Seven-year-old Malcolm is deeply affected by his mother's abusiveness and leans on his father for support. His father is his first hero, and Malcolm connects his father's coin purse with the love that he feels for his father. His second hero, a boy in his school named John Clark, offends Malcolm by making fun of his father. Malcolm defends his father's honor by fighting John Clark, and John Clark is so impressed by his bravery (and regrets almost killing Malcolm in the fight) that he adopts Malcolm into his posse. Then, John Clark shares an explicit photo of their teacher while in class. The teacher catches Malcolm with the photograph, and John Clark refuses to admit that he is the one in possession of the photograph. Malcolm's father is so disappointed in his son that he whips him without giving him a chance to explain. Malcolm turns to his mother to comfort him; she forgives him immediately for his actions and is the only one who is able to see that Malcolm remains a good person.