As I walked back toward my temporary room for the past week, my mind drifted to the past again.
Flashback begins
The following Monday, the class was all sitting in the auditorium. We had the dean, several teachers, several students, my parents, Alpha Solomon Abraham (my alpha), and even the judges from last week. I was excited that I was in the top 4 at this time.
I saw Professor Coleman walk to the center of the stage, "Hello, today we have a special debate set up. As you entered, everyone should have received a ballot. Once the debate is over, you are requested to vote for whom you feel won the debate. All votes will be dropped off in the boxes marked DEBATE VOTES. The ballots will be tallied up by my student aids.
The one with the most votes will get 100 points. The second place will earn 90 points. The third will get 80 points, and the fourth will get 70 points. The judges get up to 100 points per presentation made. Their points will be added to the audience's votes. This means each debating person can receive up to 500 points.
You will then be dismissed for a four-hour break. You are encouraged to eat lunch while votes are tallied. Then will report back here afterward to have the winners announced. Oh, if you're a member of any of my classes, you are to write up a one-page report on who you voted for and why you felt they won the debate. Turn in that paper to my aid as you return. It must be turned in before the winner is announced. Once winners are announced, you will get 30% taken off for being late." He looked around the auditorium and then introduced the judges. Four people came and sat at the table.
He then announced four Seniors who were part of the university debate team. He went and sat down in the auditorium, and the judges took over.
"As Professor Coleman said, I am one of the judges for this debate. The topic for today is 'Who is the most misunderstood person and why.' I have been informed that 4 hours ago, you were given a 10-to-15-page report written by four students of Professor Coleman's communication class. You can only use those reports to make your argument. You were told to write a 3-minute summary to support why this person is the most misunderstood. Once you have shared your summary of the person you represent, we will have open questions from each judge. Do you understand?"
They all four answered, "Yes, sir." I sat there listening to the other three summaries, and then it was time for me to hear the summary about myself.
Debater 4: "I am only an 18-year-old female, and the males of my species feel I should be barefoot and pregnant. Since I did not find my mate when I shifted, some felt I should be assigned a mate, but I am now in university because my alpha supported my free will. I have had people in my pack look at me strangely when I choose to attend school; I have been training with other species; and my pack warriors on how to fight. The other species thought it strange that I chose this route instead of being the traditional she-wolf. But I am not a traditional girl. When I asked others about personality traits, I was told repeatedly: straightforwardness, confidence, warm, caring person, quick to anger, quick to forgive, and loving. It was amusing to see when my species was asked where they saw me five years from now. They saw me at home raising pups, but other species saw me as one of the best warriors. One who could take on seconds and third commands and defeat them and have a pup. I then taught young pups and youth the art of offensive and defensive fighting. I am not interested in defeating any commands, but I am interested in teaching. I am definitely the most misunderstood by my species because I am going against tradition."
Judge 1: "This is the part where each judge will ask a question. You cannot hear the question or your opponent's answer. I want each of you to put on your headset so you cannot hear the question asked by judges or the answers from your opponent's response. You each will have 60 seconds to respond. You will get deducted 1 point for each second over the 60 seconds. Now put your headsets and blindfolds on until your shoulder is tapped to remove them. Debater 2, please leave yours off." They do as requested.
Then it came to Debater 4, and here are the questions they asked. "When it comes to fighting, how would you lead your species into battle?"
Debater 4: "I would be there to send my pack children to safety. They would be the last form of defense to protect the younger children who cannot fight. It would be a surprise since most packs do not train she-wolves or pups.
If I were told to be on the battlefield, I would charge right in. I would still have to do training at least once a week with adults. This way, I know how our pack Alpha wants us to fight. I would not lead this group since I am not a top 3.
I would also encourage training which would be defensive training for the she-wolves too. I could lead the ladies outside the house as a second-to-last form of defense. The final form, as stated before, would be the pups in the safe room. The men of my pack and species would not follow me into battle even if I could defeat most of them with what I have learned."
Judge 2: You just answered how you would lead, but I wonder how your leading makes you misunderstood?"
Debater 4: "I am misunderstood because the males do not see me as one who can fight. They see my boobs and think they are their toys and pups' milk machines. They would not see my teaching children or she-wolves as viable time. They believe their job is to protect us while we sit back home safely. They teach us basic self-defense, but it is not how to fight back. The enemy would be stunned. I would make offensive moves toward anyone who would come after my species and home. I would even try to show the women those moves if they want to learn. We are not as strong as the men, but even Goliath was defeated by David because he was considered too weak to win. Their mistake is not seeing I could kick some of their asses."
Judge 2: "You went 2 seconds over time."
Judge 3: "You mention your alpha supports you being at school. Does he support you wanting to fight with warriors?"
Debater 4: "He allows me to watch the warriors fight, but I can only fight with wolves related by blood. I fought with my brothers and cousins. My father refuses to fight me. I am considered his princess and not a defender. The alpha has even had a few times spared with me, but never in full ALPHA MODE. He admits he feels just a phase for me until I meet my mate. He fights me like he does a young child pup. He does support it to a point. He does know I want to teach the younger pups and other she-wolves, but I do not know if he will let me once I graduate."
Judge 4: Do you think of yourself as a tomboy or one of those feminists that humans have?"
Debater 4: "No, I like being a girl, and I would not be one to go into marches for the same rights as males. What I want to do is teach. What I want to learn is how to protect myself and my pack members. I felt this when I read about the Odessa Pack, who got wiped out. If the she-wolves and pups had been taught to defend themselves, maybe a few could have escaped and not been found slaughtered in their safe room, which the rogues broke into. I would still have a best friend."
Judge 4: I will object to your reply. Is what you said part of the report or your thoughts on this matter? It sounds personal.
I stood up and replied, "She used my defense on why I felt that way. You can verify it by reading pages 13 and 14 of my notes
The judge looked at me and said, "You must be the author of this report, but she is to answer the question."
I replied, "I am sorry, sir." I then sat down.
Since she answered the question, my next question is ''Do you think you are a radical who wants to fight even if not strong like males?"
Debater 4: "No, sir. I do not consider it radical to want to protect the pack. Many feel wrong, but it is a different way to think. If a mother was at the park with her pups and a rogue got through. She could protect her pups better with training and work to fend off the rogue until the warriors could arrive."
Judge 5: You have mentioned your training. What kind of training have you been doing that others don't understand?"
Debater 4: I signed up and have taken defensive training with a class of elves, dwarves, and witches and currently taking one with fairies while at the university. Even for the next semester, I have defensive level 2 and Offensive level 1 in elves along with my other classes. Being the only wolf to take these classes has been difficult, but I am proud of my accomplishment. The elves invited me to part of the next semester's Defense 2 class. When I informed my family, my brothers thought I was crazy, but my granny encouraged me to follow my dream."
After that, the debates ended, and we were asked to vote. As I walked out of the auditorium, I had a group of wolves from another pack growl at me. "You think you can do a better job than us?"
I looked at them and said, "That is not what was said. This is why this topic fits into most misunderstood. I want to start training in elementary before they shift to defend themselves. This way, we have a better chance of not seeing a pack get wiped out. None of us ever want to see another Odessa Pack incident."
One of the wolves growled at me, "Why do you care about Odessa Pack so much? You should only be concerned about having a mate and pups."
"My best friend Sasha was visiting her grandparents who were part of Odessa Pack when She was eight. I lost her that night. You never knew she could have been one of your mates, and you lost a chance of having her as your mate."
Several growled at me when my Alpha walked up, "This is enough. Go cast your votes, and don't bother her." They walked away, and he looked at me, "We will be talking about your report when you return to the pack house this weekend. I want to see the complete report. Email it to me by the end of the day." He then walked away.
I then came back to the present. I got back to my room at the pack house and started to pack up my belongings in my suitcase. I did not have much since I knew I would only be in the packhouse briefly.
Do you agree that her topic makes her the most misunderstood person?
What are the pros and cons of her idea?
What do you think about her parent's reaction?