At school, Brick discovers that his group of socially-challenged friends will no longer be able to enjoy recess in the library. Instead, they must spend their free period in a perilous battlefield known as the playground. As the boys navigate their way through the treacherous terrain, they lose one of their own in a tragic jump rope tie-up. The others manage to make it to the underbelly of the big slide. They’re safe…for now.

One of the books Brick read in lieu of watch TV was all about Marine battle strategies. He devises a way to get back into the library. It’s an impressive battle plan designed to distract the playground monitor away from the library door. It involves causing a clash between the kids playing four-square ball and the ones playing handball. As the two sides confront each other, Brick tosses a bunch of candy into the center of the yard. It’s a free-for-all!

With the recess monitor distracted, Brick makes his way toward the library door. But one of the men is his unit loses his shoe in the sandbox. This particular soldier has an unexplainable fear of getting his socks dirty. He tells Brick to go on without him. But no one gets left behind. Brick grabs the arm of his single-shoed comrade and pulls him to safety, aka the library. Semper Fi, boys. Semper Fi.