The Follower

Cromwell High sophomore Courtney Garabedian is destined for greatness, becoming a doctor like her dad and saving the world. But when she comes to the locker aid of Sarah Smith, a nerdy new girl punked by the suburban school’s Divas, her orderly life is upended. First, Diva Nicole’s lab experiment goes up in flames, Sarah dousing her with dry chem and enlisting Courtney’s rescue. Courtney then finds her prized VW Bug keyed, Sarah blaming Nicole and proposing revenge, offering a computer program of incriminating Diva dossiers. Courtney opts instead for a Sarah makeover and guys take notice. Diva leader Lindsey isn't pleased with Courtney's new allegiance - she was once a Diva - and when talk turns to the VW scratches, Lindsey makes the case for Sarah's complicity, infatuated with Courtney and desperate to keep battle lines drawn. Courtney backs off the friendship and Nicole fills the void, offering a vulnerable Sarah entry into the Diva circle. When Courtney finds her tires slashed, she confronts Sarah and finds her drunk, prepping for a Diva initiation. The Nicole-led ritual spirals into a taped sadomasochistic tryst, repulsing Lindsey into disbanding the group. Sarah, however, takes it in stride, becoming a babe in black leather. Needing to understand Sarah, Courtney digs into her past online. Nicole resurrects the Divas and Sarah is bullied mercilessly, culminating in a mysterious BMW explosion that sends Diva wannabe Grace to the hospital. Courtney suspects Sarah, having learned she’s the daughter of a woman who planted a detonator in her abusive husband’s car. Visiting Grace in the Burn Unit, Courtney’s presence unintentionally attracts police scrutiny. Sarah pitches Courtney – if she helps kill Nicole, Sarah will take the rap for everything. Courtney refuses and soon finds police combing her car for bombing evidence, obliging her to do Sarah’s bidding and deliver a padded envelope to Nicole’s house. Only she doesn’t. At school, Courtney’s lab experiment inexplicably goes up in flames, Nicole putting it out. Fingers are pointed at Sarah and the three are sent to the principal's office - the lab fires appear identical and the padded envelope on the principal's desk clearly incriminates Sarah with her handwriting and the Diva dossiers, which Courtney found on her computer. Sarah freaks and flees school, commandeering Courtney and her VW at gunpoint. With the police in pursuit, Sarah laments Courtney's betrayal - she was going to put a tiny, deadly snake in the envelope after it was delivered. Courtney begs her to give up and Sarah bitterly forces her out, racing away down the two-lane, the VW exploding into a fireball. Twelve years later, Courtney's a doctor. She showers after work, asking her young daughter to get a towel. She returns with a bathrobe, explaining that a lady with a funny face gave it to her. Courtney hears a car start up and runs out, watching a VW Bug motor down the street - and Courtney returns to the day she and Sarah first met, the day Courtney's goodwill unlocked a tempest of revenge for all time.