A Tale of Two Academic Teams

Chapter 24: Those Left Behind

As soon as the results of the preliminary rounds are released, people in town started talking about how their beloved Venomous Agendas were delivering the performances of their lifetimes. About how reminiscent of the 2024 HSNCT this all feel to them, where, for the first time, they went to the HSNCT with two novice players, and they suddenly burst onto the national quiz bowl stage.

At Daisy's home, at night, while Daisy's guests play karaoke to the sound of music styles they find "retro", Gaston, one of the Congressional players, starts singing when Do You Really Want to Hurt Me is played, with Anna playing cover as a violinist. "Do you really want to cut cards? // Do you really want the others to win?" Gaston sings.

Once that specific song ends, in which Gaston only replaced two lines' worth of lyrics without singing the song in its entirety, Daisy starts asking questions about Gaston's choice of lyrics, as if she was in a LD cross-examination phase.

"I heard something about cutting cards! Why sing about card-cutting?" Daisy asks him, with the distortion in lyrics giving her earworms.

"Do you remember about me being in AP US Government with Chantal? All season, we Congressional players cut cards for everyone else, thinking it would benefit us" Gaston answers Daisy's question.

"We made all our research available and both ways, this season and last season" another Congressional player laments. "And what do we have to show for it? We didn't place at NSDA-State! They wouldn't have made it without us!"

"And we gladly provided cards to the other theater kids if they needed help in a class!" Daisy adds to this chorus.

"Speaking of theater kids, I think you guys get too much into your roles as representatives or senators. That might have hurt you guys at tournaments" Anna mumbles, without any real idea of what goes on in a Congressional debate chamber. "You guys ran the debate team dinner as if it was a primary fundraiser! I only wanted to show school spirit. However, just because you guys didn't make it to Nats, and hence the benefits for your respective college applications are more limited, doesn't mean you didn't benefit from playing debates! You got better at arguing, public speaking and critical thinking, as well as writing, too. The most important lasting benefits have nothing to do with winning!"

Daisy's parents overheard the kids getting into an argument about their roles in this debate season. And with, of all people, Anna, a band girl who plays quiz bowl.

"I really hope that, upon return, they will show us some gratitude" Gaston sighs.

"It makes me wonder how stiff the competition is in Congressional debate to compete at Nats vs the other formats you guys are playing" Anna asks the theater kids.

"You have a point, Anna. The field is so large that Cong at NSDA-State is split into a House division and a Senate division. The Senate division only allows two players per school, House allows more players. There are about fifty players total" another theater kid concedes the point.

"I guess you had a bad karaoke session? I heard about cutting cards down there" Daisy's father asks the guests.

"Way to ruin my first date!" Anna sighs, while turning to Gaston, whose song caused the theater actors calling themselves Congressional players to question their respective roles in the debate team's successes this season.

"Guys, please, every Venomous Agenda at Nats is advancing!" Daisy's father announces after checking on Tabroom.

"International extemp and public forum I am not surprised. But policy? I never expected them to break at Nats, let alone clear to octos!" an excited Daisy shouts. "Dad, how far do you think our guys can get?"