As eighteen year-old, high school student Keith Nelson returns home from work at an auto repair gas station, he stops the home of classmate Amada Jones, whom he desires from afar. He observes her bid farewell to her wealthy boyfriend, Hardy Jenns, who leaves after a romantic tryst in his black Corvette convertible. At home, Keith encounters his father, Cliff, who is reviewing college handbooks and encourages his son to be the first in the family with a university degree. Retreating to his room, Keith finds his sister, Laura. As he forces her to leave, she threatens to get him in trouble. Later, at the dinner table, Laura contends that Keith has bruised her arm, complains that he is the weirdest guy at school, and reprimands her parents for paying attention only to him. In the morning, Keith’s best friend, Watts, drives him to school in her old Mini Cooper. Observing that Watts is carrying only drumsticks and has no schoolbooks, Keith asks why she doesn’t study. She responds by asking if Cliff is still pressuring him about college, but reflects that it is better to have a father who cares too much than to not have one at all. As they walk into school, Duncan, a skinhead, blocks them with his leg and calls Watts a lesbian. When Keith and Duncan start to fight, a teacher breaks them up and Watts labels Duncan a wimp. Later, at the library, Keith draws a portrait of Amanda inside his textbook as he watches her flirt with Hardy. When the couple notices him, they kiss and Keith leaves in frustration. In the hallway, Watts warns Keith that his father is on campus. During his meeting with the school college counselor, Cliff learns that Keith is interested in art school, but insists that Keith must major in business and only pursue creativity in his spare time. As Keith works on a painting, he notices Hardy flirting with a blond girl. When Amanda also spots the couple, Hardy tells her that the girl is the distressed friend of his younger sister, asks her to trust him, and gives her a ring. Recovering from her anguish, Amanda realizes that Keith is again watching her. At the auto repair shop after school, Keith asks Watts what she thinks of Amanda and she expresses disapproval of Keith’s infatuation, warning him that Amanda is only interested in rich guys. Hardy and Amanda then pull into the gas station, and Hardy cautions Keith to stop watching Amanda. The next day, however, Keith again looks on when Hardy drops Amanda off at the high school track and sees the gym teacher give her detention for leaving campus. Keith proceeds to set off the fire alarm so he can also get detention and spend time with Amanda. However, Amanda avoids detention by flirting with the teacher, and Keith is stuck with other school outcasts, including Duncan. Despite past conflicts, Keith and Duncan compare artwork and become friends. When Keith and Watts later discuss the depth of Keith’s feelings for Amanda, he accuses Watts of not being able to understand because she has not been in love. She strongly disagrees, but is unwilling to reveal the source of her affection. In the girls’ locker room, Watts, dressed in men’s boxer shorts and a t-shirt, enviously notices Amanda’s feminine physique. In the evening, when Amanda is at the mall with her girl friend, Shayne, she again finds Hardy flirting with the blond girl and breaks up with him. Keith, who witnesses the scene, interrupts their argument and invites Amanda on a date. As Watts watches sadly, Amanda accepts and makes a point of letting Hardy know. At breakfast the next morning, Keith can’t stop smiling and Laura explains to the family that Keith has become a school hero for successfully asking Amanda out. Watts tries to make Keith jealous by pretending to be in a relationship with a male student but Keith is oblivious to her crush on him and asks to borrow her car so he can give Amanda a ride home. Meanwhile, Shayne urges Amanda to resume her relationship with Hardy and reject Keith’s advances. When Watts’ Mini does not start, Amanda invites him to ride with her in Shayne’s car as Hardy watches from his Corvette. Keith compliments Amanda’s diamond earrings, and she tells him that they are borrowed from Shayne. The next morning in the school art studio, Hardy tells Keith that he was looking for a way out of his relationship with Amanda and, in a feigned gesture of gratitude, invites them both to attend to his party on their date. Later, at a nightclub, Watts confronts Keith, who waits for Amanda. She suggests that they break off their friendship because it is too painful for her to be around him. The next day at school, Hardy follows Amanda into the girls’ locker room, tells her he loves her and insists on getting back together. She accuses him of inviting Keith to his party so that he can beat him up, and Hardy tells Amanda that her reputation is at stake if she continues to defend Keith. When Hardy is thrown out of the locker room by the gym teacher Amanda tosses his ring after him. Later, in the mall, Laura brags to her friends that Keith’s new relationship with Amanda has also made her a member of the popular crowd. When Laura’s friend challenges her to prove this assertion by going over to Hardy and his friends, Laura overhears Hardy’s plans to abuse Keith when he shows up at the party. Laura tells Keith about the conversation and warns him that Amanda is part of the scheme. Keith goes to see Watts and admits that she was right about Amanda’s insincerity, but says that he is going to go through with the date anyway because he wants to stand up to Hardy. In the meantime, Amanda’s rich girl friends ignore her. Keith brings Watts to a jewelry store to help him select a gift for Amanda and she chooses diamonds earrings that resemble those Amanda borrowed from Shayne. Keith pays for the diamonds with money he saved for college. At the auto repair shop, Watts suggests that she and Keith rehearse for his date. She asks him to pretend that she is Amanda and she kisses him passionately. Meanwhile, Cliff is furious that Keith’s college money is missing from the bank. Keith argues that he does not want to go to college and explains that his use of the funds has a greater meaning because it will enable him to prove his worth in a school that has deemed him an insignificant outcast and asks for Cliff’s faith. Cliff acquiesces, but vows not to give up encouraging Keith to pursue higher education. That evening, Keith picks up Amanda in a vintage Rolls Royce with Watts serving as a chauffeur. He takes her to a fancy restaurant and orders champagne and caviar, but she expresses irritation that he is giving her a hard time about hanging out with rich kids. They conclude their meal with cheeseburgers and begin to enjoy each other’s company, then visit an art museum after hours with the help of Duncan’s father, who is the security guard. Keith guides Amanda to her portrait, which he painted himself. Afterwards, Keith and Amanda sit on the stage of the empty Hollywood Bowl, and Keith accuses Amanda of using him. Amanda, however, calls him a hypocrite for using her status and beauty to prove his worth to the rich guys. He agrees to call it even and gives her the earrings, explaining that they represent his future and his life savings. Watts watches from the bleachers as Amanda cries, feeling ashamed for exchanging her true values for those of her materialistic friends, and kisses Keith. At the party, Hardy welcomes Amanda and Keith by asking if they have had sex and says that Keith will be getting Amanda “used.” When Keith pushes Hardy against the wall, Hardy tells his friends to take Keith outside and beat him up, but Keith challenges him to do it himself. Just as Amanda pleads with Hardy to let Keith go, Duncan shows up with the crew of outcasts from detention and threatens Hardy. When Hardy backs down in fear, Keith tells him that his reign of power has ended, and Amanda slaps Hardy. As they leave the party, Keith sees Watts outside waiting for him and recalls their kiss, finally realizing that he has feelings for her, too. Watts leaves Keith and Amanda by the car, but Amanda says that she wants to stand on her own and returns the earrings to Keith with the suggestion that he give them to Watts, instead. Keith runs after Watts, kisses her, and gives her the earrings. He apologizes for not having known about her feelings before and says she looks good “wearing my future” as they walk down the street with their arms around each other.