Noughts & Crosses
CONDENSED NARRATIVE SUMMARIES
CONTENTS PAGE
Callum And Sephy - Chapter 1-15
The Turning - Chapter 16-24
Breakdown - Chapter 25-42
The Split - Chapter 43-64
The Trial - Chapter 65-74
`The Way It Is´ - Chapter 75-88
The Hostage - Chapter 89-103
The Confession - Chapter 104-113
Decisions And Losing My Religion - Chapter 114-117
Copyright © 2026 OrCa Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
, Noughts & Crosses
CONDENSED NARRATIVE SUMMARIES
Callum And Sephy - Chapter 1-15
Chapter 1
It’s now three years later, and Sephy is enjoying a beautiful August afternoon on
the beach with her best friend, Callum. Callum, though, asks out of the blue if he
can kiss her, just to see what it’s like. Sephy wrinkles her nose—kissing is
“feeble”—but she agrees. It takes a minute to decide who tilts their head in which
direction, and Sephy is disgusted when Callum licks his lips. But then, Sephy
watches Callum lean in until their lips meet. They both close their eyes—until
Callum sticks his tongue in Sephy’s mouth.
Copyright © 2026 OrCa Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
,Sephy pulls away, disgusted, but then agrees to try again. Callum kisses Sephy
gently. At first his tongue is gross, but then it feels nice and Sephy kisses him back.
Her heart starts to thump, and she pulls away. Callum apologises and says the
kiss was just okay, which annoys Sephy. At Sephy’s prodding, Callum says he
hasn’t kissed any other Cross girls, or nought girls. He wanted to kiss Sephy
because she’s a friend. Sephy turns back to the sea. She loves her family’s private
beach, which stretches for miles. She and Callum have their special spot at one
end, where they’ve made a hole in the fence.
Sephy realises Callum is looking at her with an odd expression on his face. He says
he’s thinking about what it would be like to be the only two people in the world
and asks if Sephy ever thinks of running away. But then, bitterly, Callum says
there’s no point: the whole world is the same, so he doesn’t know where he'd go.
When Sephy insists the world isn’t so bad, Callum says it depends on one’s point
of view—and Sephy, unlike Callum, is on the inside. Sephy says she’d run away
with Callum, but he’d soon be bored of her.
Sighing, Callum says they need to get on with their tutoring session. Sephy is
disappointed; she’d hoped Callum would say he’d never get bored of her. It’s too
beautiful to work on homework, but Callum says he doesn’t want to give the
teachers at Sephy’s school any reason to kick him out. Sephy points out that
Callum is being cynical; he was accepted, so he’ll be fine. She says it’d be great if
he ended up in her class and is surprised when Callum doesn’t immediately
agree. Callum admits that it’s humiliating for the noughts to be stuck in the “baby
class.” Sephy resents this—she’s almost 14, after all—but Callum points out that
he’ll be 16 in six months, and he’ll be in class with 12- and 13-year-olds.
Chapter 2
Standing outside his house, Callum closes his eyes and tells himself he lives
somewhere grand. But when he opens his eyes, his house is still a “rundown
hovel.” Callum pushes the shame and anger down and walks in the front door.
Mum immediately runs for Callum and asks where he was. Callum ignores her
and sits at the table—where his 17-year-old “toad” of a brother, Jude, says Callum
Copyright © 2026 OrCa Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
, was with his “dagger friend.” Callum hates the word and tells Mum he was just
walking.
Jude, eating some spilled pasta right off the table, distracts Mum from Callum for
a moment. Callum greets Lynette, but she looks down. She and Callum have
always been close. But though she’s 20, Lynette has been “a bit simple” since she
was in an accident three years ago. She always looks serene, and Callum envies
her sometimes. Mum asks Callum again where he was, but Dad changes the
subject by asking if Callum is ready for school tomorrow. He’s thrilled his son is
going to Heathcroft, but Mum says it’s a mistake: noughts should have their own
schools that are just as good as Cross schools. They shouldn’t mix, as Crosses will
always treat noughts as second-class citizens.
Callum is shocked to hear Mum say this. Segregation has existed for forever, and
what will please the noughts and Crosses? Different planets? Mum and Dad
continue to argue, but Callum insists he’ll be fine. As Jude quips that Callum will
soon be too good for them, Callum sips his milk. He wishes he could have orange
juice, like Sephy has every night, but it’s too expensive. Jude continues to taunt
Callum. He’s been unbearable since Callum got accepted to Heathcroft, and it’s a
constant struggle to not hit him. Callum wants to escape to the beach with Sephy
and thinks of their kiss. He’s excited to go to school tomorrow. He’ll be able to
make something of himself with a “proper education”—and then nothing can
stand between him and Sephy.
Chapter 3
Sephy shuts down her computer. Tomorrow is the first day of school, and she’s not
excited for it. She is excited that four noughts, including Callum, will start at her
school. As she creeps downstairs for a drink, she asks God to let Callum be in her
class and imagines showing him around the school. Sephy then thinks of Mother,
who suddenly became humourless and miserable about three years ago. Her
dad, Mr. Hadley is still fun, when he’s around; he’s in politics and is never home.
As Sephy hits the bottom step, she hears Mr. Hadley angrily saying that the
“bleeding-heart liberals in the Pangaean Economic Community” make him
Copyright © 2026 OrCa Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
CONDENSED NARRATIVE SUMMARIES
CONTENTS PAGE
Callum And Sephy - Chapter 1-15
The Turning - Chapter 16-24
Breakdown - Chapter 25-42
The Split - Chapter 43-64
The Trial - Chapter 65-74
`The Way It Is´ - Chapter 75-88
The Hostage - Chapter 89-103
The Confession - Chapter 104-113
Decisions And Losing My Religion - Chapter 114-117
Copyright © 2026 OrCa Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
, Noughts & Crosses
CONDENSED NARRATIVE SUMMARIES
Callum And Sephy - Chapter 1-15
Chapter 1
It’s now three years later, and Sephy is enjoying a beautiful August afternoon on
the beach with her best friend, Callum. Callum, though, asks out of the blue if he
can kiss her, just to see what it’s like. Sephy wrinkles her nose—kissing is
“feeble”—but she agrees. It takes a minute to decide who tilts their head in which
direction, and Sephy is disgusted when Callum licks his lips. But then, Sephy
watches Callum lean in until their lips meet. They both close their eyes—until
Callum sticks his tongue in Sephy’s mouth.
Copyright © 2026 OrCa Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
,Sephy pulls away, disgusted, but then agrees to try again. Callum kisses Sephy
gently. At first his tongue is gross, but then it feels nice and Sephy kisses him back.
Her heart starts to thump, and she pulls away. Callum apologises and says the
kiss was just okay, which annoys Sephy. At Sephy’s prodding, Callum says he
hasn’t kissed any other Cross girls, or nought girls. He wanted to kiss Sephy
because she’s a friend. Sephy turns back to the sea. She loves her family’s private
beach, which stretches for miles. She and Callum have their special spot at one
end, where they’ve made a hole in the fence.
Sephy realises Callum is looking at her with an odd expression on his face. He says
he’s thinking about what it would be like to be the only two people in the world
and asks if Sephy ever thinks of running away. But then, bitterly, Callum says
there’s no point: the whole world is the same, so he doesn’t know where he'd go.
When Sephy insists the world isn’t so bad, Callum says it depends on one’s point
of view—and Sephy, unlike Callum, is on the inside. Sephy says she’d run away
with Callum, but he’d soon be bored of her.
Sighing, Callum says they need to get on with their tutoring session. Sephy is
disappointed; she’d hoped Callum would say he’d never get bored of her. It’s too
beautiful to work on homework, but Callum says he doesn’t want to give the
teachers at Sephy’s school any reason to kick him out. Sephy points out that
Callum is being cynical; he was accepted, so he’ll be fine. She says it’d be great if
he ended up in her class and is surprised when Callum doesn’t immediately
agree. Callum admits that it’s humiliating for the noughts to be stuck in the “baby
class.” Sephy resents this—she’s almost 14, after all—but Callum points out that
he’ll be 16 in six months, and he’ll be in class with 12- and 13-year-olds.
Chapter 2
Standing outside his house, Callum closes his eyes and tells himself he lives
somewhere grand. But when he opens his eyes, his house is still a “rundown
hovel.” Callum pushes the shame and anger down and walks in the front door.
Mum immediately runs for Callum and asks where he was. Callum ignores her
and sits at the table—where his 17-year-old “toad” of a brother, Jude, says Callum
Copyright © 2026 OrCa Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
, was with his “dagger friend.” Callum hates the word and tells Mum he was just
walking.
Jude, eating some spilled pasta right off the table, distracts Mum from Callum for
a moment. Callum greets Lynette, but she looks down. She and Callum have
always been close. But though she’s 20, Lynette has been “a bit simple” since she
was in an accident three years ago. She always looks serene, and Callum envies
her sometimes. Mum asks Callum again where he was, but Dad changes the
subject by asking if Callum is ready for school tomorrow. He’s thrilled his son is
going to Heathcroft, but Mum says it’s a mistake: noughts should have their own
schools that are just as good as Cross schools. They shouldn’t mix, as Crosses will
always treat noughts as second-class citizens.
Callum is shocked to hear Mum say this. Segregation has existed for forever, and
what will please the noughts and Crosses? Different planets? Mum and Dad
continue to argue, but Callum insists he’ll be fine. As Jude quips that Callum will
soon be too good for them, Callum sips his milk. He wishes he could have orange
juice, like Sephy has every night, but it’s too expensive. Jude continues to taunt
Callum. He’s been unbearable since Callum got accepted to Heathcroft, and it’s a
constant struggle to not hit him. Callum wants to escape to the beach with Sephy
and thinks of their kiss. He’s excited to go to school tomorrow. He’ll be able to
make something of himself with a “proper education”—and then nothing can
stand between him and Sephy.
Chapter 3
Sephy shuts down her computer. Tomorrow is the first day of school, and she’s not
excited for it. She is excited that four noughts, including Callum, will start at her
school. As she creeps downstairs for a drink, she asks God to let Callum be in her
class and imagines showing him around the school. Sephy then thinks of Mother,
who suddenly became humourless and miserable about three years ago. Her
dad, Mr. Hadley is still fun, when he’s around; he’s in politics and is never home.
As Sephy hits the bottom step, she hears Mr. Hadley angrily saying that the
“bleeding-heart liberals in the Pangaean Economic Community” make him
Copyright © 2026 OrCa Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
