My Best Friend's Exorcism

Gretchen says she was shaving her legs and the water turned red, and she can’t tell if the blood is real or a flashback. Abby instructs her to get out of the bath and stand on a towel; no blood gets on the towel, so this suggests Gretchen imagined it. Abby finishes her shift and awaits her nightly phone call from Gretchen, but she never calls.

On Monday, Abby picks up Gretchen for school. The Langs’ dog, Max, is digging through neighbor Dr. Bennett’s trash. Mrs. Lang says Gretchen isn’t going to school because she barely slept, but Gretchen pushes past her. Dr. Bennett threatens to shoot Max if the Langs don’t keep him out of his garbage. Abby and Gretchen drive off. Gretchen didn’t call the previous night because she was talking to a boy named Andy, whom she met at Bible camp. He’s done acid, and told Gretchen that her “flashbacks” are normal. The girls arrive at their religious private school, Albermarle Academy.

At lunch, Abby, Gretchen, Margaret, and Glee sit on the lawn and debrief. Aside from Gretchen, the others aren’t having flashbacks; Margaret thinks the acid wasn’t effective in the first place. Abby asks about the old outbuilding in the woods and the noises she heard there; Margaret says the building is a historical landmark that her family isn’t allowed to tear down. Margaret’s boyfriend, Wallace Stoney, appears and says they should have taken mushrooms because it improves sex. Everyone except Margaret leaves because they find Wallace annoying. Gretchen tells Abby that her flashbacks are intensifying, but Abby thinks they’ll go away soon, hoping this is true.

At a school assembly, the volleyball coach, Coach Greene, shows the students a bottle of “Bartles and Jaymes wine cooler” (90), which the police refer to as “rape juice.” Coach Greene warns that it is cheap and sweet but contains high alcohol content. She tells the girls that if they drink it, they’ll be “ruined” (sexually assaulted). Gretchen keeps feeling someone touching her. Coach Greene calls out Gretchen, and she thinks Wallace is touching her, but he claims he wasn’t. Coach Greene kicks Gretchen out, but she trips and everyone stops paying attention to the assembly. Principal Major lectures the students, then later lectures Gretchen in his office. She quits the volleyball team rather than apologize to Coach Greene. She and Wallace argue, and Wallace almost attacks her but notices people watching. Gretchen then vomits “worms” or “feathers,” and teachers run to help her.

Gretchen doesn’t attend school for a couple of days. Abby calls her, but she’s too sick to talk. Margaret is mad at Gretchen for what she said to Wallace. After a few days, Gretchen shows up to her ethics class, taught by Father Morgan, the chaplain. No one takes him seriously because he’s young, but Glee has a crush on him. Abby saved a seat for Gretchen, but she sits near the door instead, and when Abby speaks to her after class, Gretchen asks to be left alone until she admits her parents took her to a doctor to check if she’s still a virgin. Her parents heard noises from her room at night and thought she was having sex. She’s worried that her parents will send her to Southern Pines, a facility for people who are struggling with their mental health. Gretchen again claims she wants to kill her parents. Later, Abby convinces Margaret and Glee to sit with her and Gretchen at lunch, but Margaret still won’t speak to Gretchen. After Margaret and Glee leave, Gretchen says she also wishes Margaret would die. Gretchen invites Abby over that night, during her mother’s book club, at which everyone will be drunk and distracted. She also wants Abby to buy a phone and bring it to her. She has started to smell sour and promises to never hurt Abby, which concerns Abby.

After her TCBY shift, Abby goes to Gretchen’s house. The Langs assume Abby knows what’s wrong with Gretchen, but is afraid to tell them. Mr. Lang reveals owls have been killing cats near their house. Abby goes upstairs and gives Gretchen the phone meant to replace her confiscated one. She tries to convince Gretchen to reconcile with Margaret, but she’s not interested. Gretchen mentions a girl named Molly Ravenel who was sacrificed by a Satanic cult. She thinks such tragedies get swept under the rug to protect reputations. Abby is about to leave when Mrs. Lang’s book club speak to her; Gretchen interrupts by singing loudly. The women are uncertain of Gretchen’s tone, but her father asks her to stop. Gretchen keeps singing until he hits her; she pushes him and he stumbles. Birds start crashing into the house, some dying from the impact. Owls come and eat some of the dead birds. Gretchen screams for “it” to stop.

Abby picks Gretchen up for school the following morning, and Gretchen tells her that she constantly hears commands. Abby tries to cheer her up, but it doesn’t work. Margaret and Glee refuse to sit with Gretchen at lunch, and Gretchen starts speaking less. She’s stopped her and Abby’s nightly phone calls, and in the car on the way to school, she scribbles in her notebook. Her parents and Abby continue to suspect each other. Gretchen has stopped showering and wears the same clothes for days in a row. She falls asleep twice in Mr. Barlow’s class, and he tells Abby to convince her to stop taking drugs. Abby feels alone in her mission to assist Gretchen, but refuses to give up.

Abby asks her mother if any of her patients ever hear voices, and if there’s treatment. Abby’s mother tells her to worry about herself, not Gretchen, as the Langs will likely blame her for future attempts to help. Abby thinks her mother couldn’t possibly understand anything about her friends. Her mother says the family isn’t in a position to get rid of problems with money like Abby’s friends can. Abby is furious but can’t think of anything to say. Gretchen’s dog, Max, continues getting into neighbor Dr. Bennett’s trash, and he swings his cane at Gretchen one morning when Abby picks her up for school. Gretchen hits Dr. Bennett with her backpack. Mr. Lang fights with Dr. Bennett, and the girls leave.

In the car, Abby asks Gretchen what is happening to her, but Gretchen changes the subject to finding Molly Ravenel’s body and giving her a proper Christian burial to save her soul. Abby is furious and threatens to stop being Gretchen’s friend. Gretchen takes the wheel and swerves the car into traffic. Abby regains control of the car without hurting anyone. She says she’s done with Gretchen, but Gretchen begs her not to leave and agrees to tell the truth.