Straight out of MoVal, a multi-cultural suburb in California, James plays guitar in his room and hides from his emotionally unstable single-father whose fantasy baseball obsession and romantic life render him intolerable. Once tenth grade begins at Vista Christian High School, James is reunited with his unlikely best friend, Abe, a wildchild whose antics draw a lot of negative attention to both he and James, much to the chagrin of their odd, stringent principal, Mr. Durante. Meanwhile, James is