Little did Malcolm Johnson know, as he boarded the school bus to 'The Metropolitan Academy of Liverpool' for the first time, that his passage from short to long trousers would be such a traumatic one. On that short scheduled service, he was to meet not only 'she who was to become the love of his life' (Roisin, a feisty, flame-haired, girl from the Traveller Encampment) but also his nemesis, Mark Carter (bully extraordinaire). As Malcolm (or Johno, as he prefers to call himself) negotiates his way through his first Term, he encounters much that is new and even more that is positively scary. There would be friendships to forge, subjects to learn that he'd never even heard of before and even new 'bully avoidance strategies' to put into practise. October finds his football career blossoming as he breaks into the B Team (albeit as a result of an outbreak of childhood disease in the ranks) and December, his first entry into the, slightly unreal, world of showbiz, via The Academy's rather rickety 'Talent Contest'. Throughout all these innovations to his new life at Senior School, Johno's thoughts are never far from his red-headed muse and the elusive 'first kiss' he craves.Equally near at hand is the constant threat from those members of the school community who inhabit the darker areas of social interaction. The final act, in a time of great emotional change for young Master Johnson, sees him make a stand against the three psychotic siblings who cause the greatest levels of trouble and fear amongst the inmates of The Academy. As a result of his brave act of defiance, the trio of barbarians leave him clinging to life on a muddy pavement...Could the young, but profound, love which had evolved between himself and Rosie save him?
