A Debated Giveaway

argue: [ahr-gyoo]; verb; to contend in oral disagreement; dispute.

    "I think that dialogue is much more interesting." Sasha Corrian piped up as the first person to speak in the first English debate of the year, eight days after Felix's meal with the Anastos'. They were debating the value of dialogue versus description in books, and judging by the fact that most of the English class was composed of people with the same intellect as Sasha Corrian and Jessica Anastos, the debate appeared to be one-sided.

    Except for Felix Brannon.

    "I disagree." He responded politely. "I think that description offers a far more in-depth look into the characters and their lives, and can also help you to see that there is a world inside of the book, and not simply a bunch of characters going back and forth in witty banter."

    The class was silent for a moment before Ethan Meek spoke.

    "I agree with Sasha." He conceded, despite the glare directed at him by Caleb Halpon for even daring to say Miss Corrian's name. "Descriptions are so boring. Who has the time to read all about the settings of different places when that's what movies are for? We have lives, we don't want to read all that."

    "Perhaps if you actually read anything besides the few pages assigned a night by teachers, you would realize that not everything is going to be put in front of you like a movie." Felix snapped. From next to him, he felt Nova fidget nervously.

    "Hey, lay off my man Meek." Caleb Halpon chimed in. "He's right, descriptions are boring. What a snooze. Dialogue gets you the same information at a quicker speed."

    "What about both?" Nova asked.

    The entire class looked at her as if she had grown and second and a third head.

    "Miss Desai, you may not have noticed yet, but in this class, there is only black and white, and no gray. It's an unfortunate instance, but it's how we seem to think, and I won't be the one to take that away from the students." Mr. Hunter shook his head, "If you continue with that train of thought, your opinion may become even more isolated than most of Mr. Brannon's." He looked over at Felix, "No offense intended, Brannon."

    "None taken, Mr. Hunter." Felix replied before continuing with the point he had been trying to make previously. "Descriptions take you into the stories. They help you to see what the character sees, taste what they taste, smell what they smell, hear what they hear."

    "Dialogue helps you hear what they hear as well." Sasha interjected.

    "Yes, but how would you know who was talking without description?" Felix argued back. "If there were no descriptions of the characters, you would only be able to imagine a mindless orb walking around and talking. Do they have brown hair or pink? Green eyes or blue? Are they male or female? Dialogue alone is not enough to support an entire story, nor should it be."

    "That is so dumb." Sasha fired back. "If you had some kind of imagination, it would be simple to imagine the people in your head! You--"

    "But how would you be able to imagine them without a description of them first?" the next person who spoke caught every person in the room by surprise, and even Mr. Hunter looked up from his computer, his eyes wide. "You need a description of them in order to be able to imagine them in your head. You need a basis for the imagination. Otherwise you could be picturing it completely wrong and changing the story from how the author originally intended you to perceive it." Jessica Anastos sat back in her seat. "It simply doesn't make sense."

    The classroom was silent. People were willing to fire some shots at Ethan and Caleb, and even Sasha if she was being especially airheaded, but Jessica Anastos? They would rather chop off their own tongue. Not even Ethan and Caleb, who had no intentions of becoming friends with Jessica anytime soon, shut their mouths and refused to argue against her. She had the ability to ruin their reputations in a snap of her fingers, no matter if they were the basketball team captains or not.

    Mr. Hunter waited for someone to speak, but no one did, and he sighed.

    "Miss Anastos, I appreciate the thought, but I didn't realize your participation would stop the conversation completely."

    "Me neither." Jessica shrugged before shooting Felix a small smile. "I guess everyone realized that their opinion was wrong."

<><><>

    "What was all that about?" Sasha asked as she lounged in one of Jessica's many armchairs that afternoon.

    "What was what all about?" Jessica replied as she went through her emails on her computer, searching out the ones from makeup and clothing stores to mark as favorites.

    Sasha rolled her eyes.

    "In English today. Jess, you know you never speak in class. You sit there and paint your nails or watch makeup tutorials on YouTube, and the teachers don't care because they don't want to be sued by your parents, and half of them are family friends."

    "I know all this."

    "But today, you talked. You participated. And participation wasn't even a grade. You voluntarily offered a very valid and intelligent opinion, and on top of all that, it was different from everyone else in the class except that nerdy kid." Sasha looked at her best friend in confusion. "Why?"

    Jessica shrugged and continued to scroll through her laptop. She honestly didn't know why she had jumped to Felix's defense. She just wanted to help him. She felt bad, and she wanted to help him out. There was nothing other than that.

    As she thought those words, she almost laughed at herself. Of course there was something more than that. She just didn't want to acknowledge it.

    "I don't know why. I just felt like talking. I also kind of wanted the class to shut up, and I knew no one would argue with me." she shrugged again. "No big deal, honestly."

    Sasha nodded slightly, still a bit off-put, but didn't push the subject.

    That night, after Sasha had left and after dinner had been served, eaten, and cleaned up, Jessica found herself outside of her mother's office, knocking at the door.

    "Come in."

    She opened the door and stepped inside. Elizabeth Anastos was sitting at her desk, papers strewn all around her, at least thirteen tabs open on her laptop, and a pencil shoved behind her ear as she examined everything around her. She looked up as Jessica walked in and set down the file folder she was inspecting.

    "What's on your mind, Jessie?"

    Elizabeth and Jessica Anastos had always had a good relationship. Jessica was Elizabeth's only daughter, and as her eldest, she was more of a friend than a daughter at this point. Jessica confided mostly everything in her mother, and she didn't plan on stopping now.

    "It's--"

    "Felix." Elizabeth interrupted. "I can tell."

    "How?" Jessica asked, trying not to blush. "I didn't say it was."

    "But is it?"

    Jessica fidgeted slightly before answering.

    "Yes."

    Elizabeth nodded.

    "He's not someone I would generally see you hanging out with. When he was over for dinner he didn't like to talk much, which is perfectly fine but not something I'd expect from one of your friends. He's intelligent, and very much so, which is a veer away from the usual crowd." Elizabeth never beat around the bush; she said what she saw and Jessica had always admired that. "You say he is over to study, but then you go up to your room. You've had study groups before, but always in one of the offices around the house. Your room is territory usually reserved for Sasha."

    Jessica nodded.

    "Nothing bad--"

    "I know." Elizabeth smiled. "I would know if something was going on behind those doors, trust me. I trust you and I know that this is strange." She took a deep breath. "You like him."

    Jessica nodded.

    "I really do. I can't figure out why."

    "I can." Elizabeth replied. "He's a charming boy. He clearly is smart enough to return your wit and he's kind enough to balance out your insults. He's not unattractive, even with the glasses, and he clearly cares for you."

    Jessica perked up.

    "You think so?"

    "I know so." Elizabeth nodded. "I was like you in high school, you know that. I was one of the popular girls and always had a gaggle of guys that I constantly rejected." Jessica laughed as she heard her mother talk; she knew that if anyone else heard it, they would consider it conceited, but Jess knew it was simply honesty.

    "Your father was more on Felix's end of the social spectrum. Not that he was a complete nerd; he played soccer for the school and was pretty well-known, but quiet and kept to himself. I never would have pictured myself dating someone like him; I loved to talk and be social, and he would rather sit at home with a movie and popcorn. Yet we found each other, and it was a marvelous thing that we did."

    "Yeah, because otherwise there would be quite a few criminals in West Virginia walking free on the streets."

    "We do make a great team." Elizabeth beamed as she spoke about Jessica's father. "I want that for you, Jessie. There's nothing better than finding your perfect match, the one person who can complete and compliment you in everything you do."

    "Do you think that's Felix?" Jessica asked. She didn't know what to do; her social status could be completely ruined if she started to date someone like him, but there was so much to be gained by starting a relationship with someone who was so respectful and kind. She could see them going somewhere.

    Elizabeth shrugged.

    "I'd say it's worth a shot."