My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Dash felt betrayed when Verti, their mutual friend and newspaper advisor, assigned Assaf a solo article on the new auditorium instead of him. Seeing the growing rapport between Assaf and Verti sparked jealousy in Dash, leading him to retaliate by writing a negative article about Assaf that ended up on his permanent record.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Dash watching jealously as Verti and Assaf work together on the assignment.

• dash
• assaf
• verti
• betrayal
• jealousy
• school newspaper

The new auditorium was built on the top floor of the school, which sat precariously on a cliff above a fault line. Principal Grimm had forged the inspection report to approve the auditorium's opening. When the auditorium opened, its weight and structural failure triggered the entire school to tip and plunge into the ocean.

Foreshadowing: The introduction establishes that Tides High School is built on a cliff above a fault line, making it structurally vulnerable.

• auditorium
• collapse
• sinking
• principal grimm
• forgery
• inspection

The exact motivation isn't explicitly stated, but Grimm forged the inspection report to approve the grand opening of the auditorium. This allowed the school to proceed with the event despite potential structural concerns, likely to maintain appearances or meet deadlines without proper safety verification.

• principal grimm
• forgery
• inspection report
• auditorium

When the school sank and seawater flooded the sophomore library, Verti devised a survival plan using trapped pockets of air. They created air bubbles to breathe while navigating through the rising water, allowing them to survive until rescue arrived.

Foreshadowing: Verti's intelligence is established early through her newspaper leadership.

• flooding
• survival
• air pockets
• verti
• water

After finally admitting to his forgery, Grimm guided the group to scale the auditorium bleachers to reach safety. He sacrificed himself to ensure their escape from the collapsing structure, appearing to die as the school continued to sink. This act represented his attempt at redemption for his negligence and lies.

Foreshadowing: Grimm's earlier dismay at Dash's article suggests he cared about the school's reputation.

• principal grimm
• sacrifice
• death
• redemption
• escape

Brent Daniels is a student who reached the senior level during the disaster. There, he formed a cult-like group of followers. The exact reason for his following isn't fully explained, but in the chaos of the sinking, students gravitated toward charismatic leaders who offered apparent safety and structure.

• brent daniels
• cult
• senior level
• students

Lunch Lady Lorraine saves Dash from near-drowning and later rescues Verti from drug-dealing students. She demonstrates unexpected leadership and survival skills, calming tensions among teachers and students. Her transformation from a lunch lady to a heroic figure is a key satirical element of the film, subverting expectations about who can be a hero.

• lorraine
• lunch lady
• hero
• rescue
• survival

Despite Dash's betrayal and the traumatic events, Dash and Assaf survive together and their bond is strengthened. They decide to co-author a book documenting their experience, suggesting their friendship ultimately survived the test of the disaster and the earlier romantic complications.

Foreshadowing: Dash's heroic rescue of Assaf from the library shows his loyalty beneath the jealousy.

• dash
• assaf
• friendship
• book
• aftermath

The book titled 'Our Entire High School Sinking into the Sea' received bad reviews because critics found Dash's writing style overly complex. Despite their harrowing survival story, the execution was criticized for being too complicated, reflecting Dash's known tendency toward complex writing.

Foreshadowing: The film's narration and Dash's newspaper articles suggest he writes in a dense, intricate style.

• book
• reviews
• criticism
• dash
• writing style

Dash infiltrated the school archives to find his permanent record and uncover evidence of Grimm's wrongdoing. During this time, he met Mary, who was trying to retrieve her confiscated cellphone. Their combined actions to alert the student body about the administrative corruption led to them being placed in detention, which coincidentally occurred during the auditorium opening disaster.

Foreshadowing: Mary is established as an ambitious junior focused on retrieving her phone.

• dash
• mary
• detention
• archives
• cellphone

Verti, as the newspaper advisor, assigned Assaf a solo piece on the grand opening of the new auditorium based on his journalistic abilities. This professional decision inadvertently created tension because Dash interpreted it as favoritism or romantic interest, contributing to his jealous reaction.

• verti
• assaf
• assignment
• auditorium
• school newspaper

The catastrophic failure occurred during the grand opening of the new auditorium on the top floor. The weight of the crowd and the structurally unsound design, combined with the school's precarious location on a cliff above a fault line, caused the auditorium floor to give way. This triggered a chain reaction that made the entire school tip and plunge into the ocean.

Foreshadowing: The school is introduced as precariously positioned above a fault line.

• sinking
• disaster
• auditorium opening
• cliff
• fault line

The ending is bittersweet because the characters survive and strengthen their bonds, but face failure with the book's poor reception. Lorraine's departure reminds Dash that life continues with new challenges. The film suggests that surviving trauma doesn't guarantee closure, people move on, and new struggles emerge.

• ending
• bittersweet
• survival
• closure
• lorraine