Jaanvi Vaidya — Debate Class
The thing about Aditya Singh was that he didn't have to try to be annoying.
He just was.
He breathed? Annoying.
He blinked? Irritating.
He opened his mouth? God, why.
Unfortunately, he also happened to be the only other person in the debate program who could match Jaanvi's pace. Which meant they were always put in the same class, sat within striking distance, and forced to function like civilized human beings.
Key word: forced.
Mr. Carter — their debate coach and the only teacher with enough caffeine in his bloodstream to survive this class — was in the middle of explaining this year's structure when it happened.
He was pacing up front, gesturing wildly with his Expo marker like it was a wand. "You'll be working in pairs a lot this semester — analyzing topics, forming arguments, refining rebuttals—"
Jaanvi raised her hand. "Just to clarify, we get to pick our partners, right?"
Before he could answer, Aditya said loudly from two seats behind her, "Yeah, I'd like to opt out of partnering with emotional damage."
Jaanvi didn't even turn around. "You're just upset I was the better half of our team and our relationship."
Gasps. Actual gasps from the class.
"Y'all used to date?" someone whispered.
"Tragic," someone else added.
Mr. Carter sighed. "This is going to be a long year."
It escalated from there.
Every time Jaanvi made a point, Aditya found a loophole.
Every time Aditya spoke, Jaanvi cut in with, "Do you even read the source material or are you just freestyling again?"
At one point, he threw a crumpled Post-it at her desk with You're wrong scribbled on it in his dumb perfect handwriting.
She threw it back with I was right last year, I'm still right now. Deal with it. written on hers.
The class was entertained.
Mr. Carter was not.
"All right!" he snapped finally, clapping once. "Singh. Vaidya. Since you two are so desperate to prove yourselves, you're going to do a practice debate. Right now. In front of everyone."
Jaanvi froze.
"What?" she and Aditya said in unison — the first thing they'd agreed on all year.
Carter grinned. A little too gleefully. "You're going to argue: Is love a strength or a weakness? Jaanvi, you're pro. Aditya, you're con. Go."
The class howled with laughter.
"This is so awkward," Ron whispered from the back.
"So romantic," Meera whispered back.
Saachi was already filming it for "research purposes."
They stood at the front of the room, side by side but worlds apart.
Aditya leaned slightly against the podium like he was bored. Jaanvi stood tall, arms crossed, her glare sharper than her eyeliner.
Mr. Carter gave a dramatic countdown. "Three... two... one... GO."
Jaanvi went first. "Love is a strength. It builds empathy, trust, connection. It drives people to protect, to nurture, to grow."
Aditya nodded. "Cute. But love also clouds judgment. It distracts. Makes people act irrationally. It weakens logic."
"Maybe you just had a bad experience," she shot back.
He raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you're still living in that experience."
The class: Oooooooooh.
Jaanvi: "Love makes people fight harder. For themselves, for others. It's not weakness — it's fuel."
Aditya: "Until it runs out. And then what? You're stuck depending on a feeling that isn't guaranteed."
Jaanvi: "So are you saying logic is guaranteed? Because last I checked, emotions got us civil rights movements. Logic got us a twelve-hour school day and taxes."
The class: WOOOOO.
Aditya stared at her for a second.
And then, annoyingly, smiled.
"You're still annoyingly good at this," he muttered.
She blinked. "Wait... was that a compliment?"
He shrugged. "Don't get used to it."
After Carter finally called time, the class broke into applause.
Even Carter looked begrudgingly impressed. "Okay. Fine. That was... not the worst."
As they walked back to their seats, Aditya nudged her gently with his elbow.
"That was fun," he whispered.
Jaanvi didn't look at him.
But she didn't stop smiling, either.
Some battles weren't about winning.
Some were about remembering how to fight beside someone... instead of against them.
Write a comment ...