Cut Short
| Cut Short | |
|---|---|
| (Intermission) | |
 | |
| Chapter | “96.1” of 129 (list of chapters) |
| Published | May 15, 2017 |
| Page count | 2 |
| Major characters | Mike |
| Locations | Mike’s house |
| Collected in | Volume Six |
| Chapter navigation | |
| ← Unspoken Rule | After You → |
| Read chapter | |
A two-page intermission finds Mike alone in his bedroom after an awful day, with nobody to turn to but Sandy and a phone that stays quiet no matter how many messages he sends.
Synopsis
Mike trudges into his bedroom and slumps down at his desk, where the bonsai tree sits beside his lamp. Little figures of himself and Sandy rest at its base, and one look at the pair of them has him in tears. He pulls out his phone.[1]
His first message to Sandy just says “I miss you.” He follows it up to explain that he’s had a really awful day and needs someone to talk to, then asks whether she has time to call. The sun sets outside his window while he waits.[2]
No call comes, and no reply either. By the time Mike lifts his head again, the sky outside is dark and full of stars. He types out one last message and lets her off the hook: “Actually, don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”[2]
Character dynamics
- Mike and Sandy: Long distance has made Sandy the person Mike saves all of his hurt for. He spends a whole evening asking her to call, since “Just hearing your voice would be really nice.....”, and hears nothing back at all.[2] Rather than let her see how much that stings, he tells her not to worry about it. Covering for Sandy’s silence instead of admitting it hurts becomes a habit that sticks around well past this chapter.[3]
Trivia & observations
- There isn’t a single spoken word in the whole chapter. The only text anywhere is the four unanswered messages on Mike’s phone screen.[1][2]
- Oliver’s commentary under the first page calls this “A little two-page intermission to round out the week”, before adding a sarcastic “Guess who’s in a healthy relationship!”[1]
- Under the second page, Oliver’s commentary greets the scene with “It’s the misery phone again.”[2]
- The timestamp on Mike’s phone pins the scene to an exact date, with the first message going out at 3:35pm on September 25, 2008.[2]
- The bonsai is a keepsake from Hot Pursuit, where Mike’s mom passed along the tree Sandy left behind after her missed visit.[4] The little figures of the two of them have sat beneath it since the end of that chapter.[5]
Related chapters
- Unspoken Rule: The “really awful day” from Mike’s texts happens at the end of that chapter. Lucy tells him to his face that she doesn’t like him anymore, and on the walk home he passes her house just in time to watch Paulo ask her out to the carnival that same night.
- Dial Tone: Mike has spent a night like this on his phone before. After a nightmare, he redials Sandy’s voicemail over and over until he ends up hurling the phone across the room. Lucy also teased him in that chapter about staying home to “sob to that dumb bonsai tree she gave you”, which is exactly how he spends this one.
- High Expectations: A few chapters later, Mike sits at the same desk and sends Sandy the identical “Actually, don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”, word for word.