Marcus Vega, the 14-year-old narrator, is large for his age and accustomed to being given nicknames that focus on his size: “the Mastodon of Montgomery Middle, the Springfield Skyscraper, the Moving Mountain [...]” (1). Marcus is an eighth grader at Montgomery Middle School in Springfield, near Philadelphia. The names don’t bother him anymore; neither do the fantastical rumors that abound about his strength, such as the legend that he carried 42 chairs by himself. Marcus uses his intimidating size to his advantage. In addition to helping out around the school, he runs several for-profit businesses. He walks other students to and from school to keep them safe from bullies like Stephen Hobert.

He has a cell phone “storage” business, which means he takes students’ phones if they break the “zero cell phone use” (4) policy. Marcus manages garbage tax collection, meaning students pay him a fine to avoid detention if he catches them littering. He keeps detailed accounts of all his business transactions in a notebook and has an “office” in a library cubicle. The librarian lets Marcus use the space in exchange for his help shelving books. Marcus doesn’t get to know the students he walks to and from school every day.