"And in conclusion," the speaker droned on, "while adolescence is a time of 'emotional and psychological transformations', girls need to be reminded to give equal value to other important aspects of themselves, such as personality, inner strengths, mental aptitudes, and artistic and musical talents, which contribute to overall self-image. All such things are their choice, and the adults are just trying to improve their self esteem in any way they can. Body image is a choice, not a mandate."
The crowd gave a lukewarm clap. There were a few notable cries that were louder than the rest of the audience- probably relatives of the boy, all dressed up in a snooty manner.
Let's talk about this boy in question, for just a few seconds- on the surface, he appeared to be incredibly intelligent, when in fact he'd just listed off some basic level knowledge that somewhat adhered to the concept. The issue was he was quick witted and sounded smart with his obnoxiously nasally voice. Thanks to this, the boy was articulate in his speech, and some could say he had some excellent points in his debate to win over the crowd and some judges.
...well, he didn't get Ben and Ruby's vote. If the boy knew the two, I'm sure his feelings would be rather hurt.
"That was bullshit," Ruby grumbled.
"Are you saying that from your own predetermined opinions," Ben asked, "or because that guy isn't from Beacon?"
"What makes you think that last part?" Ruby asked, an eyebrow raised. He gestured to her current get up- a Beacon t-shirt with her usual skirt. She scoffed, offended. "Can't a girl have pride for her school?"
Ben rolled his eyes. "I don't even know why you wanted me to come here. This whole debate has been pretty slow."
"I know, I know," Ruby sighed, cheeks pink with embarrassment. "Not really a fun way to spend a Saturday."
Ben sighed tiredly. "Listen- debate club is just the drama club for kids who wanna be president. I'm one hundred percent certain I'll hear that kid's name in the news for a war crime or some big sex scandal when he's a politician."
Ruby's jaw dropped. "That was a harsh cut, dude."
Ben shrugged. "Gwen's words, not mine. Believe me, that's my censored version of her 10 page rant on her debate club experience."
"Well, uh...I can promise you this: things are about to get spicy," Ruby told him, smiling slyly.
"And why should I trust you?" Ben said, raising an eyebrow.
"I think the president of the Beacon debate team is about to show up," Ruby whispered, motioning to the group. Ben knew at least two of them- one of them was Yatsuhashi Daichi, a member of CFVY and Velvet's teammate, and the other was Blake. She'd made some passionate arguments earlier, and the lay judge was particularly impressed with her use of sources.
(In reality, she just panicked at the last minute and assembled notes from the first three links that popped up on Google.)
From his seat in the front, Ben could hear the team's discussion:
"I think it's time we let her raise hell, guys," a bespectacled student argued.
A blue haired girl gasped. "And let her destroy him!? He's just a kid!"
"I'm with Medi," Yatsuhashi said, crossing his buff arms. "The kid's young and cocky. He'll get verbally destroyed at other competitions."
"He's also a kid who probably just convinced the lay judge to condone body shaming," Blake hissed. "Do you want to take home a win, or do you want to be the group that lost because some dude mansplained?"
"...Blake's right," the kid with glasses said. "We have to use the nuclear option."
"God help us all," Yatsuhashi murmured.
"God will have nothing to do with her," Blake declared, pulling out her scroll. "We created the monster. We have to take responsibility for the wake of destruction she'll leave."
"I think I'll go to a confessional after all is said and done," Medi said, feeling guilty. Blake texted the president three words-
We need you.
The air went dead silent. The non-Beacon side of the room could feel an oppressive sense of existential dread hanging over them. The atmosphere was suffocating and scary- so why the hell was the Beacon side whispering fervently, like something big was about to happen?
Someone loudly kicked the doors open. Ben and Ruby swiveled their heads around to see someone standing in the doorway- her outfit consisted of a white, double-breasted pea coat with black piping, cuffs, and buttons over a white, pleated full skirt with black lace trim. She wore a pair of glasses and her hair was done up in a messy but cute ponytail.
Ben had to do a double take. "Is that-"
Ruby grinned. "Yep. That's Yang."
"H-how the- when the-" Ben sputtered. "WHEN DID SHE BECOME A MASTER DEBATER?!"
"Do you hear yourself sometimes, dude?" Yang asked, walking past them without missing a beat.
Ben went red in the face and tried to hide in his hoodie. Ruby patted him on the back in pity… while also trying not to giggle.
Yang strolled on up to her debate team, tilting down her glasses with her pointer finger. "So, what are we dealing with?"
Blake turned to look at the other team. "A wannabe reactionary pundit with just above-average intellect."
"Quick draw kind or just obnoxious?"
"Mix of both," Medi answered, frowning heavily. "With a cherry on top."
"Oooh, a devil's advocate?" Yang smirked. "Gimme two minutes. I'll tear this guy apart."
"What is with this late arrival?!" one of the members on the opposing side whined. "This is cheating! She probably had more time to assemble note cards based on the topic!"
Yang gave a sly smirk. "I don't use cards, kid."
The kid's face turned pale. "I-impossible..."
"And honestly? I haven't heard a single word of whatever you guys are debating." Yang grinned. "I've just been doing pen tricks in the other room."
The boy who had been up at the podium rolled his eyes. "So what? That supposed to scare us? You're just sounding more and more like an incompotent representative for your team. As expected," he scoffed.
Yang's eyes turned from purple to red. "Excuse me?" she asked, something dark and dangerous in her tone.
The boy turned deathly pale and, in a brain glitch, ate his own cards.
Why?
Because Yang willed him to.
"Now, judge," Yang said, turning her predatory gaze to the front. "Are you okay with theory?"
It was OVER for those hoes.
"I can't believe you guys only won because the lay judge liked your outfits more than the other team," Ben commented later on, ice cream in hand.
"Not the first time it's happened, either," Yatsudachi added.
"We've been on the receiving end of that every now and again. When it happens to the other guys, it's bullshit. But when it happens to us?" the bespectacled student said.
"We're the goddamn gods of debates." Medi grinned as she happily devoured her ice cream in one bite.
"I'm gonna need more than ice cream after all of this," Ruby muttered darkly.
"God, what a mood," Ben agreed.