As Emily approached the check-in desk, one of Lucas’s teammates noticed the badge hanging around her neck and nudged him lightly. “Hey Lucas,” the student said with a grin that didn’t bother hiding its amusement, “looks like the tournament expanded its recruitment pool this year.” Lucas glanced briefly at Emily’s badge and raised an eyebrow, his expression hovering somewhere between curiosity and quiet amusement.
“Riverside Community College,” he read aloud, pronouncing the name slowly as if it were unfamiliar territory. The group beside him chuckled, and one of the girls whispered loudly enough to be heard, “Maybe she’s a volunteer or something.” Emily pretended she hadn’t heard the comment and focused on signing the registration sheet in front of her, but the laughter lingered behind her like an echo.
The volunteer handed Emily her folder and pointed toward the hallway. “Hall B,” she said kindly. “Your debate starts in fifteen minutes.” Emily thanked her and turned to walk toward the auditorium, trying to ignore the way several people glanced at her badge again as she passed.
Behind her, Lucas leaned closer to his teammate and murmured quietly, “Well, this should be interesting.” The tone in his voice wasn’t cruel exactly, but it carried the easy confidence of someone who had never had to fight for respect in rooms like this.
Inside Hall B, rows of seats faced a long wooden table where the competitors would sit. Professors and students filled the room slowly, their voices blending together in quiet anticipation. Emily placed her bag beside her chair and opened her notebook, scanning the pages of handwritten notes she had spent weeks preparing. The research inside wasn’t flashy, but it was careful and thorough, built during long nights at a kitchen table cluttered with textbooks and empty coffee mugs.
Across the table, Lucas and his partner Daniel Brooks settled comfortably into their seats. Daniel leaned toward Lucas and whispered with a grin, “We should probably go easy on her.” Lucas shrugged slightly, but the corner of his mouth lifted in a small smile. “Let’s just keep it professional,” he said quietly, though his relaxed posture suggested he expected the debate to be over quickly.
When the moderator stepped to the podium and welcomed the audience, the room gradually fell silent. He introduced the topic—the role of artificial intelligence in public policy decision-making—before calling Lucas Whitmore forward to deliver the opening argument.
