets him in a friendly way and puts her arm
round Marcus and ruffles his hair. At that moment Mrs Morrison turns up and tells Ellie to go to her
office. Marcus can see that Ellie just does not care, she shrugs and goes along with the headmistress.
As they leave, Mrs Morrison tells Marcus that they have unfinished business and Ellie catches his eye
and smiles. Marcus feels that he is part of a trio with Ellie and Zoe. At lunchtime they come to find
him, and the other pupils in Marcus’ form class are amazed because they are all in awe of Ellie and
cannot believe that she is friendly with Marcus.
Will is going off the idea of spending Christmas alone. He decides that people judge other people by
the way they spend their Christmases, and spending it alone, drunk and stoned, does not give a very
positive message about his life. He decides to find a family with whom he can spend Christmas – there
is just one family that he wants to avoid. He does not want to eat nut roast, not be allowed to watch
television, or be forced to sing carols with his eyes closed. So, having decided that he will on no
account spend Christmas with Fiona and Marcus, it is a surprise when Marcus invites Will to spend the
day with him and his mum. Will does not want to hurt Marcus’ feelings, so he keeps making excuses
and sounding undecided until eventually, after a lot of questioning from Marcus about whether he has
other plans, he finds himself accepting.
Presents are exchanged. Marcus thinks about how Christmas is better if your parents are separated,
because you get the best of both worlds – you get sensible presents but you also get fun presents. He
thinks that if his mum and dad were still together, there would have been just the three of them on
Christmas Day, which would have been boring. Then Suzie comes round with her little girl, Megan.
Will has not seen Suzie since his lie about being a single parent was exposed, and he is very
embarrassed. Will decides enough is enough and gets up to leave, but Marcus says that he doesn’t
want him to go yet. He says that Will welcomed him into his home, bought him trainers and listens to
him, whereas his mother just tells him to get used to being bullied. Will refers to how Marcus killed a
duck, and Marcus is at first horrified that Will brings it up, until he realises that Will is calming the
situation down and making people laugh.
Will goes to a New Year’s Eve party, where he meets a woman called Rachel, and falls in love. Rachel
is a children’s book illustrator and Will thinks she is very attractive – glamorous and clever, with long,
dark, wavy hair. Rachel sits next to him at dinner and Will is sad that although she seems to like him
for the first five minutes, he feels that as soon as she works him out she will lose interest. When
Rachel turns back to include him in a discussion about music, she tells him that she thinks Nirvana
sound like Led Zeppelin. Will replies that he knows a 12-year-old who would kill her for saying that,
and Rachel tells Will that she also knows a 12-year-old boy, and asks what Will’s boy is called. Will
tells her Marcus’ name and Rachel tells him that her son is called Ali. Will does not exactly lie, but he
does not prevent Rachel from assuming that Marcus is his son or that he has split up with Marcus’
mother. Having established that they are both single, they find each other at midnight and kiss. Just
before Rachel leaves, they arrange to get their two boys together.
Chapters 25 - 28
Marcus goes with his mother to Suzie’s New Year’s Eve party, and is surprised to see Ellie there. She
points out her mother, who is dancing wildly, punching the air and shaking her hair around. Ellie tells
Marcus that she is embarrassed by her mother. Ellie brings him a Coke with sherry in it, and Marcus
thinks that it smells like trifle. Ellie tells him that she knows his mum tried to kill herself, because she
heard her mother talking about it with Suzie. Ellie didn’t make the connection with Marcus until much
later. Ellie feels that it is unfair that people criticise mothers for not putting their children first, but the
same rules are not applied to fathers. Marcus finds that he is enjoying having a real conversation with
somebody of a similar age to him, even though it is a miserable subject. He desperately wants to keep
the conversation going, and in a panic he asks Ellie if she wants to dance, even though he is hopeless
at it.
The following week, Will takes Marcus to an amusement arcade, and while they play on the machines
Will tells Marcus that he has made Rachel think that Marcus is his son and that he needs him to play
along with the misunderstanding, because he really likes this woman and wants her to be his girlfriend.
Will arranges to take Marcus to Rachel’s house one Saturday lunch time. When Marcus arrives at
Will’s, he is wearing the hairy Christmas jumper and bright yellow corduroy trousers, and Will is
horrified because he has dressed in his trendiest clothes. He briefly considers taking Marcus shopping
for new clothes, but he ignores the urge and tries to feel proud of his ‘son’.
Rachel owns a tall, thin house near Camden Lock, and it is cosy and welcoming, with lots of books
and old family photos. They go up to meet Rachel’s son, Ali, who is in his room playing computer
games and wearing headphones. Ali looks at Marcus’ clothes and his face seems to darken. Rachel
introduces the two boys and asks if they want to hang out in Ali’s room for a bit, while she and Will go
downstairs. As Will is leaving the room he looks at Marcus, and Marcus answers Yeah. At that
moment Will really loves Marcus because he is making such a sacrifice for Will.
As soon as Rachel and Will go downstairs, Ali stares at Marcus and swears that there is no way his
mother is going to get together with Will. He adds that if they do get together, then Marcus is dead. Ali
tells him that he does not want to see either Marcus or Will again. Marcus calmly replies that it is not
really up to him, but Ali says that it had better be, or Marcus is dead. Marcus tells Ali that Will is keen
on Rachel and suggests that she might be keen on Will, which drives Ali into a fury. He screams that
his mum is not keen on Will because she is keen on him. Marcus decides to leave. Will finds him some
time later standing at a bus stop. He gets into Will’s car and explains to him that Ali is mad, and
threatening to kill him if Will goes out with Rachel. Marcus laughs when Will tells him that at this
moment Ali is crying his eyes out. Ali apologises.
On the way home from school that week Marcus is waiting outside a newsagent’s for Ellie when Lee
Hartley, the bully, and his gang surround Marcus and one boy steals his glasses. When Ellie comes out
she orders the boy to give Marcus his glasses back and then hits the boy in the face. Marcus is unable
to speak or listen to anything; he just looks at Ellie in adoration.
Will thinks about his developing relationship with Rachel. He worries about the pretence about
Marcus being his son, and sees that he cannot have a long-term relationship based on a lie. One night
in a Japanese restaurant he tells Rachel that Marcus is not his biological son. Will tells her the whole
story of his involvement with Marcus and Fiona, only leaving out the part about joining SPAT. They
go back to Rachel’s for coffee.
Chapters 29 - 32
Marcus is relieved that nothing dramatic has happened for some time. He sees Will, Ellie and her
friend Zoe regularly; Will has taken him to have his hair cut and has bought him new glasses, and has
introduced him to some new singers. One day Marcus’ mother starts crying again for no reason. The
crying starts slowly but increases so that one night Fiona sobs uncontrollably. Marcus tells Will about
it and at the time they are in the middle of their regular Thursday afternoon routine of toasting
crumpets. Marcus goes home and thinks that sometimes Will does not seem very pleased to see him
when he goes round to visit him, whereas Ellie always does. However, the next day at school Ellie is
in a terrible mood, and when Marcus asks what has happened, Zoe tells him that Kurt Cobain tried to
kill himself with an overdose. Ellie adds that Kurt Cobain will definitely kill himself eventually,
because he wants to die and hates this world. Marcus feels sick when he hears this and has the
sensation that the room is beginning to spin and the colour is draining out of it. Marcus shouts at Ellie,
saying she does not know what Kurt Cobain is really like, and then says that he is not even a real
person, but only a singer. A few minutes later, Ellie apologises for what she said, and adds that she
forgot about Marcus’ mum.
Will feels helpless because he does not know how to help Marcus. He feels that Rachel would know,
so he goes to see her. They have been seeing each other for quite some time now. Rachel tells Will that
Marcus adores him, which surprises Will. They have coffee and Rachel tells Will that she thinks he
must be very strong-minded to live as he does, without a family or a job, because there is nothing
between him and despair. Yet she feels that Will is not a very desperate person. He tries to joke that he
is too stupid, and they discuss his attitude towards life, and the way that he enjoys food, music and
television. Rachel tells him that she was depressed a few years earlier and even considered killing
herself, but could not do it because of Ali. Rachel suggests that she could have a talk with Fiona. Will
thinks he has never felt so happy.
Marcus is adjusting to the longer, lighter evenings now that winter is over. He feels that everything
should be better, including his mother’s depression. Fiona tells him that he has to go to Cambridge to
see his dad, as Clive has fallen off a window ledge and broken his collar bone. The next day he tells
Ellie about it at break-time and she says that he should go and tell his dad what he thinks of him. She
adds that she will go with him and give his dad a piece of her mind too. Marcus daydreams about
going on a train journey with Ellie and thinks it would be heavenly. Marcus gets on the underground
train and sees an old man opposite him reading a newspaper. On the front is a picture of Kurt Cobain,
with a headline saying that he is dead. Ellie tells him that she is not really alright, and brings out a
bottle of vodka, announcing that she is going to get drunk.
Will has arranged to go to a pub in Islington with Rachel and Fiona while Marcus is visiting his dad in
Cambridge. Will imagines that they will chat for a while over their drinks, and that he will then make
an excuse to leave, so that Rachel and Fiona can talk. He arrives at the pub first, and then Fiona comes
in. Will thinks that she seems a bit manic and nervous. She sips her gin and ice very quickly, and they
talk awkwardly about Marcus. When Rachel has not shown up after half an hour, Fiona asks Will
whether she really exists. He goes to telephone Rachel but there is no reply and he realises that he has
been set up; Rachel never intended to come. She wanted Will to deal with Fiona himself.
They go to Pizza Express, and Will thinks that the last time he was there was with his ex-girlfriend,
Jessica, who always tried to make him unhappy. He thinks how he was never involved with anyone in
those days, but now it seems that everybody else’s problems are his problems. He wonders whether he
is better off now than when he had no connection to people. They get a taxi back to Fiona’s place, and
Will hears about Kurt Cobain’s death on the taxi radio. He worries that Marcus and Ellie will take the
news badly. He asks Fiona if he can come in and listen to Marcus’ answerphone message, just to check
that he is alright. They then find out that Marcus is calling from a police station in Royston, and he
sounds small, lonely and afraid.
Chapters 33 - 36
Marcus finds the train journey very difficult and Ellie exhausts him. She keeps threatening to press the
emergency button or to do things to anyone who looks at her. They sit in silence, and when the train
stops at Royston station, Ellie gets off suddenly. Marcus does not know what to do and he just follows
her. They walk into the town where they see a music shop with a big cardboard cut-out of Kurt Cobain
in the window. Ellie swears and says that the owner is trying to make money out of his death already.
She breaks the glass with her boot and takes the cut-out from the window. Some people approach them
and eventually they are taken to the police station.
The police are very kind. They laugh at Ellie’s explanation about breaking the window, and this makes
her accuse them of being patronising. Marcus explains about going to see his father, and Ellie tells the
police to let Marcus go as he did nothing wrong. His dad and Lindsey arrive first, and his dad is
grumpy because he is in pain. They wait for Will, Fiona and Ellie’s mother to arrive. Ellie’s mother,
Katrina, phones and they arrange to collect her and drive to Royston. Will compares this day to Dead
Duck Day, when Fiona tried to kill herself. He thinks that he enjoyed that day – not because of her
attempted suicide – more than this day, because before he was not involved with any of them but now
he cares deeply about Marcus and Fiona.
The journey is enjoyable, like a road trip. Will is amazed that because of his relationship with Marcus,
he has come into contact with all these people and he is actually enjoying himself. In the police
station, Will watches the scene; Clive and Lindsey are looking angrily at Marcus, and Ellie is glaring
at anybody who dares to look at her. They wait for the shop owner to arrive, and Ellie announces that
she is going to give him a piece of her mind. A young woman is shown in, and Will thinks that she
could be Ellie’s older sister. She is wearing a Kurt Cobain sweatshirt and a lot of black eye make-up.
Ellie demands to know whether the police told her to look like that. Her confidence seems to lessen as
the young woman, Ruth, tells her that she loves Nirvana and that today is the saddest day of her life.
She adds that the cardboard cut-out has always been in the window. Ellie is ashamed and whispers that
she is sorry, and Ruth gives her a hug. Fiona gets up and hugs Marcus, confessing in front of everyone
that she has not been a good mother, and has let things slide. Will watches all these people hugging
one another and tries to make sense of it. He cannot remember having been involved in such a web of
people before, and feels that he has been offered a glimpse of what it means to be human.
When Will asks why Ellie was on the train with him, Marcus says that he cannot remember, but that
she is not right for him. He needs somebody less different from himself. Katrina jokes that Ellie is not
right for anybody! She wishes Marcus luck in finding somebody not too different from himself, saying
that a lot of people have spent half their lives searching for someone less different and have not found
them yet. Will wonders whether people are single because they are all looking for somebody less
different. He thinks of Rachel and considers that the whole point of her is that she is not him. He
concludes that people only look for somebody similar to themselves if they are happy with who they
are. For most people who are not so happy with themselves, it makes sense to find somebody
completely different.
Marcus ends up going to stay with his father and Lindsey. Clive confesses that he realises now that he
should not have left Marcus and Fiona, but Marcus tells him that it is not important any more, and that
he can always contact his dad if things get too bad. He tells himself that he can cope now, and is even
stronger than his mother and Ellie are. He will always make sure that he has a network of people to
rely on. They talk a bit more, and Clive asks if Marcus would mind if Lindsey and he had a baby.
Marcus answers that he would like it.
Will worries all the time that he loves Rachel so much that she might finish with him. This is when he
realises that loving another person is not risk-free. Will now takes Marcus and Ali out on Saturdays.
He actually enjoys taking the boys out, and they have a routine; first they have lunch in a burger bar,
then they go to watch a film and finish with a milkshake at a different burger bar. He also takes them
to watch Arsenal sometimes. Ali is still a bit nasty to Marcus now and then, but Will notices that
Marcus is far more mature than Ali. He dresses better now and has his hair cut regularly, and
surprisingly, he is friendlier than ever with Ellie and Zoe.
Fiona tells Will one day that Marcus seems so much older now, and that she feels she is losing him.
When she says that she thinks he has been smoking, Will laughs but Fiona sees nothing funny. Will
tells her that he thinks she seems better recently, and she replies that she thinks she is, even though she
cannot explain it. Will does not tell her what he thinks the reason is – that Marcus is now much easier
to cope with. He now has friends and has come out of himself, exactly as Will has done. Will considers
how he, Marcus and Fiona have all had to lose things so that they can gain other things. Will has lost
the barrier he used to keep between himself and other people, but he now has Rachel; Fiona has lost
the dependence of Marcus, but is now much better mentally; and Marcus has lost himself but is no
longer a target for bullies. The novel ends on a funny note, as Marcus announces that he is bored. Will
tells Fiona to take out her piano music so they can all sing a song called Both Sides Now. She joins in
the joke and agrees, but Marcus begs Fiona not to and shouts out that he bloody hates Joni Mitchell. At
that moment, Will knows that Marcus will be alright.