Marlon looks wide-eyed at everything with his own unique and subjective view. He regards his fellow pupils with equanimity.
Away from school he listens attentively to the advice given to him by his subversive Gran - and often follows it.
Patrick/Sean Carmody is, for a time, a classmate particularly liked by Marlon. But there is something undefined about Carmody which seems to set him apart. Sure enough, Carmody is destined for early fame. He is to become Liverpool's best ever striker. His brilliant football career acts as a backdrop to Marlon's own life as Carmody is recognised as the idol of schoolboys everywhere - but most of all the idol of Marlon Smith.