Tucker "Tuck" James (Ben Foster) is a 13-year-old boy who has just started eighth grade and sees it as a life-altering event.
Tucker faces the travails of a teen's life with his trademark humor and rebounds from the fouls dealt by bullies and the occasional intruding parent by seeking solace in his friendship with Miles.
Rebecca "Becca" Fisher (Jewel Staite), also 13, is the much-flustered best friend of Tucker and is experiencing the same disillusionment with eighth grade.
Her new best friend is Christine, someone who Becca sees as an easier person than Tucker to confide in about the things that are starting to matter (namely boys).
Becca also faces ridicule from her bossy and stuck-up sister Ellen and carries a secret crush on the local pizza maker, Gooch.