In R. J. Palacio's celebrated novel Wonder, August Pullman is a ten-year-old boy who suffers from a severe birth defect, which has left his entire face disfigured. At the beginning of the story, Auggie's parents decide to enroll him at Beecher Prep, and he enters a fifth-grade class for the first time. On the first day of school, Auggie deliberately sits in the very back of the room but is thankful that Jack Will takes a seat next to him. Auggie's teacher, Ms. Petosa, starts the day by making each student introduce themselves to the class and tell their peers two things they would want other people to know about them. When Ms. Petosa reaches Auggie, he reluctantly tells the class that he has a sister named Via and a dog named Daisy.

Julian then raises his hand and rudely asks Auggie why he has a Padawan braid in the back of his hair. A Padawan is an aspiring Jedi knight from the movie Star Wars, and Padawans wear a tiny braid in the back of their hair to mark their ranking. Auggie timidly explains that it is from Star Wars, and Julian asks if he likes Darth Sidious, which is a deformed character in the movie. Auggie recognizes that Julian is teasing him and decides to cut off his beloved Padawan braid later that night. Overall, Auggie cuts off his Padawan braid because he does not want to draw attention to himself and desires to avoid Julian's teasing.