Carry On

Swim class stirs up more than pool water. Augustus makes his debut by telling Daisy she's beautiful, a flashback shows why Lucy won't go near a pool, and somebody is watching her from behind a tree in the woods.

Carry On
Chapter	31 of 127 (list of chapters)
Published	February 4, 2007 (2007-02-04)
Page count	6
Major characters	Mike, Lucy, Daisy, Augustus, Katie
Minor characters	Paulo, Abbey, David, Tess, Gym Teacher (High School)
Locations	Roseville High School, Roseville Middle School
Collected in	Volume One, Omnibus 1
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Synopsis

At swim class in the Roseville High School pool, an older Siamese student takes a sudden interest in Daisy. This is Augustus, who says he remembers her cheerleading back when his little brother played middle-school soccer, and who wonders why one of those "peppy cheerleaders" is swimming in a t-shirt. Daisy insists she's ugly right now, since her curls frizz the moment they touch water. He answers, "Well, I think you look beautiful." She's still blushing about it when class is called to the shallow end. Across the pool, Katie badgers Mike over why his "girlfriend" gets out of swimming without even asking. Mike will only say it's complicated and private, so Katie tries telling the teacher she's allergic to water instead.

Katie's question gets its answer in a flashback to the spring of seventh grade, when Roseville Middle School opened its newly renovated pool. Mike can't wait for their class to be the first ones in. Lucy admits she's no good at swimming, and once he's out of sight she punches her locker. The gym teacher refuses to make any exceptions, so Lucy forces herself to the water's edge, where she quietly falls apart. She imagines not being able to climb back out, then remembers Mike being swept away and the two of them sinking. Her fear, it turns out, is mostly for him. "What if HE can't get out?" She grips Mike's hand hard enough to hurt, goes unresponsive, and faints. Mike catches her just before she tips into the pool, and the school nurse decides Lucy's parents will need to be called.

In the present day, Lucy sits out the period writing at a desk, enjoying the quiet right up until Katie barges in. Katie has proudly "figured it out" — the exemption must be Lucy's time of the month. Lucy is unimpressed. "That excuse doesn't work every week."

At lunch, Daisy is still turning the morning over, and Augustus isn't done with her either. She starts to ask Paulo whether guys would find her attractive, but he drops the conversation the instant Tess shows up, leaving Daisy comparing herself to Tess and coming up short. Then Augustus appears, asks to sit beside her, and explains he'd like to spend time with a girl he likes. When Daisy asks if he really meant what he said, he answers with a question of his own: "Is this the first time ANYONE'S told you you're beautiful?" Tess, for some reason, glares at Augustus on sight, which only confuses Paulo. Katie, for her part, splashes bottled water on Lucy to check whether that counts too, and gets sent back to her own table.

Augustus, doing some very casual standing behind a tree.

Walking through the woods afterwards, Lucy stops at a river and tries to face her fear. She remembers Mike gently urging her to try — if the water's still, she just has to trust she'll be okay. A few steps toward the bank is all she manages before she starts to faint again. Jolting awake, she gives up and settles the matter for herself: "I don't need his promises. I can handle it. By avoiding it." She walks off without ever noticing Augustus, who watches her from behind a tree with a smile.

Character dynamics

• Augustus and Daisy: They start the day as strangers, more or less — Augustus claims he only remembers Daisy from her middle-school cheerleading days. Over one school day he calls her beautiful at the pool, then seeks her out at lunch to insist he meant it. Daisy finds the attention flattering and a bit unnerving ("What do you want to sit here for..?"), and his compliments land squarely on her worst insecurity. She now has an attentive older admirer, whether she asked for one or not.
• Lucy and Mike: Mike has been coaxing Lucy toward the water for a while now, promising she'll be okay if she trusts it. He isn't there to see her try at the river, and he isn't there to see her fail. Lucy decides on her own that his promises aren't needed, and that avoiding water will do just fine.

Trivia & observations

Veronica's rough draft of the chapter's final page, shared alongside her confirmation of who's behind the tree.

• The watcher on the final page is hard to make out on-panel. Veronica confirmed on Tumblr in 2019 that he's Augustus, not Mike, adding "God Volume 1 was so freaken edgy".
• Augustus's story about a little brother who played middle-school soccer was invented. In Veronica's words, "Augustus was a damn slimy liar!!"
• Veronica has said Augustus was introduced in this chapter as "a pseudo-unwanted love interest to Daisy, who would be the opposite of Abbey".
• Veronica's commentary under the fifth page shares that she really was excused from high-school swimming for her period, and that because hers ran over a week, she was later made to swim while still bleeding.
• Per Veronica's commentary under the third page, Mike was unconscious for much of the original water incident and "didn't think what happened was that big of a deal, but it really took a toll on Lucy".
• Oliver's commentary under the final page nicknames Augustus "Final Fantasy Cat".

Related chapters

• Follow Me: The chapter that comes directly after this one. Once you've seen Augustus lurking behind that tree, the title alone is enough to raise an eyebrow.
• Love My Way: According to Veronica, the authors' old favorite arc was Daisy's self-confidence arc, which starts around this chapter and culminates in Love My Way.
• Pillow Talk: Veronica has said Augustus was originally planned as a sinister antagonist, and stayed on that track until scripting Pillow Talk revealed his chemistry with Lucy.