# Chapter 03 Counter-Strip Audit

Header: raw Claude draft word count 2,700; final chapter word count 2,589; delta -111 words / -4.1%. Sample size: 10 cuts or replacements. Applicable author-direction notes: reading-guide register added after early chapters requires plain-speech floor, zero dialogue-diagnosis tolerance, reduced quip density, and no comedy at a character's unrepaired expense. Reduced protection applies to fake-sharp, administrative/fiscal wit, and polished thesis lines.

- JUSTIFIED — cut: code-fence wrapper around the assignment card (raw lines 1 and 7) — evidence: synthesis memo says `Removed raw mechanical blockers and code-fence formatting`; chapter prose must not contain Markdown artifact fences.
- JUSTIFIED — cut: `"parking on this block was a faith practice"` (raw line 35) — evidence: Dialogue Doctor finding 1 and Comedy Doctor cohort-intro finding both flagged epigram-contest / composed intro density. Final line `they had circled twice before finding a space` keeps the arrival fact without joke-stack pressure.
- JUSTIFIED — cut: `"You're the eighth easel. The famous last slot."` (raw line 37) — evidence: Dialogue Doctor finding 1 flagged the arrival window as over-polished; the final `"You're June? I'm Mara. That's Luis."` (final line 33) improves plain-speech floor and keeps the social function.
- JUSTIFIED — cut: `the us went out of her mouth and into the public record before she could file an objection` (raw line 39) — evidence: Comedy Doctor diagnosed bureaucratic/fiscal register hardening. Final line `went out of her mouth into the room before she could pull it back` (final line 35) preserves June's alarm without administrative wit.
- JUSTIFIED — cut: `"It looked lonely," Mara said.` (raw line 89) — evidence: Dialogue Doctor finding 2 specifically found a false Mara zinger at shame/correction. Final `"I know," Mara said. "I kept trying to fix it."` (final line 83) better matches Mara's overexplaining-under-pressure voice card.
- JUSTIFIED — cut: `before the sentence could grow a third act` (raw line 69) — evidence: Comedy Doctor portable-workshop-wit order. Final `before June could argue` (final line 65) states the scene action plainly.
- JUSTIFIED — cut: `which she suspected was a course record` (raw line 73) — evidence: Comedy Doctor softening-embarrassment finding. Final line ends at `inside half a minute` (final line 69), leaving the failure sharper.
- JUSTIFIED — cut: `it is approximately a fiscal quarter` (raw line 111) — evidence: Comedy Doctor bureaucratic/fiscal register concentration. Final `it was long enough to become aware of every angle she was offering` (final line 105) keeps the subjective duration in the studio register.
- JUSTIFIED — cut: `"If you're done being looked at for one night."` (raw line 163) — evidence: Dialogue Doctor finding 3 flagged Theo's line as a polished theme phrase that pre-stated June's interiority. Final `"Front door catches the group."` (final line 157) restores Theo's practical care voice.
- JUSTIFIED — cut: `"Apparently I'm on a payment plan."` (raw line 167) — evidence: Comedy Doctor administrative/fiscal wit concentration and Dialogue Doctor plainness concerns. Final `"I owe Mara a scarf next week"` (final line 161) keeps the accepted social tether without turning it into a punchline.

No sampled cut was doing irreplaceable character, scene, or register work that the audits missed. No mis-fire entry needed.

Chapter verdict: NONE OVER-CUT.
