Upon arriving, she learns her clique of friends, led by queen bee Chloe, have developed a catchphrase: "lick the star."
The girls shoplift rat poison and break into the targeted boys' lockers to contaminate their lunches, then hide behind the bleachers for secret "lick the star" meetings.
A case of broken telephone distorts the poorly phrased but innocent remark until the entire school believes Chloe is racist.
Returning to school after the suicide attempt, Chloe finds her former friends have revealed the "lick the star" plot to the other students, leading to further ridicule.
Kate watches from a distance as Chloe, sitting by herself, writes a short poem about how quickly things change.