Bolton surprises everyone when he wins the prestigious Henry Lawson poetry contest but his classmates' suspicions are soon confirmed when new arrival, mature student Max Harrison (who
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Bolton surprises everyone when he wins the prestigious Henry Lawson poetry contest but his classmates' suspicions are soon confirmed when new arrival, mature student Max Harrison (who has recently quit the army and returned to school for his High School Certificate) reveals that Bolton's work is plagiarised — ironically, the poems are by Ern Malley, the infamous, and fictional, Australian poet. Having already spent the prize money on a diamond nose stud for Stassy, Bolton gets a job as the slogan-spouting street-corner pitchman Chucky the Chicken ("I'm Charlie the Chicken and my thighs are going really cheap!") to earn back the money. Meanwhile, Max leads a revolt against Ronnie and her course material, but when he attempts to initiate a walkout, the class is reluctant to join him and come to Ronnie's defence. Max's short stint at Hartley comes to an end after he helps Danielle spice up her safe sex article in the school's magazine. Ms. Dyson receives a number of complaints from parents about the issue and decides to expel Max and his can't-take-orders attitude. Charlie chooses incorrectly when he must decide whether to help Roberto assemble a do-it-yourself burglar alarm or go out with Katerina. When the alarm goes haywire, Charlie quickly falls into Roberto's bad books, which of course makes him all the more desirable to Katerina. Bolton is heartbroken when Stassy responds to his declaration of love by telling him she likes him only as a friend. Bolton soon returns to his familiar jocular role, as indicated by the performance of his rousing new autobiographical poem: "There once was a young fellow from Hartley / Who thought he could do things real smartly / But he gave up all hope / 'Cause he was a complete dope / If not completely, then partly!"
