Abby is jolted from a dream about the homecoming dance by her older sister, Fern. Their alarm didn’t go off, and Fern, who missed academic decathlon practice, blames Abby. While rushing to get ready, Abby feels self-conscious, aware of the new scrutiny she’s under because of the list. In the car, Fern complains about Abby’s perfume and announces that she’s skipping the homecoming dance to see a movie. Trying to make peace, Abby braids Fern’s hair, but Fern makes a sharp comment about not wanting to look like her.

At school, Abby and her friend Lisa are approached by a group of sophomore football players led by Chuck. In a rare move for upperclassmen, Chuck invites the two freshmen to an exclusive afterparty at the home of another sophomore, Andrew. Lisa is ecstatic, attributing the invitation to Abby’s new status. Hoping to repair their relationship, Abby finds Fern and invites her to the party. Fern, a junior, mockingly asks why she would attend a sophomore party, and her friends laugh. A hurt Abby walks away, resisting the urge to say something cruel in return.

Sarah decides to ride her old bike to school as part of a new rebellion. The idea came to her while sitting on the bathroom floor after Principal Colby sent her to wash the word “UGLY” off her forehead. The principal had also urged Sarah to help motivate others to take a stand so that the list won’t happen next year. Sarah becomes resolved to take her defiance further, seeing hypocrisy in the school condemning the list while sanctioning homecoming, which she sees as another “beauty contest.”

At their usual meeting spot, Sarah tells her friend Milo her plan: For the rest of the week, she won’t shower, brush her teeth, or change her clothes. Her protest will culminate in her attending the homecoming dance in this state. To her surprise, Milo asks if he can go with her as her date. Though baffled, Sarah agrees but forbids him from buying her a corsage. As they walk into school, Milo takes her hand. Sarah feels conflicted but allows the gesture.

Lauren is excited to be going to school for the first time. She declines her anxious mother’s offer to skip for pancakes, citing a potential pop quiz during first period. In homeroom, a group of girls, formerly friends with Candace, surrounds Lauren. They pepper her with questions about her life, charmed by what they see as her innocence. Lauren admits that she has never been kissed, and the girls predict that she will have a boyfriend by the homecoming dance. They also invite her to help decorate their cars for the homecoming parade.

When Lauren sees Candace walk by alone, she tells the girls that she feels sorry for her. They dismiss her sympathy, calling Candace “evil” and revealing that she has said mean things about Lauren. Later, Lauren follows Candace into the bathroom to apologize for the list. Candace is cold and tells Lauren that people are only being nice to her because of her new title. Lauren knows this is true but decides that she doesn’t care. She plans to enjoy her popularity.

Danielle is distracted at swim practice by memories of her summer romance with Andrew, a fellow camp counselor who also attends Mount Washington High. The new varsity swim coach, Coach Tracy, observes the practice and compliments Danielle’s speed before critiquing her flip turns, addressing her as “Dan.” Stung by the nickname, which echoes the list’s “Dan the Man” label, Danielle corrects the coach. She has been enduring similar taunts in the school hallways and feels guilty for speaking up to a coach she wants to impress.

After practice, her friend Hope reassures her that she will make the varsity team. Danielle then finds Andrew waiting for her. Suddenly self-conscious in her bathing suit, she wraps herself in a towel. He compliments her swimming and apologizes for ignoring her at school. When she asks about homecoming, he’s vague, saying that the football team is focused on their upcoming game and that plans for after are uncertain. As he leaves, Danielle feels relieved. She resolves to maintain a tough exterior and buy a beautiful dress for the dance to prove her femininity.

Margo is at cheerleading practice planning for homecoming with her friends and fellow co-captains, Rachel and Dana. Afterward, she heads to the parking lot to meet them for dress shopping, feeling nostalgic about her last high-school homecoming. She waves to Rachel and Dana waiting on her car trunk and then spots Jennifer approaching. Rachel reveals that they have invited Jennifer to join them.

Uncomfortable, Margo lies about a last-minute family dinner to get out of the trip. Annoyed, Rachel and Dana accept Jennifer’s offer to drive them instead, leaving Margo alone. Margo then has an extended flashback to the end of eighth grade, when she decided to cut Jennifer out of her life. Following her older sister Maureen’s advice, Margo hid upstairs while her mother delivered a fake-illness excuse to Jennifer and her mother at the door. She then ignored Jennifer’s calls all summer, cementing her place in a new friend group. A knock on her car window from her crush, Matthew, brings her back to the present. He notices that she seems worried, which she denies. After he leaves, Margo worries about what Jennifer is telling Rachel and Dana.

Jennifer drives Rachel and Dana to the mall. She’s thrilled to be included but hurt by Margo’s rejection. At a department store, the girls help her shop for a homecoming dress. The experience is humiliating, as Jennifer struggles to find anything stylish that fits her. She tries to remain positive as the search becomes less about what’s cute and more about what’s available in her size.

In the dressing room, she finally finds a cornflower blue dress that fits and makes her feel beautiful. Rachel and Dana agree that it’s perfect. However, a saleswoman interrupts and, when asked for an opinion, bluntly details how the dress is unflattering on Jennifer’s body, suggesting that she try The Salon on the third floor. Jennifer internally interprets this as being sent to shop where her mother shops—supposedly a place for plus-sized, older women. Devastated, Jennifer begins to cry. Rachel and Dana comfort her, dismissing the saleswoman and reassuring her that they will have fun at the dance together. Their promise of friendship and inclusion emboldens Jennifer, who defiantly buys the dress.

Candace stands by her closed swimming pool late at night, reminiscing about the summer when her friends came over daily. Impulsively, she jumps onto the pool cover, tearing it and plunging into the frigid, dirty water below. Her mother, Ms. Kincaid, rushes out but is more upset about the damaged pool cover than about Candace. Candace is too embarrassed to explain that the list is the cause of her distress and instead snaps at her mother.

Inside, Ms. Kincaid, a makeup artist, tries to cheer Candace up by offering her new eyeshadow and asking to do her makeup for the homecoming dance. She suggests that Candace host a pre-dance gathering to take pictures with her friends. Seeing an opportunity to mend her friendships, Candace agrees to the party and to letting her mother do her makeup, but only if she buys them two bottles of rum for the event. Ms. Kincaid groans at the request, and the conversation shifts to makeup, leaving the rum deal unresolved.