Devon
- Devon thinks Tanisha's cute, but he doesn't tell her so.
- He knows she doesn't like the constant comments from guys and doesn't like people judging her for the way she looks.
- Devon can relate. He feels like he's destined to be seen as the "dumb jock" his whole life.
- At lunch, Devon's friend Mike comes up to him and sees he's reading a book. Mike assumes it's for class, but Devon corrects him, saying he just likes reading.
- Mike isn't impressed, but Devon doesn't care. He's going to take that book on the bus with him tonight on the way to his team's away game. He'll let everyone see; reading is awesome.
Open Mike: Black Box
- Devon's poem is about boxes. And guess what? He's not a fan.
- He doesn't like anything about boxes and doesn't like being put in one either. Take notice, everyone.
Tyrone
- Tyrone realizes Devon's right: No one in this class fits in the boxes he used to put them in.
- Even Mr. Ward is surprising him. He thought their teacher wouldn't last five minutes in this neighborhood, but he's proving everyone wrong—especially with this poetry thing.
Sterling S. Hughes
- Sterling plays guitar in his church choir and wants to be a science teacher. He also got honey spilled on his new shoes today at lunch. Sigh.
- Everyone thinks Sterling is a real goody-goody because he's Christian, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a temper. He just keeps it under control. He has to. After all, he's college-bound; he's getting out of this place. No sense in wrecking all that.
- Sterling forgives the guy who ruined his shoes by kissing him and the kid freaks out. He calls Sterling a fool, but Sterling tells him he's just a fool for Jesus. Nice.
- See, Sterling believes in God and he's not embarrassed about it. He's seen prayers answered and knows God works in our lives.
- That's just the truth.
- It might have taken Sterling a while to get into this poetry thing, but now he's playing backup guitar for some of the poets and enjoying it a lot more. Thanks, Mr. Ward.
Open Mike: D-Train
- Sterling's poem is all about a thief who gets scorched by God's judgment during a robbery on the D-Train.
- The whole piece ends with Sterling admitting that he's not perfect either.