On Call

On Call
Published	July 13, 2022 (2022-07-13)
Page count	18
Major characters	Mike, Sandy
Minor characters	Lucy
Locations	Mike’s house
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On Call is a canon Bittersweet Club International-exclusive comic that fills in the unseen half of Eternal Flame’s worst night: the phone call Sandy makes after hanging up on Mike, and what it takes for him to answer it.

Partial synopsis

Back from the park, Mike stands in his wrecked bedroom while his phone buzzes and buzzes with Sandy’s smiling contact photo on the screen. He flinches away and hesitates before lifting it to his ear with a small “Hello?”

Sandy cries out in relief. She had called over and over without an answer and feared that Mike had done “something really bad”. When Mike understands what she means, he responds in horror: “Oh my god, NO!! I wouldn’t do that!!” He apologizes for frightening her and explains that he went out to clear his head without his phone because he was upset.

Mike says that going to the park usually helps him feel better, then stops mid-sentence as he remembers Lucy there. When he warily asks why Sandy called, she tells him she’s made “a really big mistake..” She doesn’t want a life without him. From there, the call becomes Sandy’s case for a second chance. She sounds sure of what she wants. Whether Mike can bring himself to believe her is another matter, and there’s a whole long, snowy night ahead to settle it...

Character dynamics

Sandy’s end of the call, seen for the first time.

• Mike and Sandy: Earlier that night in Eternal Flame, Sandy confessed her feelings for Francis. She then ended her long-distance relationship with Mike. Now she calls him back and says he is “the only one I can truly be normal around”.
• Sandy and Francis: In Model Girlfriend, Sandy spoke warmly of Francis, an apprentice hairdresser who worked with her. Here, she describes what happened between them as her “really big mistake”, but the comic presents only her account.

Trivia & observations

• The chair Mike quietly rights while apologizing is the same desk chair he kicked over during his outburst in Eternal Flame.
• This comic shows Sandy on her end of that night’s call. In Eternal Flame, her callback appears only as a contact photo on Mike’s screen.

Related chapters

• Eternal Flame: Sandy’s original call and the breakup happen there. The chapter also shows Mike wrecking his bedroom and meeting Lucy in the snowy park, both of which On Call recalls. On Call begins when Sandy’s return call arrives.
• Model Girlfriend: Francis first comes up by name during Sandy’s visit to Roseville as an apprentice hairdresser who works with her. During the same visit, Sandy tells Mike that his support keeps her from feeling alone.