Waiting for a decision with my partner after an intense round is a rush. Debaters bustle around crowded hallways, squeezing past each other to find their team as we pore over all the arguments we did or could have made. We make our predictions, trying to guess the outcome of the round based on the facial expression of our judge when we made an argument. After finally hearing the decision, we
run back to our teams, telling them how we just won a round that we had no business winning or scream about the “worst” decision that we had ever heard. But now, we both wait alone. The moment my face drains of its color, freezing on the outside but burning underneath my skin, or the moment that I am so relieved and elated, used to be moments I could share with my best friends. Now, I stare at a screen in a hollow room to go it alone.