𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈; 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒚.

𝒔𝒆𝒊; 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏.

"No. Why would I have them?" Corbyn asked with a smile.

"I dunno, you seem to have everything in there." I patted his big bag and shrugged. 

"Alright, everyone." Mr Miller silenced everyone, "The first people to debate will be, Daniel Seavey and Persephone Tatum, arguing against, and Addy Burkhart and Harry Crawford arguing for." I rolled my eyes, put my hands on the desk, and got up. 

"Just my luck," I mumbled to myself. 

"Good luck." Corbyn smiled to me.

"Yeah, good luck, Persephone." Zach grinned. 

"You'll do great." Jonah held up a thumbs up. 

"I'm sure I'll do fine, too, thanks." Daniel rolled his eyes as we walked up to the front. Daniel and I sat behind one of the desks that had been set up at the front, Addy and Harry sat at the one opposite us. "Where are your notes?" Daniel stage-whispered to me.

"Up your ass," I whispered back before turning to Addy with a smirk.

"What? You don't have-,"

"We'll go first." Addy raised her hand with a sickly sweet smile on her face. She looked at Harry, who flicked through his notes nervously. Addy has obviously put him under a lot of pressure, her needing to win everything and all. 

"Here we go..." I sat back in my seat and put my hands behind my head. Daniel concentrated hard as Harry began to speak. 

"When abortion is easily available, it incentivises irresponsible behaviour." Harry started. "Life begins at conception. Abortion, therefore, violates the right to life of the fetus. Not to mention, abortion has harmful mental and physical consequences for the woman involved." 

"Not all pregnancies are viable and the pregnant woman should be able to choose to end it." Daniel interrupted, placing his notes down after reading them quickly, "Women have a right to bodily autonomy and should ultimately be able to make choices about what happens to their bodies. Abortion should, therefore-," Daniel mocked 'therefore' in Harry's voice. I sniggered and Harry glared at me. "-Be legal and accessible." 

"The killing of an innocent human being is wrong, even if that human being has yet to be born. Unborn babies are considered human beings by the US government." Addy smirked at me. I glared at her, while swallowing the lump in my throat. Not upset, furious. "A peer-reviewed study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health found that "Young adult women who undergo... abortion may be at increased risk for subsequent depression-,"

"MEN SHOULDN'T BE MAKING LAWS ABOUT WOMEN'S BODIES!" I stood up and slammed my hands on the desk. Everyone jumped slightly, even Addy. "The choice over when and whether to have children is central to a woman's independence and ability to determine her future."

"Abortions-," Harry started to read off his notes but I interrupted. 

"That depression thing is bullshit. A peer-reviewed study comparing the mental health of women who received abortions to women denied abortions found that women who were denied abortions 'felt more regret and anger' and 'less relief and happiness' than women who had abortions." I smirked at Addy, who frowned. 

Daniel looked up at me, smiling, but also surprised, "Y-you... you read my notes."

"Shush, pretty boy. We're winning." I stage-whispered to him. Daniel nodded confidently and stood up with me.

"Embryos and fetuses are not independent, self-determining beings, and abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby." He said.

"A person's age is calculated from birth date, not conception, and fetuses are not counted in the US Census." I finished as I recognised the statement Daniel had been revising in front of me a couple of days before. Daniel gave me a huge grin before looking Addy right in the eyes and shouting,

"MEN SHOULDN'T BE MAKING LAWS ABOUT WOMEN'S BODIES!" He punched the air and I laughed. 

"MEN SHOULDN'T BE MAKING LAWS ABOUT WOMEN'S BODIES!" Zach stood up and raised his fist.

"Men shouldn't be making laws about women's bodies!" Jack and Corbyn both jumped up also, grins on their faces.

"Men shouldn't be making any damn laws about women's bodies!" Jonah stood up, confident and gave me a smile. Soon, the whole class was chanting 'Men shouldn't be making laws about women's bodies' so loud it took Mr Miller ages to settle them down. 

Addy and Harry looked at each other, unsure of what to do. I looked at Daniel. He looked so happy. He had the biggest grin on his face. 

"The winner's are, Persephone Tatum and Daniel Seavey." Mr Miller announced with a grin.

"But we barely got a go!" Addy protested.

"I've seen enough." Mr Miller shrugged.

"Yes! Yes, Persephone!" Daniel shrieked and gave me a tight hug as the class clapped. The class looked surprised that I wasn't beating him to the ground for touching me, even Zach, Jack, Corbyn and Jonah, I was surprised too. 

But he was so happy I didn't feel like pushing him off. My heart may have been cold but I still had a heart, after all. I looked over at Addy, who was too busy arguing with Harry to notice me and Daniel embracing, and when we let go, she was still shouting at him. 

"Alright, sit down." Mr Miller settled her down and ushered us back into our seats.

"That was amazing." Daniel said to me as we sat down, "No. You were amazing." 

"I was ok." I shrugged and smiled. Daniel shook his head and grinned. 

"Guys, you were so good," Corbyn said to us. 

"Thanks for being our little fanbase back here." I nodded as I put my feet up on the desk.

"I couldn't help it. You were so motivational." Zach looked like he was going to explode in excitement. My heart throbbed for him.

"I have to say, you gave me goosebumps," Jonah said to me. 

"Yeah, it seemed like you were really passionate about it." Jack nodded. Daniel looked at me, checking if I was ok. And for the first time in ages, I gave him a happy, genuine smile. He sensed it, too.

"She was incredible." Daniel agreed. 

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𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆.
 𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚. 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔.