About a Boy: Chapter 27 Summary & Analysis

Almost immediately after Will and Rachel go downstairs, Ali begins threatening Marcus, saying that if Will starts dating his mum, he’ll kill Marcus. Trying his best to be nice to Ali and not screw anything up for Will, Marcus first attempts to change the subject, but it doesn’t work. Next, he tries explaining that he can’t do anything if Will likes Ali’s mum and if Ali’s mum reciprocates, to which Ali shouts, “SHE’S ONLY KEEN ON ME!” At this point, Marcus concludes that Ali is clearly “nuts,” and after a brief moment of consideration, he decides it’s best to leave Rachel’s house entirely.

When Will finds Marcus waiting at a nearby bus stop a little while later, Marcus apologizes and gives him the gist of what happened. Will explains that no one is mad at Marcus; Rachel thought “something like this might happen” because Ali can sometimes be “difficult.” Will is tasked with bringing him back to Rachel’s so Ali can apologize. When Will informs Marcus that Ali “[blubbered] like a three-year-old” after he left, it cheers Marcus up immensely.

As it happens, Marcus’s dramatic exit turns out to be a positive thing for everyone. When Will and Marcus return, Ali tearfully apologizes. The last person Rachel dated showed little consideration for Ali, and the relationship ended poorly. As a result, Ali tends to see his mum’s new partners as threatening. Explaining all of this on their first “date” embarrasses Rachel, who wasn’t even sure that Will wanted to date her in the first place, but Will kindly reassures her it’s okay. Marcus pays close attention to Will’s interaction with Rachel in this moment, noticing that he’s looking at her differently than he looks at Marcus and others. He tries to replicate the look and considers trying it out on Ellie sometime.

Walking to the newsagent’s after school, Marcus tries to test out Will’s look on Ellie but realizes they don’t often interact “sitting down and facing each other,” so he finds this a difficult task. When they arrive, the shop owner makes Marcus wait outside because of his “no kids” policy. Ellie, for her part, refuses to leave the store, insisting that she’s “a customer, not a kid.” Outside, meanwhile, Marcus is approached by a group of school bullies who steal his glasses and taunt him—until Ellie and Zoe emerge from the newsagent’s. Ellie hits one of the bullies between his eyes, ultimately causing them all to scatter. Afterward, Marcus becomes enamored with Ellie, in complete awe of “her style, [...] her beauty, and her ability to beat people up.”