The Opposition

Chapter 14: Carter

Sadie's eyes dart around my naked–except for a pair of boxers–frame, and I can't help but feel a little smug when her gazes falls on my abs. It's hard to be friends with Landon without sporting a six-pack. The guy practically lives in the gym. She shakes her head a little, flicking her eyes over to my face. "When do we need to be there?"

The board office is only a ten minute walk from the hotel, so we can get away with leaving at 6:45. Now that I think about it, I don't know why we woke up so early. I don't think we'll need nearly two hours to eat breakfast and change. Well, we're awake now, so I suggest we head down for breakfast. Sadie doesn't object and pulls on a pair of sweats, leaving my shirt on. It looks good on her so I don't mind. I slip into a pair of black sweats and a grey muscle tank before following her out of the door.

Being on the top floor makes for a very long and quiet elevator ride. Last night seems to have made it a little awkward between us and I find myself craving for the awkwardness to go away. I'll even take one of her insulting quips right now.

"So, we're separated for the day," I say. Today we are doing two individual debates each, so the only time we'll be seeing each other is for "lunch" at 10:00.

Sadie smirks. "I don't think until 2 PM is considered 'for the day.'" Such a simple comment, but it evaporates the tension hanging in the air.

I can't help but smile. "So, what shall we spend the rest of the day doing?"

"I don't know. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and focus on winning first." And she's back. Confident and in control.

"Oh, we're going to win, alright. We're going to crush those motherfuckers."

She lets out a breathy chuckle. "We better."

"Oh, c'mon," I say. "When was the last time we lost a debate competition?"

"Never," she replies, a fond smile dancing on her lips.

"Exactly." It's not a lie, either. From the start, Fairridge has been known for its outstanding debate team, and Ms. Davenport wouldn't send anyone to a competition unless she was positive they were ready to win. A few students were given some tough love when she would place a hand on their shoulders and tell them they wouldn't be boarding the bus in the morning, but she was in this to win and so were we. I've only done a handful of individual debates where I had to be first and second speaker. Usually these types of debates are just used for practice, but JW Debate wants to see the individual skills of every person in the competition to ensure that the winners both deserve the title. It's safe to say that this is a big deal.

Ms. Davenport made a risky move, though, pairing Sadie and I together. We've only been in a competition as partners once, and it was a couple years ago, before our constant bickering prevented us from being able to work side-by-side. Every other competition has allowed more than one entry from schools, so we usually brought a couple teams of two. The JW Debate Competition, on the other hand, is exclusive and rare. It occurs every four years and only the best schools get to compete. Some even travel hours by plane just to have a chance at winning.

We manage to get through the whole elevator ride without anyone stepping on to join us, so when it finally opens up we find ourselves on the first floor of the hotel with people bustling around trying to get to breakfast. For some reason, Sadie works to avoid the waffle maker today and settles on a bowl of coloured cereal and a bagel with cream cheese. I gravitate towards the hash browns, scrambled eggs, and sausages, along with an English muffin. A white paper cup is quickly filled with coffee, milk, and sugar before I snap on its black lid. Sadie fumbles with the lid of her streaming black coffee beside me.

With out plates and cups in hand, we move over to the same seat we used yesterday before devouring our breakfasts. I can't help but notice how Sadie pushes her cereal around with her spoon for minutes at a time before ever actually lifting said spoon to her lips.