Page 1 of TJ Powar Has Something to Prove
ONE
***
“You have six minutes.”
The Speaker’s voice rings out, clear and calm. An expec-tant hush falls over the room. It’s time.
TJ Powar takes a measured breath and rises from her desk. Although she’s done this countless times, she still gets a huge adrenaline rush right before starting her speech. It’s a good thing. It focuses her, gives her a sharper edge. The downside is it also makes her palms so sweaty she has to keep a death grip on her cue cards. She really should’ve wiped her hands on her slacks before standing. But it’s too late now.
She grips the cards a little harder and surveys her captive audience. In her peripheral vision, she can see her opponents—one of Whitewater’s senior teams—across the floor, their legs stretched out under cramped desks. Facing the debaters in equally cramped desks are the three older judges and the timekeeper, a half-asleep ninth grader who probably got roped into the job. And, of course, the Speaker, a parent volunteer now staring out the window, having clearly zoned out the minute he finished his spiel.
This is it. One of the defining moments of her debating career, happening right now in a musty high school English classroom.
To her right, her debate partner, Simran, coughs. Her subtle way of telling TJ to get a move on and stop basking in the weight of the moment.
TJ clears her throat. “Honourable judges,worthyopponents”—she injects just a slight amount of derision into that last bit, not enough that the judges would notice, but enough that her unworthy opponents might—“and, assembled guests. We of Side Affirmative are debating in favour of the resolution before us today:Be It Resolved That life today is better than it will be in a hundred years’ time.
“My partner”—she half turns and gestures to Simran, who’s sitting there polishing her glasses—“has already presented two of our contentions: that climate change is making living conditions worse all around the world, and that current extreme polarizations in politics just forecast more societal turmoil in the future. I will now present two more contentions: that a growing population will only continue to strain resources, and that life is just getting busier and more disconnected. But first, I’ll take a moment to point out the flaws in Side Negative’s case.”
TJ launches into her speech, starting with her rebuttal of the first Side Negative speaker, Nate Chen. It’s easy to fall into the rhythm of it. The nice thing about this tournament is that it’s held in Cross-Examination style—no one can butt in with questions while she’s talking, so her flow won’t get interrupted.
However, the mad scribbling coming from Side Negative is hard to ignore. This cross-examination will be a bitch. It always is with these two. When Simran finished her speech portion earlier, Nate used his entire two allotted minutes to grill her. As usual, Simran was cool under fire. TJ can only hope to do the same when her time comes.
The timekeeper is counting down the last fifteen seconds with his arm when TJ finally wraps up her speech. “Thank you.I now stand for cross-examination,” she says, grimly, and the second speaker for Side Negative stands, buttoning up his suit jacket as he rises.
“Thank you for your... mostinterestingspeech,” Charlie Rosencrantz says, his voice dripping with condescension, like always. “However, I do have a few questions.”
Of course he does. TJ fashions her face into a blank slate.
“There was some talk about how life will become more disconnected in the future, but you didn’t provide a specific reason for this.”
He pauses. TJ arches a brow. “I didn’t hear a question.”
“Of course,” Charlie says smoothly. “Because I wasn’t done yet. Could you explain how we would become more disconnected in an age when I can FaceTime someone across the world at a moment’s notice, when educators can teach anyone anywhere, and people can access medical care in even the most remote areas?”
“You misunderstood,” TJ replies, which is her polite way of saying,You’re twisting my words. “Advancing technology might let us havemoreinteractions, but not better ones. Most teachers and doctors would prefer to do their jobs in person. And as for social media companies, they don’t care about meaningful emotional connections or nuanced discussion. They care aboutengagement. And they’ll do anything to get it, including encouraging harassment and outrage on their platforms. No wonder we’re lonelier than ever, despite having the world at our fingertips.”
“So you agree that the internet oftodayhas already done the damage of lowering quality of life?”
She walked into that one. “Not to a large extent,” she hedges. “But in the generations growing up with the internet in their cradle, it will.”
“I see. That’s already happened, but I will move on.” Charlie has a slow way of talking, like he’s explaining something to a toddler. And he definitely dials it up when questioning TJ because heknowsit gets on her nerves. Her eyelid twitches with rage as he continues. “What are your thoughts on the state of social activism today?”
The question seems out of left field. If left field were full of landmines. TJ smiles brightly. “A vague question, but overall there are now more opportunities to speak up and be heard than there were in the past.”
Nate, who is trans, makes a soft sound of disbelief. Charlie pounces on her reply. “So you feel you have all the same opportunities as your white, male counterparts?”
Oh, she hates him for this. “There are still problems, but—”
“Thank you. Do you not agree that those problems could be solved over time? Say, in the next hundred years?”
“Look at what’s going on in the world right now,” TJ shoots back. “We’re repeating our history with women’s rights, religious persecution, racial and LGBTQ+ discrimination in so many places. Same story, different day. Time isn’t the cure to timeless prejudices.”
“But thecultural trendover the last hundred years has been towards improvement,” Charlie presses. “So if we extrapolate, isn’t it reasonable to say that will continue?”
“Side Affirmative prefers not to base our arguments onguesswork, myvaluedopponent. Do you have any facts or evidence to support your claim, or is this just optimism?”
“I wasn’t aware I was the one being cross-examined, myesteemedopponent,” Charlie says. TJ idly wonders if the judges have started catching on. “In any case—”