What If... All the Rumors Were True by Liz Ruckdeschel Page B

eh?” Alex Martin said, giving Haley a self-satisfied smile as she walked into Debate Team Central for her first official competition. “You must be a glutton for punishment.”
    â€œI can’t resist a challenge,” Haley retorted, wishing she’d come up with something more clever to say. Alex Martin was such a smug smarty-pants. Why did Haley have to find him so easy on the eyes? In an uptight, geeky-cute way, of course. But still, things would have been much easier if she’d been able to despise him in peace.
    â€œA challenge. Right,” Alex said, leading her to her seat next to Annie on the Hillsdale team’s side of the room. “Our first competition is against Ridgewood. It doesn’t get more challenging than that. Hope you can hack it.”
    â€œDon’t worry about me,” Haley said with more confidence than she felt. She surveyed the Ridgewood team across the podium. The debaters were seated in the order they’d speak, and Haley was second from the end, which meant she’d be debating the intense-looking Ridgewood girl in the dark red cardigan. The young woman’s thick black hair was smoothed back in a ponytail; her dark bushy brows formed two sharp lines over her piercing blue eyes; she had a pointy nose and chin, angular cheekbones and ruby lipstick to match her sweater.
    â€œYikes,” Annie whispered. “Looks like Alex matched you against Firemouth Francine for your very first debate. Tough break, kid.”
    â€œFiremouth Francine?” Haley said. The name seemed to fit, though Haley didn’t like the sound of it.
    â€œFrancine Kendall,” Annie explained. “She’s Ridgewood’s captain. A legend, and not just in her own mind. Her arguments are airtight and they sting. She makes her opponents look like morons. And she usually makes them cry. We’ve never beaten them, and it’s because of her.”
    â€œGreat.” Haley cast an irritated glance at Alex, who took his seat beside her as last debater. He’d purposely given her the toughest competitor in the history of high school debating for her very first contest, in a mean-spirited attempt to break her and make her quit the team. Or so Haley had to assume.
    â€œI thought you might need this,” Alex said, straightening his red-and-blue-striped repp tie and handing Haley a handkerchief. “I suppose I’ll be accepting your resignation by the end of the afternoon.”
    â€œDon’t worry, you won’t be seeing any tears out of these eyes,” Haley said bravely.
    â€œOh, that’s right,” Alex said. “You’re a tough girl. Maybe you ought to stick to the soccer field and leave the debate team to the intellects.”
    â€œHaven’t you ever heard the term
well rounded
?” Haley snapped. “Some people can be athletic
and
intellectual.”
    â€œThat’s suburban myth,” Alex said matter-of-factly. “A jock is a jock—and they’re usually called dumb for a reason.”
    What an arrogant jerk!
Haley tried to look unruffled as she sat in her seat, inwardly fuming at him.
So pretentious! And so full of himself! What has he ever done to demonstrate his fantastic intellect?
    â€œAlex, lay off her,” Annie commanded.
    â€œThis is nothing,” Alex said. “Just a warm-up. If she can’t take a little ribbing she’s in the wrong place.”
    Haley silently wondered if maybe he was right.
    Ms. Dearborn, a history teacher and the debate team’s faculty advisor, took the podium to begin the meet. “Welcome to Hillsdale High, Ridgewood debaters. This is our first meet of the year and it looks as if it could be one of the fiercest. So best of luck to you all. Our topic today: nature versus nurture. Resolved: the genes a child is born with have more effect on that child’s life than the conditions in which he or she is raised. Ridgewood takes the pro side. We’ll