Officially Meeting You

Chapter 32: Power And Believe

"Gosh. Pinakain mo ng alikabok si Ma—"

Kaagad na tinakpan ni Oliver ang bibig ni Athena dahil sa biglaang pagtili nito. Luckily, no one seems to notice and hear that except from us.

Tuluyan na akong umupo at ngumiti na lang. After the first round, I feel calmer. I didn't expect I can adjust to this competition that fast.

"Cleo," Walter said and narrowed his eyes, "are you sure you are a beginner?"

I nodded. Napailing-iling naman siya at napahawak sa batok niya.

"Para kasing hindi eh," natatawang sabi niya.

"You did great," Oliver said.

"Thank you," I said and sighed. "But if Maggie didn't went too far with her statements, I think she will be more convincing."

Napatango-tango naman si Athena. "Yeah. She added some unnecessary words and it sounded like she was exaggerating."

"Hindi naman siya ganyan no'ng last, 'di ba?" Leona asked. "I think she was threatened by Cleo that's why she messed up."

Bahagya namang nanlaki ang mga mata ko at napaturo pa sa sarili ko. Maggie was threatened by me?

"You don't know? When you were standing there, you were so amazing but intimidating at the same time," Walter said and chuckled. "You looked like a pro. And your aura seems to say 'shut up when I'm talking.' Nagsitayuan mga balahibo ko, Cleo."

Hindi ko naman alam ang sasabihin ko dahil sa sinabi niya. I just smiled and Oliver already hushed us down when the chairperson approached, asking which side we will defend for the second round.

Nabigla naman akong nang biglang tumingin sa akin si Oliver.

"Your choice," he said and the others also looked at me. "Negative or affirmative?"

I tried to smile. "Let's continue with our first choice."

Tumango si Oliver at tinaas ang placard na tinaas niya din kanina. Then after that, the second question was revealed.

"Should Marijuana be legalized?" the chairperson said, reading the question. "Again, that's for the both team to answer. Your five minutes to get ready will now start."

The other team started researching and I just sighed. This time, mukhang mas mahihirapan kaming i-defend ang side namin. But luckily, we all think that Marijuana shouldn't be legalized so we started discussing our opinions.

"They might say that it will reduce crime rates and save more money that can be used on upgrading the community," Athena said.

Oliver shook his head. "But at the same time, addiction and the risk of overdoses can increase. And that can increase crime rates as well."

"Example is Colorado. According to the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Website, traffic deaths related to Marijuana increased in 48% during 2013 to 2016," Leona said. "And in 2015, 21% of traffic casualties were caused by operators who tested positive for Marijuana."

Saglit kaming natulala dahil sa sinabi ni Leona habang nagta-type naman si Walter sa laptop.

"H-how did you—"

She shyly smiled. "Walter and I did an advance research. Well, legalization of drugs is a common topic for debate. Nagbakasakali lang."

Napatango na lang kami at tumango. I guess we don't need the power to research during the debate after all.

We have such great researchers!

"Prohibition in using drugs doesn't help reduce drug related crimes and only leads to greater violations," Athena said, saying the possible arguments of Team GCU. "And thousands or even millions of money are being wasted during the drug war, which also causes more killings."