Feline Filibuster

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Feline Filibuster
Chapter60 of 127 (list of chapters)
PublishedNovember 24, 2010 (2010-11-24)
Page count18
Major charactersSue, Abbey, Paulo, Jasmine, Daisy, Alec McCain, Tess
Minor charactersLucy, Mike, David, Rachel, Amaya, Katie
LocationsRoseville High School
Collected inVolume Three, Omnibus 1
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Election fever hits Roseville High: Sue wants real change, Jasmine is in the wrong grade, and Abbey thinks bullies should rot in hell. Somehow, the seat ends up with the one candidate who never meant to run.

Synopsis

Election season opens in the Roseville High School computer lab, where Jasmine and Paulo print three hundred posters for her council run.[1] At lunch, Sue makes a dramatic entrance of her own, campaigning for student-council secretary with McCain in tow.[2]

The trouble is, both campaigns want the same job. Paulo and Jasmine promise candy bars and no detention;[3] Sue counters with realistic policies, and the crowd scatters.[4] Then she drops the real bomb: only sophomores can run for secretary, and Jasmine is a freshman. Jasmine rounds on the boy who typed all 300 posters: "IT'S ALL OVER THE SCHOOL!! 300 sheets of WRONG, Paulo!!"[5]

Sue's recovery plan runs headlong into Abbey. She pitches a slate with herself as secretary, McCain as vice, Jasmine as treasurer, and some willing senior as president.[6] Tess refuses the top job.[7] Abbey refuses the alliance. He disagrees with Sue's platform and enters the race himself.[8]

Sue winces and holds up the corner of Abbey's enormous speech balloon to keep it from squashing her.
Sue gets crushed by the weight of Abbey's argument.

The secretaries' debate is where the wheels come off. Asked about rising bullying, Abbey answers in a single word: "Expulsion."[9] His follow-up broken-windows speech has a word balloon so big it literally squashes Sue at her podium.[10]

Sue pounces, accusing him of scare tactics and fascism.[11] Abbey loses control entirely: "BULLIES SHOULD ROT IN HELL!!"[12] His debate aide, Daisy, talks him down with a stress ball and a reminder about the counselor, then steps up to the podium in his place.[13]

Daisy is a debate natural, and she wins in a landslide, baby-kissing and all. McCain consoles the defeated Sue that she would not have had the power to change anything anyway.[14] A "WHAT REALLY HAPPENED" montage explains the mystery win: Paulo spent the election threatening half the student body into voting for Daisy.[15]

Daisy's first order of business as secretary is giving the job away: it was Abbey's campaign, and she has eighteen other clubs. Alone in the hall, Abbey smiles: "Heh heh heh.. Just according to plan.."[16] Jasmine wins treasurer, thanks Paulo with a hug, and leaves Abbey the PTA bake-sale money in several thousand pennies.[17]

Abbey smiles thinly against a green background, saying "Heh heh heh.. Just according to plan..".
Roseville High's new secretary takes the news suspiciously well.

Critical moments

  • Jasmine's candidacy dies on a technicality: only sophomores can run for secretary, and Jasmine is a freshman.[5]
  • Rather than back Sue, Abbey enters the race against her, disagreeing with most of her platform.[8]
  • At the debate, Sue's "fascist Roseville dictatorship" jab sends Abbey into a screaming breakdown over bullies.[11][12] Daisy calms him and takes his podium.[13]
  • Daisy sweeps the election after Paulo threatens students into voting for her.[14][15]
  • Daisy hands the secretaryship to Abbey, since it was his campaign in the first place.[16]

Character dynamics

  • Sue and Abbey: Sue treats Abbey like an obvious teammate until he becomes her opponent.[8] The debate exposes the difference between their instincts. Sue argues policy and public image; Abbey speaks from a raw, punitive place that Daisy has to manage in real time.[11][12][13] Sue can laugh off losing. Abbey cannot laugh off why he wanted the seat.
  • Abbey and Daisy: Daisy begins the debate as Abbey's aide and ends it as the candidate everyone trusts.[13][14] Her win is not a grab for power. She hands the office back because it was his campaign, which leaves Abbey both indebted to her and exactly where he wanted to be.[16]
  • Paulo and Jasmine: Paulo botches Jasmine's first campaign, then spends the day correcting it by hand and running a second, secret campaign for Daisy.[5][15] Jasmine still wins treasurer and still thanks him. Their partnership is messy, practical, and already comfortable enough for her to tease him after cleaning up his damage.[17]

Trivia & observations

  • Per Veronica's commentary, "Feline Filibuster" was a beta-title of Oliver's; her own working title had simply been "Elections".[1]

Related chapters

  • Pillow Talk: The very next chapter. Jasmine's packed schedule sparks a fight with Paulo, and its flashbacks explain Rachel's grudge against Tess.
  • Under Pressure: The source of Abbey's debate flashback: Noah pins Tess, and Abbey punches him.
  • New Beginnings: Where Abbey and Daisy got together and his counseling began.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 1
  2. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 2
  3. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 3
  4. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 5
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 6
  6. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 7
  7. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 8
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 9
  9. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 10
  10. ↑ Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 11
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 12
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 13
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 14
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 15
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 16
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 17
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Chapter 60: Feline Filibuster, page 18
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