My Best Friend's Exorcism

Abby drives Gretchen home, and she seems disturbed. Abby then returns to her own house, which depresses her, then retreats to her bedroom, which is full of childhood stuffed animals and things she bought with money from working at the TCBY frozen yogurt shop. She showers and applies makeup, due to struggling with acne and not being able to afford dermatology. She goes to her shift at TCBY; then Gretchen calls her and says “everything’s covered in blood” (77).

Gretchen says she was shaving her legs and the water turned red, and she can’t tell if the blood is real or a flashback. Abby instructs her to get out of the bath and stand on a towel; no blood gets on the towel, so this suggests Gretchen imagined it. Abby finishes her shift and awaits her nightly phone call from Gretchen, but she never calls.

On Monday, Abby picks up Gretchen for school. The Langs’ dog, Max, is digging through neighbor Dr. Bennett’s trash. Mrs. Lang says Gretchen isn’t going to school because she barely slept, but Gretchen pushes past her. Dr. Bennett threatens to shoot Max if the Langs don’t keep him out of his garbage. Abby and Gretchen drive off.