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== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
The [[Roseville High School]] lunch table is sitting through [[David]]'s birthday story for the third time that day, and [[Yashy]] is the only one still enjoying it.<ref name=":c35p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p1}}</ref> She garbles one of [[Mike]]'s muttered complaints into a rude claim about [[Lucy]], who leaps up with a blushing "'''OBJECTION!!'''" and smacks him across the face. The two of them fumble their way out of Yashy's suspicion with a hasty cover story about airplane-powered racecars, and Veronica's commentary confirms the secret they're protecting is [[Sandy]]'s existence. The bell bails them out, and as everyone scatters, [[Augustus]] lingers in the distance, writing in his notebook.
At lunch, [[Yashy]] garbles one of [[Mike]]'s muttered complaints into a rude claim about [[Lucy]], who smacks him across the face with a blushing "OBJECTION!!"<ref name=":c35p1">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p1}}</ref> The two scramble to throw Yashy off with a hasty cover story about airplane-powered racecars, and Veronica's commentary confirms the secret they're protecting is [[Sandy]]'s existence.


Over at the pool, the swimming unit is in its final week.<ref name=":c35p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p2}}</ref> The [[Gym Teacher (High School)|gym teacher]] sets her three best swimmers (Mike, [[Paulo]] and David) a five-lap race for extra credit, while the rest of the class is told to splash around.<ref name=":c35p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p3}}</ref> Daisy trails behind, wishing she could do something to catch Mike's eye, and swims face-first into the pool deck. Mike dives in and pulls her up, nose bleeding. Daisy makes the most of the moment, nuzzling his hand, calling him her hero, and adding a sultry "Unless, of course, you're looking for more.."<ref name=":c35p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p4}}</ref> Paulo storms in before Mike can answer and accuses him of toying with her. The teacher breaks it up, admitting she has been happily watching their "love triangle" play out. Instead of detention, she hands out sit-ups: 100 for Mike's third-place finish, and an eventual 500 for Paulo's mouth.<ref name=":c35p5">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p5}}</ref>
Over at the pool, Daisy, wishing she could do something to catch Mike's eye, swims face-first into the pool deck.<ref name=":c35p3">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p3}}</ref> Mike dives in and pulls her up, and Daisy makes the most of the rescue, nuzzling his hand, calling him her hero and hinting she wouldn't mind more.<ref name=":c35p4">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p4}}</ref> [[Paulo]] storms in before Mike can answer and accuses him of toying with her.


Abbey is waiting in the hallway when Daisy leaves the nurse's office, and he's not there for small talk.<ref name=":c35p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p6}}</ref> He's noticed she keeps skipping lunch and drifting off in class, and he asks outright whether "that older kid" put her up to the stunt with Mike. Daisy insists nobody told her to do anything, screams that he knows nothing about who she is, and storms off. Left alone, Abbey grits his teeth. "He's setting her up for something.. I know it."
Abbey is waiting when Daisy leaves the nurse's office, and he asks outright whether an older kid put her up to the stunt with Mike.<ref name=":c35p6">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p6}}</ref> Daisy screams that he knows nothing about who she is and storms off, leaving Abbey convinced that someone is setting her up for something.


Paulo, for his part, walks away from the pool fiasco with a prom date. He's busy reenacting the sit-ups saga for Tess (600, by his latest count) when she admits nobody has asked her to the upcoming prom.<ref name=":c35p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p7}}</ref> Paulo drops to one knee, rose in his mouth, and offers to escort her to the ball — and to make out with her on the way there. Tess laughs herself breathless before saying yes. "Just as friends, though."
Paulo, meanwhile, walks away with a prom date. When Tess admits nobody has asked her to the upcoming prom, he drops to one knee, rose in his mouth, and offers to escort her to the ball.<ref name=":c35p7">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p7}}</ref> Tess laughs herself breathless before saying yes — just as friends, though.


Tess's past catches up with her on the way out of school.<ref name=":c35p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p8}}</ref> She splits off down an out-of-the-way hallway, and Paulo notices she's been dodging her usual route for weeks now. The students around him whisper that she deserves whatever's coming. What's coming is Noah, an older student who corners her, grabs her hair, and brings up "you and Roger in gym class last year". [[Jessica]] smirks in the background and walks off without lifting a finger. School is out and the teachers are all in meetings, so all Tess can do is scream for help.
On her way out of school, Tess is cornered in an empty hallway by Noah, an older student who grabs her hair and brings up "you and Roger in gym class last year".<ref name=":c35p8">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p8}}</ref> With the teachers all in meetings, all she can do is scream for help.
 
Abbey comes running and flattens Noah with a single punch.<ref name=":c35p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p9}}</ref> Noah threatens to have him expelled, but Abbey couldn't care less, and a nasty smile sends him running. The fury drains away the moment Abbey turns to a shaken Tess.


[[File:c35_p9_panel3.png|alt=Abbey lunges down the hallway and punches Noah hard in the face, knocking him off his feet.|thumb|Abbey makes his introduction to the junior class.]]
[[File:c35_p9_panel3.png|alt=Abbey lunges down the hallway and punches Noah hard in the face, knocking him off his feet.|thumb|Abbey makes his introduction to the junior class.]]
It's Abbey who comes running. He flattens Noah with a single punch, breaking his glasses, and coldly tells him never to put his hands on "Tessa" again.<ref name=":c35p9">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p9}}</ref> Noah threatens to have him expelled and tries to explain the history. Abbey couldn't care less about either, and when he asks, with a nasty smile, whether Noah needs him to "'''HELP'''" him understand, Noah runs for it. The fury drains away the moment Abbey turns to Tess, and he apologizes for scaring her.
On the walk off campus, Tess admits that she and [[Roger]] made Noah's life miserable, and with Roger now out of the picture, she figures the school's anger is no less than she deserves.<ref name=":c35p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p10}}</ref> Abbey wheels on her, furious. "Nobody deserves to have that horrified, helpless look in their eyes.. Ever." He urges her to tell the others what she told him, and Tess, wondering aloud what Abbey himself is hiding, calls Paulo.
 
Tess owns up to her past on the walk off campus.<ref name=":c35p10">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p10}}</ref> She and [[Roger]] made Noah's life miserable, and with Roger now out of the picture, she figures the school's anger is no less than she deserves. Abbey wheels on her, furious. "Nobody deserves to have that horrified, helpless look in their eyes.. Ever." When she asks what he was doing in the Junior hallway at all, he'll only say he was looking for someone and didn't find him. He urges her to tell the others what she told him, and heads off. Tess, wondering aloud what Abbey himself is hiding, pulls out her phone and calls Paulo.


== Character dynamics ==
== Character dynamics ==
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== Trivia & observations ==
== Trivia & observations ==
* David's dazed "I'm not a rat, I'm a hedgehog!" mid-race is a nod to ''Sonic and the Secret Rings'', which Veronica's commentary confirms outright.<ref name=":c35p3" />
* David's dazed "I'm not a rat, I'm a hedgehog!" mid-race is a nod to ''Sonic and the Secret Rings'', which Veronica's commentary confirms outright.<ref name=":c35p3" />
* The [[Three Weird Girls]]' poolside chatter follows speech rules dating back to Veronica's pre-BCB comics: one only asks questions, one only exclaims, and one trails off flirtatiously.<ref name=":c35p2" /> Her commentary admits the rules made the page a chore to write.
* The [[Three Weird Girls]]' poolside chatter follows speech rules dating back to Veronica's pre-BCB comics: one only asks questions, one only exclaims, and one trails off flirtatiously.<ref name=":c35p2">{{Cite chapter|url=https://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c35/p2}}</ref> Her commentary admits the rules made the page a chore to write.
* Per Veronica's commentary, Mike is missing his swim trunks in one panel of the rescue — a slip that survived even the chapter's redraw.<ref name=":c35p4" /> Oliver adds that mistakes like it are inevitable across tens of thousands of drawings.
* Per Veronica's commentary, Mike is missing his swim trunks in one panel of the rescue — a slip that survived even the chapter's redraw.<ref name=":c35p4" /> Oliver adds that mistakes like it are inevitable across tens of thousands of drawings.
* Noah's ambush ends on a fully black panel carrying nothing but Tess's scream of "'''HELP!!'''"<ref name=":c35p8" />
* Noah's ambush ends on a fully black panel carrying nothing but Tess's scream of "'''HELP!!'''"<ref name=":c35p8" />

Revision as of 13:12, 21 July 2026

Under Pressure
Chapter35 of 127 (list of chapters)
PublishedMarch 17, 2007 (2007-03-17)
Page count10
Major charactersDaisy, Mike, Paulo, Abbey, Tess
Minor charactersLucy, Yashy, David, Sue, Katie, Amaya, Three Weird Girls, Augustus, Jessica, Gym Teacher (High School)
LocationsRoseville High School, Neighborhood sidewalks and streets
Collected inVolume One, Omnibus 1
Chapter navigation
← BondingCrash and Burn →
Read chapter

Swim class ends with a nosebleed, a rescue, and some startlingly forward flirting from Daisy. Then things turn serious in the Junior hallway, where Tess's past catches up with her and Abbey shows a side of himself nobody expected.

Synopsis

At lunch, Yashy garbles one of Mike's muttered complaints into a rude claim about Lucy, who smacks him across the face with a blushing "OBJECTION!!"[1] The two scramble to throw Yashy off with a hasty cover story about airplane-powered racecars, and Veronica's commentary confirms the secret they're protecting is Sandy's existence.

Over at the pool, Daisy, wishing she could do something to catch Mike's eye, swims face-first into the pool deck.[2] Mike dives in and pulls her up, and Daisy makes the most of the rescue, nuzzling his hand, calling him her hero and hinting she wouldn't mind more.[3] Paulo storms in before Mike can answer and accuses him of toying with her.

Abbey is waiting when Daisy leaves the nurse's office, and he asks outright whether an older kid put her up to the stunt with Mike.[4] Daisy screams that he knows nothing about who she is and storms off, leaving Abbey convinced that someone is setting her up for something.

Paulo, meanwhile, walks away with a prom date. When Tess admits nobody has asked her to the upcoming prom, he drops to one knee, rose in his mouth, and offers to escort her to the ball.[5] Tess laughs herself breathless before saying yes — just as friends, though.

On her way out of school, Tess is cornered in an empty hallway by Noah, an older student who grabs her hair and brings up "you and Roger in gym class last year".[6] With the teachers all in meetings, all she can do is scream for help.

Abbey comes running and flattens Noah with a single punch.[7] Noah threatens to have him expelled, but Abbey couldn't care less, and a nasty smile sends him running. The fury drains away the moment Abbey turns to a shaken Tess.

Abbey lunges down the hallway and punches Noah hard in the face, knocking him off his feet.
Abbey makes his introduction to the junior class.

On the walk off campus, Tess admits that she and Roger made Noah's life miserable, and with Roger now out of the picture, she figures the school's anger is no less than she deserves.[8] Abbey wheels on her, furious. "Nobody deserves to have that horrified, helpless look in their eyes.. Ever." He urges her to tell the others what she told him, and Tess, wondering aloud what Abbey himself is hiding, calls Paulo.

Character dynamics

  • Paulo and Tess: Flirty teasing is their default setting, and this chapter finally puts a date on the calendar. Tess accepts the rose-in-mouth proposal on strictly friendly terms, and when the worst afternoon of her school year is over, Paulo is still the one she calls.[5][8] Veronica's commentary sums up why this pairing works where Paulo's pursuit of Lucy stalls: "Tess flirts back!"[5]
  • Abbey and Tess: Before the Junior hallway they were barely more than acquaintances. Abbey rescues her without wanting to hear a word of the history behind it, then rejects her self-blame just as forcefully on the walk home.[7] By the end she trusts him with her worst secret, and she's paying close enough attention to spot that he has one of his own.[8]
  • Abbey and Daisy: Abbey was already the only one at the table who noticed Daisy's lunchtime absences.[9] Here his worry becomes a confrontation, and it goes about as badly as it could. Daisy screams at him to leave her alone and storms off shaking, while Abbey comes away convinced an older boy is setting her up for something.[4]
  • Daisy and Mike: Daisy's pining is old news, but acting on it is brand new. The rescue hands her an opening and she pushes it well past her usual shyness, while Mike stays flustered and non-committal.[3] Nothing between them actually changes, though the boldness itself is what alarms Abbey.

Trivia & observations

  • David's dazed "I'm not a rat, I'm a hedgehog!" mid-race is a nod to Sonic and the Secret Rings, which Veronica's commentary confirms outright.[2]
  • The Three Weird Girls' poolside chatter follows speech rules dating back to Veronica's pre-BCB comics: one only asks questions, one only exclaims, and one trails off flirtatiously.[10] Her commentary admits the rules made the page a chore to write.
  • Per Veronica's commentary, Mike is missing his swim trunks in one panel of the rescue — a slip that survived even the chapter's redraw.[3] Oliver adds that mistakes like it are inevitable across tens of thousands of drawings.
  • Noah's ambush ends on a fully black panel carrying nothing but Tess's scream of "HELP!!"[6]
  • Years later, Veronica pointed to this chapter when ranking the cast's fighters, calling Abbey's style enraged, mindless brute force.[11]
  • David's birthday story is the plot of Onwards to Adventure.[12] Two chapters on, he is still dining out on the day he skipped school.[1]

Related chapters

  • Bonding: The chapter immediately before this one shows the offer Abbey is so worried about. Augustus corners Daisy and promises to make her feel like the most desirable girl in the world, and Abbey all but quotes it back to her here.
  • Follow Me: Both of this chapter's secrets start here. Mike and Lucy make their pact to hide Sandy from Yashy under the lunch table, and Rachel's confrontation with Tess gives the first hint of the school's grudge against her.
  • A Different Side: Abbey's parting advice pays off when Tess faces the school's anger head-on, with Paulo standing up for her at the pep rally and asking whatever happened to second chances.
  • Love My Way: Paulo makes good on the rose and takes Tess to prom, corsage and all. The "just as friends" arrangement even gets borrowed, with Mike throwing the exact phrase at Daisy during the carnival.
  • Pillow Talk: A long flashback eventually shows the Tess-and-Roger era in full, including exactly why Jessica was happy to smirk and walk away.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 35: Under Pressure, page 1
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 35: Under Pressure, page 3
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chapter 35: Under Pressure, page 4
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chapter 35: Under Pressure, page 6
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Chapter 35: Under Pressure, page 7
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chapter 35: Under Pressure, page 8
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chapter 35: Under Pressure, page 9
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Chapter 35: Under Pressure, page 10
  9. ↑ Chapter 34: Bonding, page 1
  10. ↑ Chapter 35: Under Pressure, page 2
  11. ↑ . 2016-04-13 https://bittersweetcandybowl.tumblr.com/post/142763176391/i-have-been-reading-bcb-for-a-while-and-i-just. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ Chapter 33: Onwards to Adventure, page 1
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