Scott Howard plays on his high school basketball team, the Beavers. They play so poorly that his coach tries to forfeit the game. Scott tells his close female friend “Boof” that he is tired of being average, and expresses his desire to date classmate Pamela Wells. Boof tells him he can do better than Pamela. Scott begins experiencing unusual symptoms including ringing in his ears, a more acute sense of smell, and he finds an abnormally long hair attached to his chest. At his father Harold’s hardware store where he works after school, Scott covers his ears in pain when a kid blows a dog whistle. Sometime later, Scott asks Pamela to go to a party with him, but she dismisses his offer. He and his underage friend, Stiles, attempt to buy beer from a store clerk, and when denied, Scott’s eyes glow red, and he demands a keg from the frightened man. As they drive to the party with the beer, his friend Lewis tells Scott to forget about Pamela, and ask Boof out instead, claiming that Boof likes him. Scott is alarmed when he notices that his ears have become pointed. During a party game, Boof pretends she has drawn Scott’s name so she can spend two minutes alone with him in a closet. She admits her deception, and as they kiss, Scott gets carried away and scratches her back. Boof slaps him, and emerges from the closet with claw marks ripped in the back of her blouse. Scott races home and stares at himself in the bathroom mirror as he transforms into a werewolf. Sensing something is wrong, his father orders Scott to unlock the bathroom door, and Scott is shocked to see that his father has also transformed into a werewolf. Harold Howard tells his son that “an explanation is long overdue,” and he had hoped the condition would skip a generation. However, Scott refuses to talk about his transformation. In the morning, both father and son have returned to normal. Harold tells Scott there are some unexpected benefits to being a werewolf, and it is not all negative. At school, Pamela Wells notices that something is different about Scott. He begins to have tunnel vision, and flees class when his nails begin to grow into claws. Scott hides in the bathroom and desperately wills himself not to make a full transformation. Sometime later, Scott tells his friend Stiles about his condition, and changes into a werewolf before his eyes. Stiles is momentarily surprised, but asks what he can do as a “teen wolf.” Enterprising Stiles begins calling him “T. W.” and plans to turn his friend into a sensation, despite Scott’s plea for secrecy. Boof lets Scott know she is “there for him” if he ever needs to talk, but he does not share his secret with her. During a basketball game, Scott surprises himself and his classmates when he turns into a werewolf in mid-court. The hairy beast dribbles the ball and makes a basket in front of the speechless onlookers. Scott dunks basket after basket and is immediately adored by his peers. He enjoys his newfound popularity, and remains in his werewolf form everyday, attracting the attention of Pamela, much to Boof’s agitation. In time, Pamela seduces Scott and they have sex. Their relationship angers Pamela’s boyfriend, Mick, and Scott is surprised that she and Mick are still a couple. Pamela callously tells Scott that she is going to the school dance with Mick. Scott’s showmanship on the basketball court annoys his teammates, and his father is irritated when Scott fails to show up for work at the hardware store. Harold warns his son to be careful not to let his destructive side emerge, but Scott disregards the warning. Sometime later, Scott asks Boof to be his date to the Spring dance, and she accepts on condition that he escort her as himself, and not in werewolf form. However, Scott prefers his wolf persona, refusing to be “average.” Boof agrees to dance with him even though he arrives as a werewolf. She takes him into the hallway and kisses him, and Scott returns to human form for her. Mick sucker-punches Scott and insults Boof. Scott turns into a werewolf and slashes at Mick, tearing his shirt. Although his classmates support him, Scott leaves, ashamed of his violent reaction. He decides to stop being a werewolf while at school, and quits the basketball team. Later, he returns to the team, but refuses to transform for the crowd. The players work together, and the Beavers win when Scott scores the final point. He is admired by his classmates for being himself, and not for his werewolf persona. Scott embraces Boof in a victory kiss.