Malcolm is willing to do anything to get out of class when a girl comes from the local high school asking for volunteers. She needs a changeling boy for their production of Midsummer Night's Dream. Other than the secret project there is no reason not to jump at the opportunity. Pretty soon he's in high school.

"Look at all these people, they're pierced, they're bruting, they are wearing weird clothes, they don't care about anything, it's like a room full of Francises." Malcolm doesn't seem to mind. He's soon promoted to play the biggest fairy in the whole play, Puck. Hal is just happy that it's not a musical. But the family does have to juggle their schedules around so that Malcolm can make practice.

Hal is left to take care of Dewey. Their first project is to build a LEGO tower. Much to everyone's surprise it actually looks like the box. Soon they are building a LEGO utopia. Or so Hal thinks when Dewey tells him everyone is born smart so that they don't need schools, but then he adds, "And, anyone stupid will be ground up for food."

Malcolm's secret project with his Krelboyne friends involves guided rocket with a TV transmitter. We don't know quite what it was intended to do but Malcolm is too busy to work on it anyway. He's been adopted by the high school girls who speculate about how cute he'll be at 15. He's absorbed in the gossip, in fact he may even be creating some. Then Malcolm asks the question half his Krelboyne friends ask themselves constantly, "What if I could just go straight to high school? I've been told skipping grades stunts you socially. I think I've been lied to." Although, some of them are probably thinking college, not high school.

Meanwhile, Francis has a different battle. Spangler begins a crusade against free thought. He begins in the game room by tearing down a poster of Garth Vader, the Country Music Czar of the Death Star. Francis' only recourse is to do everything the Commandant asks but one significant act of horticulture. A small flower blooms in his room. He doesn't mention his mother once.

Lois is the one dropping Reese off at practice and Malcolm at rehearsal, but she suddenly seems to have free time. Not just a little free time but a solid 25 minute block in the middle of her day. At first she's stunned and bewildered, but then she finds Mr. Lee. The woman that has never been relaxed sure loves a massage.

"Live, Live, Live, Die," Dewey is randomly killing the inhabitants of his "world that works." Except, it is not totally random, he made sure he first offed the tribunal of elders that presided over the judicial system.

Spangler kills the flower.

Mr. Lee leaves town.

Lois comes home, upset. Falls on living room utopia.

Falling on LEGOs hurts, but it can't be bad as Malcolm's pain. He calculates the wrong figures for the rocket control, and it heads straight for Caroline, interrupting her coaxing of the janitor to come to Lamaze class. The rocket is dead, but no one looses any fingers or even body hair. This isn't the painful part. See this play, where Malcolm is the lead, well, it's hard to remember where Jimmy was caught with his half-sister and your lines. I think it was the Jacuzzi.

After everyone leaves, Malcolm has a long time to re-orient himself. Not physically, he's hanging from the rafters, but me thinks he's not so excited about high school anymore.

He does remember his lines though.