<P> Two decades earlier, the parents of twelve - year - old Jeffrey Lionel Magee (Michael Angarano) are killed by a drunk driver just after his father told him that he would show him his infamous "stopball ." After his parents' funeral, a police officer and a woman named Dottie Freeze (Melissa Bickerton) who runs an orphanage approaches Jeffrey and tells him to "come with them ." They both appear to be lunatics, scaring Jeffrey who decides to make a run for it out of the town and across the country . All of the running seems to develop into supernatural - like qualities allowing him to run at a very fast speed . After nearly a year of running, he arrives in the town of Two Mills, where racial tensions are extremely strong . Hector Street, the main street located in the middle of the town, divides Two Mills by race: blacks on East End, whites on West End . Jeffrey is confused by racial biases; to him, the people are simply people - heterogeneous, but with much in common, such as both kindness and cruelty . </P> <P> Jeffrey first crosses over on the East End where the black people there stare at him . He is amazed by a giant ball of rope of twine located outside of a pizza place called "Cobble's Corner" owned by an elderly black man, Mr. Cobble, (Garret Morris). Anyone who can untie it wins a year supply of free pizza from his place . Mr. Cobble comes out and tells Jeffrey to go back to his own side . Jeffrey does so and comes across a kid's baseball game where he comes across a white teenager, Big John McNab (Adam Hendershott), who is a pitcher and is known for striking out many kids with his fast throw . His younger brothers, Russell and Piper McNab (Brandon de Paul and Isaiah Griffin), cheer him on from behind the gate . His good pitching still isn't enough to please his father, George McNab (Rip Torn), who urges him to do better . Jeffrey skips a line of kids waiting to bat to take on Big John . He manages to strike the ball so fast it disintegrates in the air . Big John takes Piper's pet frog to use as a ball to throw at Jeffrey next, who hits it lightly . Big John has a hard time catching it as it's hopping around, allowing Jeffery to score an in - park home run . When he does, he tells his friends to go after Jeffrey proclaiming him as a "maniac". Jeffrey makes a run for it back across the East End of Hector Street . The white boys are trapped on their end, but urges Jeffrey not to come back over . </P> <P> On the East End, Jeffrey runs by a school and meets with a black girl his age named Amanda Beale (Kyla Pratt). Jeffrey first assumes she's running away since she's carrying a large suitcase, but Amanda tells him that it's her luggage of various books . Amanda asks Jeffrey if he knows where he is given his skin color and Jeffrey tells her no . Afterwards, he urges her to let him borrow a book to read and promises to bring it back to her . Jeffrey goes to read the book under a tree and catches the eye of a bully Mars Bar Thompson (Orlando Brown) and his friend Bump Gilliam (Shan Elliot). Mars goes to pick a fight with Jeffrey, ripping the page out of Amanda's book in the process . Amanda comes over and scolds Mars for doing that and sends him away . Amanda takes Jeffrey over to her house so he can fix her book . He tapes it up perfectly Amanda could barely see where it was torn at . Jeffrey meets Amanda's mother Martha (Rolonda Watts) who assumes Jeffrey isn't from the area . When Amanda asks if he can stay for dinner, her mother doesn't allow it until her younger children, boy and girl twins Lester and Ester, urges that they want him to stay around . After dinner, Mr. Beale (Richard Lawson) goes to drive Jeffrey home only to discover along the way he doesn't have a home to go to . He goes to take Jeffrey back to the house and has a talk with Martha showing concerns about him being there . Martha persuades him to let Jeffrey stay and wins him over . Jeffrey is allowed to stay for a while . </P> <P> Jeffrey is treated with the absolute kindness by the Beales . Martha buys him new clothes . Lester and Ester promote Jeffrey's ability to untie knots to the other children in the neighborhood who come by to see him over by Amanda's tent . Jeffrey has another encounter with Mars Bar during a football game and accidentally knocks him down . Mars runs up to him asking if he wants a bite of his chocolate . Jeffrey says yes and Mars bites it, asking him again if he wants a bite . To Mars' surprise, Jeffrey still bites it . Back on Hector Street, a man collapses in front of Cobble's Corner . As Jeffrey tries to him up, the man scolds him to go back over to his own side . Mr. Cobble comes up to him and tells him to do the same . When he and Amanda return home, they find Martha scrubbing of profanity that was written on the house that says "FISH BELLY GO HOME". Jeffrey is horrified by this and doesn't understand why skin color should matter to anyone . He doesn't even want to be white since he finds it to be such a boring color . Amanda feels Jeffrey is considering leaving and doesn't want him to and suggest he goes with her to Mr. Cobble's store to untie his huge knot that no one has been able to do even the greatest of people . The next day, Mr. Cobble lets Jeffrey perform the task of untying the knot ball . Jeffrey amazes him and all the people around him when he successfully unties the ball . Mr. Cobble and many of the black bystanders cheer him on . The story is printed in the Two Mills Gazette . This angers Mars Bar who has his friends help him trash Amanda's tent and destroy her favorite book in the process . Jeffrey is heart broken by this and feels his presence there on the East End is making things worse . He leaves a note for the family and decides to run away and crosses over to the West End . </P>

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