Without argumentation, could life as we know it go on? Arguments are a testament to human passion. Debates wouldn't be possible without people caring about their results. Whether it's a teenage girl criticizing the drink served to her in a Starbucks, or Martin Luther King Jr. standing up against racism, argumentation keeps the world changing.
On a March night in New Jersey, two arguments altered the course of two lives. On one side of New Jersey, Chloe Beale was debating her heart out. Chloe and her partner argued their way to the final round of the New Jersey State High School Debate Championship. Farming subsidies may seem like a silly thing for a high schooler to care about, but it made perfect sense to Chloe. Approaching the topic from every angle, researching every point, arguing from every side - Chloe's passion for debate was practically exploding out of every pore of her body. But farming subsidies weren't the source of Chloe's passion. The years resolution could have been that Trix cereal is better than Lucky Charms, and Chloe still would have worked just as hard. Chloe's true passion was winning. As she looked at her partner, Aubrey, the empty space where her first place trophy would go weighed heavily on her mind. She pushed the feelings aside, because she knew they would win. They had to win.
On the other side of New Jersey, a very different debate was going on in Beca Mitchell's house. She could hear her parents screaming at each other through the ceiling. She always hid out in the basement when they fought. By now, she was used to the constant yelling and stomping, but it still gave her an uneasy feeling. She was embarrassed, helpless, and strangely self-conscious. Something felt wrong in the world, like a big black stain in the universe that she couldn't remove. A stain that she might have helped paint. That's why she hid. She was certain the fighting was partially her fault. Beca and her sister, Vanessa, were just too messed up for their father. She was sure of it.
"Oh right! Take the good suitcases, sure! Of course that's what you would do! Take the good ones!" Beca's mother screeched, dragging out all of her vowels in a sarcastic and biting tone.
"What? Should I put my stuff in a pillow case instead? Huh? Is that what I should do?" Beca's dad retorted.
There was a crashing sound as bags and suite cases were thrown out the door, hitting the walls along the way. Beca heard her dad's stomping footsteps pause by the front door, and then approach her hiding place. She cringed. Beca's dad stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking at Beca. Vanessa's head poked around the door frame.
"You ... you guys are gonna be okay." he lied. "I won't be living here anymore. But you'll be okay. Okay?"
It was not okay. Not remotely. But Beca nodded her head. Her father rushed out of the house, into his car, and sped away. His car knocked the trashcans over, leaving more than one kind of mess behind him.
Chloe watched Aubrey with a mixture of admiration and triumph. She could feel the victory hovering just out of reach as her fingers flew across her notebook paper. They had the other team beat. Aubrey approached the podium to make the final rebuttal against the other team. Chloe could see Aubrey's shoulders rise up towards her ears from the stress, but she knew Aubrey would be fine. This was the kill shot. This is what they'd been waiting for.
"Our next advantage states that human relations can only survive in a atmosphere of total equality. Our next advantages states that human relations ... can only ... I ... wait, I just said that ..."
Chloe froze. The auditorium froze.
"I-I ... wait, w-wait a minute," Aubrey stuttered.
"... wait."
Aubrey riffled through her notes, but they were in a different language. That's what it looked like anyways. The auditorium was so quiet that that everyone could hear the growling noises of her stomach. Chloe's eyes widened.
Oh no.
Before anyone could understand what was happening, vomit was exploding from Aubrey's mouth like a fire hose. The people in the front rows were screaming and falling over themselves trying to escape the pungent waves of orange vomit spewing from Aubrey's mouth. Chloe ran to her friend. "Aubrey no! Stop, Aubrey please you have to STOP!" Chloe screamed at her. When it finally did stop, Aubrey looked up at Chloe with tears flooding her blue eyes. A squeak slipped through her lips before she sprinted off the stage.
The next twenty minutes passed in a blur. The mess was cleaned. Aubrey and Chloe withdrew from the final round, knowing they couldn't face the opposing team or the audience or themselves. Aubrey, never looking Chloe in the eyes, called for a taxi. Her parents had left, perhaps out of shame. Chloe locked herself in a bathroom stall, letting the tears she had held back flow. One thought raced through her mind over and over.
Debate is life.
And now life was over.
The debates were over on both side of New Jersey. Only silence remained. The silence of Beca's abandoned house and the silence of the deserted bathroom Chloe was sobbing in. Suitcases end marriages and farming subsidies launch cataclysms. If you don't know how they could inspire all this commotion, then you don't know life, and there's nothing more that can be said about it. Beca and Chloe both thought their lives were over that night. Little did they know, their lives would go on, and their paths were now on a collision course.