First-Degree Burn

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First-Degree Burn
Chapter125 of 129 (list of chapters)
PublishedMay 16, 2025 (2025-05-16)
Page count18
Major charactersMike, Augustus, Lucy, James, David
Minor charactersFinn, Felix, Lucas, Max, Katie, Amaya, Sue, Daisy, Paulo, Alejandro
LocationsRoseville High School
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Lucy’s nightmares are back, and Mike isn’t sleeping much better. When Augustus asks him to give Lucy the oval at recess, Mike promises to stay indoors. The promise lasts until roughly lunchtime.

Synopsis

Lucy sprints down a narrow brick alleyway at night in a recurring nightmare, begging “Not again!”, until she reaches a dumpster at the dead end.[1] Footsteps follow her in. Backed against the dumpster in tears, she screams at her pursuers as they step into view one by one, blank and cold: Sue, then Daisy, then Paulo. The last figure to round the corner is Alejandro, grinning down at her as she shrieks “JUST GO AWAY!!”[2]

A tired-looking Mike is putting his bag away when Augustus stops him at his locker. Lucy hasn’t been doing well lately, and it doesn’t help that Mike is out at the oval every recess with his track friends.[3] She left Mike’s group to give him space, Augustus points out, and now Mike is intruding on hers.[4] Mike protests that James and David started hanging out there without asking him, then tries to continue: “I’m sure you don’t really care, but..” Augustus cuts him off with a flat “I don’t.”[5] Mike agrees and promises not to come outside anymore, and Augustus tells him it’s better this way.[6] Next class, Mike takes a desk near a visibly worn-down Lucy and turns to stare out the window. Neither of them says a word.[7]

At lunch, Mike spots James and David heading happily for the cafeteria’s back doors.[8] He screams at them to wait and suggests sitting and chatting indoors, citing the cold and the need to save energy.[9] David flatly notes that Mike doesn’t have to come, James would rather go out anyway, and the two walk off laughing.[10] Left standing there, Mike thinks “It’s so easy to forget me!”[11]

The track team has been watching the whole display. Finn offers Mike a spot with them, and the team assures him that James is just an easily distracted idiot who definitely likes him.[11][12] Mike gazes after the boys, hardens, and decides he can still catch up to them, earning a dry “Oh, brother.” from Finn.[12]

Moments later he is out the back doors and running the track with James and David, telling himself “I have a right to be out here!” Lucy and Augustus are sitting on the grass against the school wall, and Augustus glares Mike down while a startled Lucy puts a hand on Augustus’s shoulder.[13]

Character dynamics

Mike screams "WAAAAIT!!" as James and David freeze mid-smile on their way to the cafeteria doors.
Mike’s bid to keep the boys indoors starts at full volume.
  • Mike and Augustus: Mike promised in Burnt Bridges to leave Lucy alone entirely,[14] and Augustus now asks him to stay out of the oval at recess as well. Mike hands over the oval without a fight,[6] then breaks his word before the day is out, leaving the two of them in open, unresolved conflict.[13]
  • Mike and James: Mike begs James and David to stay indoors, but they leave laughing.[10] James’s admiration had already drifted toward David in Second String.[15] After Felix insists that James “definitely likes you”, Mike abandons a fresh promise and chases after him.[12][13]
  • Mike and the track team: Finn and Felix see Mike standing alone and offer to hang out with him.[11] Mike leaves the table to chase James instead, and the offer goes untaken.[12]
  • Lucy and Augustus: Augustus approaches Mike on Lucy’s behalf and asks him to stay away from the oval at recess.[3] When Augustus glares at Mike on the final page, Lucy puts a startled hand on his shoulder.[13]

Trivia & observations

Augustus glares at Mike from the grass while Lucy, startled, puts a hand on his shoulder.
Augustus learns exactly how long Mike keeps a promise.
  • The title keeps up the countdown running through recent chapter names, after Third Wheel and Second String. Veronica’s commentary admits the trend “was not originally done on purpose”, though it has since been kept up deliberately.[1]
  • Per Veronica’s commentary, Augustus’s dark hoodie is the first piece of clothing he has ever owned. It was a Christmas gift from Lucy’s family, in his favourite colour.[16]
  • There is no dialogue on page 11. Mike sits near Lucy, looks back at her, and turns towards the window while she stays at her desk.[7]
  • Anyone worried about the locker confrontation turning physical can relax — Veronica’s commentary insists Mike could win that fight, calling Augustus “a brittle little baby”.[6]
  • Mike’s stomach growls again. Paulo accused him of starving himself in Track Meet, and he admitted to skipping eating in Seeing Stars.[8][17][18]
  • Lucy has dreamed this before. In Escape Route the same alley filled with the same tormentors, except that lineup also included Mike, and Lucy’s begging was aimed squarely at him. This time he isn’t in the dream at all.[2][19]
  • The page 1 commentary announces the death of Mia, Veronica and Oliver’s 16-year-old cat, who was put to sleep the week the chapter began. Veronica thanks patrons for helping fund her vet care over the years.[1]

Related chapters

  • Seeing Stars: Lucy was left cornered in the alley by four shadows with hidden faces. Here the figures are revealed as Sue, Daisy, Paulo, and Alejandro. Augustus also glared at Mike across the oval there, just as he does when Mike returns to the track here.
  • Burnt Bridges: The deal Augustus invokes at the lockers was struck here, when Mike promised on the snowy bleachers never to speak to Lucy again and asked Augustus to look after her. Asking for the oval widens that same arrangement.
  • Line in the Sand: Augustus doesn’t let the broken promise slide. Two chapters later, Augustus confronts Mike again at recess over the broken promise and Mike’s return to the oval.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 1
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 4
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 7
  4. ↑ Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 8
  5. ↑ Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 9
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 10
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 11
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 12
  9. ↑ Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 13
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 14
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 16
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 17
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 18
  14. ↑ Chapter 111: Burnt Bridges, page 17
  15. ↑ Chapter 124: Second String, page 16
  16. ↑ Chapter 125: First-Degree Burn, page 6
  17. ↑ Chapter 115: Track Meet, page 4
  18. ↑ Chapter 120: Seeing Stars, page 14
  19. ↑ Chapter 102: Escape Route, page 24
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