Through the Lens

24

Monday morning brought sunshine and flowers. And I mean that literally. Josh cornered me at my locker and handed me a rose.

"I'm sorry, Jess. I came back, and you were gone. I called, but you didn't answer."

He had called like over twenty times. But I wasn't giving in. "Josh, just go," I said and stalked off with Madison in tow. Bradley had to be restrained by Madison from jumping in.

"Let her handle it," Madison said to him as she dragged him along. I was poised to toss the flower in the trash when Madison grabbed it from me. "Don't do that." Breaking the stem, leaving about two inches only, she pushed the flower in her hair and smiled.

By lunch, Josh gave me an incredibly cute teddy bear that I couldn't possibly throw away. Putting it in my locker, I planned to stop by the hospital and donate it to one of the sick kids there. But for now, it took residence in my locker, which didn't help. The thing had the cutest face, and I couldn't help but be reminded of Josh's pleas for forgiveness.

Thankfully, I managed to dodge him the rest of the day. After school during the Yearbook Club meeting, Ethan and I decided to take another crack at the Debate Team.

Winking at me, Ethan said, "Let me give it a shot." Opening the door to the classroom, over a dozen students stopped and looked at us. "Sorry to bother you guys, but we're with the yearbook, and we would like to do an exposé on the team."

His smile was radiant, grabbing the girls' attention, and his words seemed to get the attention of the guys as well. I recognized some of the faces in the room. These were some of the brightest people in school. A lot of them were destined to go to MIT after graduation or a school like that.

"Fine," a girl with straight brown hair and black frame glasses said, standing in our line of sight. "You need something, and so do we. We don't have a judge for our mock debate this afternoon. You guys can help decide the winner."

Being considered smart didn't mean you were good at everything. I knew a little about debating, but my concern was I wouldn't be up to speed with whatever topic they were discussing. "Okay," Ethan said brightly, taking a seat. With no other choice, I sat at a desk next to him. "So what's the topic?"

The brown-haired girl, who wasn't a senior, yet appeared to be in charge in the absence of the teacher. With a smug expression, she said, "We are debating the opposing sides of whether or not teens should have sex while still in high school."

Holding my mouth shut from opening wide, I didn't manage to keep my eyes from widening. "I know what you're thinking," she said. "This would be too easy. So the girls have to argue for and the guys against."

That wasn't exactly what I was thinking. Personally, I never guessed this would be something they would discuss. Quantum Physics maybe, but sex? Okay, I know we all thought about it some, I just thought they were more like me and thought of their future, not rolling in the hay with someone. Did that make me a prude or worse?

The brown-haired girl pointed to another girl with brown hair except this girl's hair was shoulder length. "You are up next."

The girl stood and took her place behind the podium. "We should have sex because it feels good," the girl said. I was stupefied again, but the girl said. "Just kidding. I wanted to see the look on your face."

There were snickers; then she said, "Start time."

The leader said, "Remember that this is a short debate; we all want to go home." The girl at the podium nodded. The leader hit a button on something small and square. It must be the timer. "Begin."