Midterm Time

Midterm Time
Chapter	29 of 127 (list of chapters)
Published	January 12, 2007 (2007-01-12)
Page count	5
Major characters	Mike, Daisy, Tess
Minor characters	Lucy, Paulo, David, Abbey, Math Teacher
Locations	Roseville High School, Daisy's house
Collected in	Volume One, Omnibus 1
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Midterms loom at Roseville High, and stress levels are through the roof! Daisy takes it upon herself to whip Tess into academic shape, but her tough-love tutoring is a far cry from the gentle treatment her beloved "Mikie" gets. Will Daisy's efforts pay off, or will this be one test she can't ace?

Synopsis

The pressure is on as exam time approaches for the Roseville gang. Mike floats into the cafeteria, riding high on his report card and ready to gloat. "You'd be dancing too if you got HONOR ROLL!" he proclaims, much to Paulo's annoyance. Tess looks glum, prompting Daisy to tactlessly ask "It's not because of your poor grades, is it?" Tess's reaction makes it pretty clear. Lucy suggests Tess just bribe her teachers, advice that Tess finds appalling.

Daisy, ever the eager beaver, volunteers to tutor Tess. Skeptical that a student two years younger could even handle her classes, Tess asks to see Daisy's report card. Daisy begins to sweat. The reason becomes clear when Lucy casually hands the card over: straight A+ grades, with a heart-topped doodle of Mike's face alongside them. "S-SHUTTUP!!" Daisy stammers, beet red. Her perfect marks speak for themselves, though, and the study plan begins. Lucy isn't quite done stirring, mind you. When she starts filling an oblivious Mike in on the doodle, a crazed, blushing Daisy rushes over and punches her square in the face.

Daisy's tutoring service is rather different when you're Mikie.

Over at Daisy's house, Daisy channels her inner drill sergeant in an intense montage, rapping rulers and barking orders. No subject is safe from her relentless coaching, from the "Lebensraum" of Nazi Germany to the multiplicity of math. She even makes Tess jog, Rocky-style, while quizzing her on U.S. presidents. Back at lunch, though, the goodwill takes a knock. Mike dreamily raves to Tess about what a sweet, patient tutor Daisy is, and Tess, who has been dragged through the coals, rounds on her tutor for the favoritism. Daisy sees nothing unfair about it, since "Mikie" only needed a little English revision while Tess needed five whole classes re-taught, leaving no time to be nice.

Meanwhile, the boys face their own challenges. Mike and David's math teacher, despairing of ever getting his class to calculus, swears he'll hunt them all down if even one of them drops to "Algeom", the dreaded remedial class. David scoffs, since it's not like anyone uses math in real life. "What do you wanna be, then, David?" the teacher asks. David stares vacantly. "An astronaut." Mike ends up physically holding the enraged teacher back.

Midterm day goes swimmingly for exactly one of them. Daisy sends Tess into the exam room with a pep talk and a high five. Once the booklet is open, Tess is stunned to realize she knows all of it, and the questions are even easier than Daisy's practice tests. One room over, Daisy opens her own booklet and freezes: "I.. I forgot to study for my own exam!!" The only science her over-tutored brain can produce is chemistry, and she drifts weeping into a black void of chemistry terms. After the exam, an ecstatic Tess runs off to thank her tutor. A frazzled, frizz-furred Daisy looms up behind her and chokes her with a low "You ruined me..", while Lucy snickers.

Character dynamics

• Tess and Daisy: Before this chapter the two barely knew each other, and Tess's opinion of the "brainiac" skipped into her junior math class was not exactly glowing. Daisy confidently asserts her academic capability anyway, even taking a jab at Tess's "messy" notes. Her strict, demanding approach contrasts with her gentle treatment of Mike, a fact that Tess calls out as unfair. All the same, Tess genuinely appreciates Daisy's dedication, and by exam morning there's real warmth between them, sealed with a thank-you and a high five. Hopefully the strangulation in the final panel doesn't leave a mark.
• Daisy and Mike: The heart-topped doodle on Daisy's report card says plenty about her feelings, and she would sooner punch Lucy in the face than let Mike hear about it. Mike remains blissfully oblivious, praising Daisy to Tess as "the sweetest tutor ever". Apparently, she even bakes him treats!
• Mike, Paulo and Abbey: When Mike shares his honor roll status, Paulo dismisses it with a curt "Loser", while Abbey warmly congratulates him. Abbey even calls out Paulo's intolerance, asking "He gets on your nerves no matter what, doesn't he?"
• Daisy and Lucy: Lucy spends the chapter treating Daisy's secrets as public property, from handing Tess the report card to very nearly telling Mike about the doodle. For that, Daisy punches her in the face — the first time anyone in the friend group has ever hit Lucy. There are no hard feelings, if the ending is anything to go by. Lucy is back to snickering "Pff." at Daisy's misfortune by the last page.

Trivia & observations

• Veronica says the whole chapter began with a reader complaining that Tess was "too perfect", pointing to her generous tip to the carollers in Feline Festivities. The idea that Tess is unimpressive at school snowballed from there.
• "Lebensraum", which Daisy drills into Tess mid-meditation, is a real Nazi-era concept meaning "living space", used to justify German territorial expansion.
• Tess jogging in a tracksuit while being drilled on U.S. presidents is a clear shout-out to Rocky's iconic training montage.
• Veronica has said "Algeom" is based on a real remedial class at her own high school, for students who couldn't get into regular Algebra.
• Daisy's fur frizzing up under stress is her "half Selkirk Rex gene" at work, per Veronica, who promises the trait will be back ("Rain and stress — Daisy's worst enemies"). Her curls previously frizzed up in the rain in Helping Hands.
• Daisy's lovestruck doodle has a mirror in Unfulfilled Fantasy, where Mike doodles Sandy on his own schoolwork.
• On Tumblr, Veronica has named Midterm Time as a chapter that captures "Daisy's unintentional bluntness.. she says what she thinks a lot of the time".

Related chapters

• Feline Festivities: The chapter immediately before this one, in which Tess tips the Christmas carollers fifty dollars. Lucy witnessed that tip, and she clearly still has it in mind when she advises slipping the teacher a fifty.
• Enter High School: The math teacher makes his debut there, vowing to get every one of his students into calculus. It's also where Daisy is skipped into Tess's junior-year math class, which she brings up when offering to tutor.
• Bonding: Daisy remembers this chapter's tutoring in a flashback, ruler smack and all, noting that Tess "passed those midterms.. eventually!"
• Safe Boundaries: Years down the line, Daisy tutors Tess through another round of midterms, and Tess once again thanks her for all the help.