Textual Harassment
| Textual Harassment | |
|---|---|
| (Intermission) | |
 | |
| Chapter | “85.1” of 129 (list of chapters) |
| Published | August 22, 2014 |
| Page count | 1 |
| Major characters | Mike, David |
| Locations | Roseville High School |
| Collected in | Volume Five |
| Chapter navigation | |
| ← Total Recall | Trapped → |
| Read chapter | |
David passes a quiet class period by texting Mike a helpful emoticon diagram of himself punching him. Mike’s reply is a single emoticon, and it leaves David so stunned he disrupts the entire room.
Synopsis
During an ordinary day of classwork at Roseville High School, Mike’s phone vibrates inside his scarf. David, sitting at the desk directly behind him, has sent two texts: an emoticon of one figure punching another, followed by “(x.x)<--You.” in case the meaning wasn’t clear. David laughs to himself at his own desk while Mike shoots him an annoyed look over his shoulder.[1]
Then David’s own phone buzzes. Mike has replied with a single middle-finger emoticon, 凸(ಠ‿ಠ), and David is not remotely prepared for it. He slaps a hand to his cheek and blurts out a loud “WHOA”, drawing stares from every other student in the room. Mike goes back to his writing with a thoroughly smug grin.[1]
Trivia & observations
- Oliver’s commentary under the page calls it “Just a little intermission for today”, with the next chapter beginning the following Monday.[1]
- The only spoken word in the entire chapter is David’s “WHOA”. The rest of the dialogue is conducted in emoticons.[1]
- Mike’s comeback pairs the character 凸, used online as a raised middle finger, with the “look of disapproval” face.[1]
- Mike keeping his phone tucked inside his scarf is an established habit, first shown in Call Waiting and still going strong years later.[2][3]
- David never retires the bit, either. In the book-exclusive No Service, he is still texting Mike “U gay” in class.[4]
Related chapters
- Call Waiting: The first round of this exact game. David gets hold of Mike’s number and texts him “Ur gay” and worse from the desk right behind him. That time, Mike ends up screaming in the middle of class and losing his phone to the teacher.[2] The same setup is repeated here, right down to the seating, but Mike finally wins the exchange.[1]
- Love Note: Another one-page gag about a crude written insult aimed at Mike. There the insult arrives on paper, as a note attached to a friendship rose from Paulo, and Mike handles it with an eye-roll rather than a middle finger.[5]