The story begins with Venus Delmonico, a high school student from Staten Island, receiving an urgent email about an upcoming admission deadline from California Institute of Arts, where she has been accepted. Despite her passion for photography and desire to explore beyond her hometown, Venus hesitates to accept the offer due to her fears about leaving her mother, especially after the recent loss of her brother, Mike. As she starts to compose a reply to decline the offer, she is interrupted by a Facebook notification from JP Guerrero, the school's popular football player, inviting her to a practice game. Her friend Sydney then video calls her, playfully teasing her about her crush on JP and reminding her about the CalArts invitation. The call ends with Sydney announcing the start of a movie called "Nerve."