- After a David Bowie quote from "Changes" appears on the screen, we hear a voice (Brian Johnson's) reading from an essay assigned by a teacher, Mr. Vernon.
- The voice says that all five of the students who arrived for detention that day saw themselves in terms of stereotypes—nerd, jock, weird girl, rich girl, and delinquent. They were brainwashed…
- As the voice reads, we see images from around Shermer High School. Then we see a group of students arriving for detention.
- As Claire Standish's father drops her off, he coddles her for having detention, saying that skipping school to shop isn't a big deal.
- Brian Johnson's mother drops him off, badgering him to study during detention, while Andrew Clark's dad chides him for putting his scholarship at risk, before letting him out of the car.
- Finally, we see John Bender walking into school, while Allison Reynolds gets dropped off by a parent who almost hits Bender and then speeds away without looking at Allison.
- They all arrive in the library, assuming different seats.
- Vernon enters and assigns them to write an essay on "who they think they are," while also telling Bender not to sleep.
- When Bender sasses him, Vernon sentences Bender to another Saturday detention.