In this sharp, sly look at a high school culture built on shortcuts and bragging rights, a pair of charismatic students chart a course from pint-sized pranks to full-blown cheating syndicate. The story opens with a long history of rule-breaking that begins in kindergarten, where Handsome Davis and Sammy Green start snatching test answer keys and skirting the lines of honesty for the sake of an easy grade. As years pass, their scheme expands in scope and audacity: in middle school they rely on a trusted classmate, Evan Rosengarten, to do their homework, and they sweeten the deal with explicit material Evan’s family unintentionally supplies. This reckless loop is jolted when Evan’s mother discovers a particularly shocking piece of evidence—a bestiality tape—unleashing a reckoning Handsome didn’t foresee, one that hinges on whether his father will own up to the scandal.
Entering high school, the duo’s appetite for cheating blossoms into a full-blown enterprise. They recruit Victor Barone and Jon Applebee, the latter a mastermind of crib sheets and privacy-busting plans, and they even seize the janitor’s master key to gain access to the locked world of the classroom. Their operation evolves into a marketplace where answers flow for money and favors, a scheme that gains visibility when Principal Stark publicly confirms that the locks will be changed to curb the thefts. Handsome insists on keeping the brand alive, pressing the crew to “prove” they’re still in business by staging a daring in-house coup—sometime during a break-in, when Applebee hesitates, the operation nearly unravels as the janitor catches them in the act. Yet the group talks its way out of trouble, exploiting their youthful bravado to keep the machine moving.
The tension intensifies around the physics department, where Mr. Harkin looms large as the professor responsible for one of the most daunting midterms of the year. To steal the answer key, Handsome pretends to confide in Harkin about a confusing moment of sexuality, a ruse that lets Victor copy the key while Handsome preserves his own magical grip on the situation. Yet the plan strains the trio’s alliance: Victor urges cutting ties with Applebee, while Handsome convinces him to retain Applebee in a limited role. Despite the friction, the trio reconciles—only to see the heat intensify again when they agree to cheat on the physics midterm and then confront Harkin when the exam day arrives. In a dramatic moment, Handsome strips his shirt in a fevered defense of his supposed honesty, a gesture that leaves Harkin momentarily convinced, while Sammy and Victor receive reprimands that signal the unraveling of their carefully crafted veil.
Parallel to these high-stakes gambits, Sammy tries to steer Handsome toward a more studious path by bringing in a conscientious classmate named Julie Merkel to tutor him. The dynamic on the ground grows messy as Handsome convinces Sammy to keep cheating, even as Julie’s presence offers a glimmer of a different future for one friend who seems ready to walk away from the fraud. The world of the history classroom becomes its own theater, as Mrs. Herman—nicknamed “the grade book” for her meticulous record-keeping—prepares to grade the final exam with the same stern, unflinching eye she’s used to applying to every student’s behavior. The tension between staying on the straight and narrow and chasing the easy victory of a perfect grade escalates into a standoff that looms over who will survive as the year ends.
When the final history exam arrives, Handsome and Victor flirt with the idea of ditching the old system altogether. They, with a broader crew, decide to abandon traditional crib sheets and instead craft an obscene, memory-aiding song to memorize the historical material. Principal Stark sees the dramatic shift as a sign that the boys have reformed, and opts not to punish them, at least not publicly. Yet the rest of the class feels the pressure of the new reality—a culture where success is measured by the number of loopholes exploited rather than the work put in.
As senior year nears its end, Mrs. Herman uses her grade book as leverage to pressure her students during college admissions, pushing Handsome and Victor toward ever bolder acts to preserve their standing. A cascade of accusations, confessions, and strategic moves follows: Handsome and Victor suspect Applebee may have authored an anonymous letter that implicates Victor, while Sammy, now acting as a double agent, tries to shield his friends without tipping the scales too far toward punishment. In a bid to avoid the consequences, Handsome tries to intimidate Julie, hinting that the graduation crowd might chant some damning verdict about her. The tension peaks when Applebee testifies against Victor, forcing a crunching moment of truth.
A mid-year plea bargain emerges from the chaos: Sammy proposes a summer retake of world history for those who want to salvage their diplomas, a plan that allows Victor to own up to his own role while keeping Handsome’s involvement in the background. In a surprising turn, Handsome ultimately accepts a similar offer, acknowledging that the road to graduation requires a reckoning with the past. At graduation, Handsome stands before the crowd with a mix of defiance and contrition as Mr. Harkin presents him with a physics achievement award—an ironic stamp of recognition for a student whose record is defined by bending the rules rather than following them. The crowd’s chant—“cheated on the midterm”—becomes a chorus that Handsome shrugs off with a half-smile, a small victory for a boy who has always believed in his own charisma more than in his own integrity.
As the final credits roll, the truth behind the anonymous letter is unveiled in a twist: Mrs. Herman’s adopted sons are revealed to have authored the note, Victor’s status as an adoptee is confirmed, and Sammy’s attempts at romance with Julie culminate in a complicated, morally gray ending. The narrative concludes with the broader joke of a system that rewarded cunning over honesty, while quietly acknowledging the personal costs borne by those who took the cheating road. The story closes with hints that the lessons learned extend beyond exam rooms and classrooms, leaving the audience to consider how much of what we value in school—and in life—depends on who is watching, who decides the rules, and who pays the price when the room’s chalk dust settles.
> "Julie is a rat"
