Kyle is the 12-year-old central protagonist of the story. He lives with his parents and two older brothers (Mike, 17, and Curtis, 15) in Alexandriaville, Ohio. Kyle attends public school, where he is in seventh grade. He enjoys both video and board games, especially those designed by Mr. Luigi Lemoncello. At the beginning of the story, Kyle is not “big on books” (12), meaning that he does not enjoy reading for leisure. Friendship comes easily to Kyle, as evidenced when he boards the bus in the morning: “Kyle fist bumped and knuckle- knocked his way up the bus aisle […] Almost everybody wanted to say ‘Hey’ to him” (15).

Subtle conflict is evident in Kyle’s life with regard to his brothers. Mike is a talented athlete, and Curtis is known for his excellent academic work; because Kyle’s talents do not lie in those areas, and because Kyle is the youngest, he feels it is difficult to compete with them. He consequently enjoys playing board games with Mike and Curtis because that is “just about the only chance he ever got to beat them fair and square” (3). In commenting about Kyle’s attempt to complete the essay, his mother compares Kyle to his brothers: “Kyle can be just as smart as Curtis and just as focused as Mike—when he puts his mind to it” (31) Kyle smiles and thanks his mother for complimenting him.