Page 88 of TJ Powar Has Something to Prove
“Thanks,” TJ says. Once Yara’s attention is turned by someone else at the table, she drops the fake smile.
She glances at Charlie, halfway across the ballroom. Like her, he’s spending the remaining time with people from his school. Mrs. Scott told him the news, too, but he seems perfectly calm. Chatting away. Then again, he’s not the one who gotobliteratedthe last time he faced the Turners.
TJ snaps her mirror shut, feeling ill. If only she could talk to Simran. She was there the last time; she’d understand. But Simran’s not here, and besides, TJ doesn’t have the right to unload her problems on her anymore. Simran still hasn’t responded to the olive branch.
At the front of the room, Mr. York taps the mic. This is it.
“Welcome to the final round of the Senior Canadian Nationals,” he says grandly. “The two teams facing off tonight will havethirty minutes to prepare and will debate in Canadian National Style. Are you ready for the resolution?”
TJ pulls her notebook towards her and clicks her pen. Mr. York unfolds a sheet of paper.
“This House Believes That inner beauty is more important than outer beauty.”
TJ’s fingers pause midway through writing, and it takes her brain a little longer to catch up.
Murmurs begin to rise in the room, and her face grows hot. What the hell?
Yara shifts in the seat beside her. TJ knows she’s thinking the same thing: This is too much of a damn coincidence. She looks up, seeking out Mrs. Scott.
Her debate coach is standing at the back of the stage, staring straight at her. Like she’s trying to tell her something.
The resolutions are prepared ahead of time by a team of debate organizers, but Mrs. Scott would be the only one who could’ve suggested this. She knew about all the taunts and Amy’s campaign and everything that went down this year.
TJ should’ve seen it coming. Mrs. Scott even warned her that the impromptu topics would be related to something current. TJ just assumed it would be something related to the news or something—not a current event in theirschool. And she has to know TJ was involved. What is she thinking? Why would she do this?
TJ suddenly notices the other Northridgers turning her way, gauging her reaction to the topic. She forces her expression into stillness.
Mr. York goes on, putting his hand into a jar with two slips in it. “Side Proposition will be...”
TJ sits up straighter.Us. Let it be us.She’s spent the whole year, really, preparing to debate that.
Mr. York draws a slip. “Isaac Turner and Jenna Turner. Leaving Side Opposition to Charlie Rosencrantz and TJ Powar.”
No. No, no, no.
Mr. York goes on to announce the rules, and a volunteer motions for TJ to follow her. TJ rises numbly. Her head’s full of a screeching noise that doesn’t allow any other thoughts in. She barely feels the eyes on her, barely notices Charlie joining her.
The volunteer takes them down the hotel hallway, then opens a door to a boardroom. “You can prepare in here.”
Inside is a long table with office chairs clustered around it, a flat-screen TV, and not much else. TJ sinks into a chair. Charlie follows a moment later.
“Good luck,” the volunteer says with a bright smile on her way out. TJ doesn’t return it.
“Thank you,” Charlie says after a lengthy pause, even though it was clear she was talking to TJ. The door shuts.
TJ watches Charlie scribbleOuter beauty is as or more important than inner beauty, their assigned stance, on his notepad. Her head starts to pound. This is like one of those dreams where you’re talking in front of an audience and your pants drop, except worse. She’s about to behumiliatedin front of her whole school and debate community. “We’re screwed,” she says to herself more than to him.
Charlie replies anyway. “We can do this.”
“Did you even hear that resolution? And theTurnersgotSide Proposition!” She still can’t believe it. Jenna’s going to be insufferable.
Charlie gives her a look. “So what? We’ve all had to argue sides we didn’t like before.” He reaches into his bag to retrieve his Oxford dictionary. He flips through it. “ ‘Beauty: A combination of qualities such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.’ That’s actually not bad.”
“As ifthey’regoing to use that definition,” TJ retorts. “They’re just going to say beauty means ‘pleasing qualities’ or something vague that can apply to personality traits, too.” They could counter it, but at some point the parties have to agree on definitions, and the judges usually prefer the vaguest one to allow more clash. Besides, it just makes Side Opposition look bad if they keep resisting reasonable definitions.
“That’s fine,” Charlie says. “Let them pick the battlefield. We’ll adapt.”
TJ scoffs. “I think we’d have better luck winning if you chucked your dictionary at their heads and knocked them out.”