Page 35 of TJ Powar Has Something to Prove
Her whole face heats. But Jenna’s already disappeared, leaving TJ alone with this overwhelming wave of shame.
It’s like she’s twelve again.
She vividly remembers standing with Chandani as they begged their mothers to take them to Lulu’s salon. TJ was the one to initiate the idea. She couldn’t wait another minute, not after what had happened that weekend.
It was a three-day-long debate training camp TJ had really been looking forward to. The auditorium of the university where it was being held was warm, and after they’d been given a practice resolution to work on, TJ took off her hoodie and started writing.
The blond girl next to her, Jenna, glanced over at her paper. TJ didn’t say anything at first, but when Jenna kept looking at her notes, she covered her paper with her arms and told her to stop copying. Wrong move, apparently, because Jenna just glanced down again and asked why she had gorilla arms. Her voice was loud enough to carry, and that was it. The running joke continued all weekend even though TJ wore long sleeves for the rest of it.
So when she returned home, she put her new persuasive skills to good use on her and Chandani’s mothers. It worked. And all that shame had gone away... until now.
TJ slams her half-eaten snack in the trash. Why’d she let Jenna get to heragain? She should have just stood there and eaten her donut. Now Jenna got exactly what she wanted—to rattle her.
Shake it off, she tells herself firmly.I can still be beautiful. Iamstill beautiful.
She repeats that mantra to herself all the way to the classroom. The judges are just getting seated when she arrives. Jenna and Isaac are already there, whispering to each other. Simran’s there, too, notes spread chaotically over her desk.
Mechanically, TJ pulls her cards from her bag, then writes her name and pronouns on the board under the second speaker title.
“I now call this debate to order,” says the Speaker. “The resolution being debated today isThis House Would endorse genome editing in Canada. Arguing for Side Proposition are Jenna Turner and Isaac Turner. For Side Opposition are...”
As he proceeds to trip over every syllable of Simran’s and TJ’s names, TJ sits down. Simran’s giving her a funny look. TJ wonders if she looks how she feels—like she’s not really there.
Isaac stands when called, buttoning his grey suit jacket. He’s taller than Jenna with hair a darker blond, but otherwise he looks very similar to his twin. They’ve both got a straight nose, thin face, and smile TJ would like to smack off. He leaves his notes behind and walks in front of the desks empty-handed.
“Honourable judges, worthy opponents, assembled guests,” he says in his usual self-important voice. “We of Side Proposition believe that pursuing genome editing could only be a beneficial venture for our country, and we will present several contentions to show you why.”
As he drones on about their proposed plan for implementation, and how genome editing could help eliminate genetic diseases, TJ scribbles down their points so she can dissect them later. As soon as the timekeeper holds up theTHIRTY SECONDScard, meaning protected time is over, both she and Simran stand, ready with questions.
Isaac looks them over with raised eyebrows before nodding at TJ. The general practice in Canadian National Style debating is to ask two questions and take two when it’s your turn to speak. It seems he’s taking the strategy of getting it over with at the get-go.
Jenna smirks when TJ takes the floor. TJ ignores it and directs her question at the Speaker as per the rules. “Honourable Speaker, how can Side Proposition be sure this process won’t be abused?”
“Like I said, we’ll have regulations,” Isaac retorts. “Side Opposition is trying to create fear about hypothetical worst-case-scenario ways this technology could be used, before we’ve even gotten there. Imagine if people told the Wright brothers not to build the first airplane because itcouldbe used for dropping bombs on people. We’d still be in the Dark Ages, honourable Speaker.”
He continues on with his speech. TJ gets up again to ask hernext question—their plan suggests there will be regulations and rules, but she wants to pin them on specifics. But Isaac’s waving her down, clearly done answering to her. He takes a question from Simran closer to the end and that’s it.
Then it’s Simran’s turn to deliver her speech, starting with a rebuttal of Isaac’s (holey-as-Swiss-cheese) plan before she moves into her first contention. The debate continues uneventfully. TJ is viciously glad to find they’re holding their own. Back in the day, the Turners always had a lead. But now Simran and TJ are on more equal footing. She can see it in the way Isaac tugs at his bow tie during Simran’s rebuttal. How Jenna’s smirk slips when TJ asks her a question.
They’re afraid they might not win.
Finally, it’s TJ’s turn to make her speech. She gathers her cue cards but pauses when she sees a card that does not belong at the top of the stack. It’s the one she wrote her personal resolution on. She must’ve shoved it in her debate bag during her last-minute packing. And now it’s staring back, mocking her.
Against her will, her eyes slide to Jenna’s. She’s watching intently, chin propped up in her hand.
TJ’s heart pounds, but not with her usual pre-speech adrenaline. Jenna’s eyes drop. TJ realizes she’s pulling at her sleeve with her free hand—an old habit to cover her arms, and one she hasn’t indulged in years.Enough.
She lets go and faces the audience with renewed determination, glancing down at her cards to remind herself of her points. “Honourable judges,” she begins, then launches into autopilot with the speech she has practiced a hundred different ways,her voice passionate and full of inflection. You could hear a pin drop in the silence.
It’s only thirty seconds in, when the timekeeper indicates the end of protected time and no one stands, that she realizes this silence isn’t a riveted one. It’s a shocked one. Something’s wrong. She glances at her cue cards. Focuses.
And the problem smacks her right in the face.
For the last thirty seconds, she’s been giving her speech for Side Proposition. Thewrong side.
TEN
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