A Kestrel For A Knave

Billy attends physical education class, where the teacher, Mr. Sugden, berates him for being late and having no gym bag. He humiliates Billy by forcing him to wear a massively oversized pair of blue shorts. They go out into the cold to play soccer, with Mr. Sugden and a boy named Tibbert acting as team captains. Mr. Sugden, dressed in spotless Manchester United colors, is very invested in the game and chooses the best players. 

Billy ends up on Mr. Sugden’s team and is assigned the role of goalkeeper. Billy struggles in this position due to his small physical size. As the game progresses, he begins to lose interest and starts to climb on the goals and pretend to be an ape. The game is interrupted by a dog who begins to chase the ball. Mr. Sugden wants to scare the dog off, but Billy intervenes and, with care, approaches the dog and calmly walks it out.

The game runs overlong, as the competitive Mr. Sugden refuses to allow it to end on a draw. It begins to encroach on Billy’s chance to get a school meal, his primary source of food in the daytime. Billy grows anxious as he needs to get home to feed