A Tale of Two Academic Teams

Chapter 5: Lunch with DCC

After the morning session ends, with both the Venomous Agendas and DCC A being 6-1, the DCC debater meets with Sadie, shaking, probably because of his memories of both encounters they had in tournaments.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but... there's something different about you" the DCC debater starts telling Sadie.

"We haven't introduced ourselves. I am Sadie"

"Lance for me"

Ouch. The Venomous Agendas vs us at the Isidore Newman Invitational. That was one of those debate losses that somehow gained a special significance to me but for non-debate reasons. This game vs the VAs at the HSNCT ended up being more than simply quiz bowl team vs. quiz bowl team. It was also debate team captain vs debate team captain. Shamrocks vs Venomous Agendas. I feel sorry for the Shamrocks' debate team, Lance thinks back about their debate at this tournament in which they were the #2 speakers of their respective teams, and both schools were newcomers to the Isidore Newman Invitational as well.

"What makes me different from other quiz bowl or debate girls you met?" Sadie asks Lance, unsure about what could possibly make her different.

It's not about intellect since he knows as well as I do that typical debate girls are smart, and same goes of quiz bowlers able to play at the HSNCT, irrespective of gender. I'm sure there is at least a handful of other nice girls in either quiz bowl or debate, so I don't think I'm anything special on that point either; after all, the epitome of Venomous Agenda girlhood is exactly that: smart, non-arrogant, Sadie reflects on that specific aspect.

"The other girls seem a little... cold"

"Cold? You have been exposed to girls in debate and quiz bowl tournaments! I am not... cold as you say? But I can tell from how you look at me that you never had much of an opportunity to meet with girls outside of playing quiz bowl or debating"

"When you attend a place like DCC, you must go away from campus to get girls. Coupled with the demands of debate and quiz bowl, you must use every opportunity you can get to have one"

Sadie knew how important dating was even to the highest-achieving kids in Venomous Agenda-land. I don't envy those people playing for single-sex schools, she thought. Then again, our situations were inevitable. Both Imélie and I broke up with our boyfriends back in April, because it was obvious Ted wasn't going to attend Tulane, and the defensive end I used to call my boyfriend graduated respectively.

"Would you like to go out with just the two of us? We might never meet each other again, so make this count" Lance asks Sadie.

"Why exactly do you say that we might never meet each other again?" Sadie asks him.

"I never told you this but, at DCC, being on the A team is mostly for seniors. I will be attending Chicago next fall. So this is my graduation gift if you will"

"It's lunchtime"

"Sure, I'll pay for this lunch. Have any preference?"

"Not really, other than a new cuisine"

"Pacific Rim Bistro then"

And the two of them go to the Pacific Rim Bistro, not too far from the hotels in which the HSNCT is held. Upon reading the lunch menu at the door, Lance gets flashbacks from this specific debate at the Isidore Newman Invitational – and he's with the player he held responsible for that loss. So many menu items have to do with East Asia, and American foreign policy in East Asia was the topic of this debate I lost to her! Lance thought, while he is reminded of the shortcomings of DCC's debate team and of its coach's.