Filed to story: Katy and Brayden Cooper Novel
After folding the papers, Lucy gestures for us to pick. Ngozi grabs one first and I follow.
I unfold mine, and immediately a groan escapes me. Pro-life. Great. Just what I needed.
Ngozi shoots me a victorious look, her eyebrows raising slightly. Of course she’s thrilled.
In debate, the topic itself is a weapon, and she’s already scoring points before we even speak. For a female dominated society, I’ve lost aura already by going against Pro-choice.
“You both have five minutes to prep,” Lucy announces. I immediately pull up my laptop and start digging online, scribbling notes, scanning every argument I can find. Five minutes fly by faster than I expected, and before I know it, it’s time.
Ngozi steps up first, confidently planting herself in front of the crowd. Normally, we have about forty people in the debate society, but even during practice, other students love to hang back and watch. They’re all murmuring and leaning forward, curious to see how this will go.
She begins speaking, and naturally, she’s good. Her points are great, and her delivery is better. I watch her, second-guessing if I’m even ready to be first speaker this time. When her three minutes are up, she concludes with a confident smile and steps away.
Now it’s my turn. I stand tall, moving to the center of the room.
“Pro-choice? What does it really mean?” I start, letting my voice rise. “To some…”
The door swings open and my words catch in my throat.
He’s here. My heart jumps and my eyes widen before I force myself to focus again. I should be speaking, not staring.
“It means…” I stammer, trying to get my words out and my hands grip the podium for support.
Gracefully, Braydon slips into the room, and makes his way to one of the rows at the back. He settles in and when his eyes lock with mine, my stomach does a somersault.
I force myself to ignore the flutter, refusing to let it derail me. I push through my points, finish my argument, and step down once my time is up.
Sliding back into my seat, I can already hear the whispers.
“Is that Braydon?”
“Wow, he’s actually here.”
Everyone seems surprised, but honestly, I’m the one who feels blindsided. He didn’t text, didn’t mention dropping by for practice and of course, he chose the exact moment I’m supposed to be speaking.
I check my phone anyway, just to make sure I didn’t miss some text. But nothing. I swallow, and face Lucy, waiting for her verdict but she’s frozen. Her eyes are glued to something or someone at the back of the room. Following her gaze, I blink. Braydon.
Really? Why does he make people completely lose their composure just by existing in the same space?
Lucy, who’s usually composed is now staring like she just saw a celebrity crash our debate. I can practically read her thoughts from her face and none of them have anything to do with him actually wearing clothes.
I sink lower in my chair, exhaling quietly. Fine, she can take her time. With my stammering earlier, I’m not even sure I’m in the running for first speaker anymore.
Lucy finally snaps out of her little trance and flushes, clearing her throat. “Okay… let’s go with Ngozi as first speaker and Katy as second,” she says. I exhale loudly. Screw Braydon. “Ngozi really wants it. But if we lose against Boston again, Katy’s stuck as first speaker forever.”
I give her a small smile, nodding at Ngozi and silently accepting defeat for the moment.
For the next hour, we’re buried in prep: debates, possible rebuttals, and strategies for Boston.
Our little study room is buzzing with chatter, laptops open, and papers scattered everywhere. I try not to look at Braydon the entire time and happily, I succeed. By six, the meeting’s over. I start packing my bag when Lucy drifts over.
“He’s here for you, right?” She asks, tilting her jaw toward Braydon.
KATY’S POV
I turn slowly, trying to act casual, and glance at Braydon. He’s buried in his phone but around him, a small crowd of girls are openly staring, whispering, giggling, and trying way too hard to get his attention. I roll my eyes.
“I’m…not so sure,” I say, letting my annoyance slip before I even think about our fake relationship.” He probably got lost or wandered in by accident.”
Lucy doesn’t seem convinced. Before I can protest, she loops her arm through mine and starts tugging me toward him while I’m still fumbling with my bag zipper.
Braydon stands just as we reach him, tilting his head with an easy smile and my stomach does a weird flip that I refuse to acknowledge.
Lucy, of course, gasps and I feel my cheeks heat up-not for me, but for her. Watching her like that makes me want to smack Braydon just for existing and being…him.
“Hi, Braydon,” She says in an unusually tiny voice. “I’m Katy’s friend…and debate president. Really, it’s…wow, nice of you to drop by.”
Braydon nods, holding out his hand. She freezes, clearly unsure if it’s meant for her but she takes it anyway.
“I had fun watching,” Braydon says. “You’ve got something good going on here.”
Lucy’s eyes go wide, and I know she’s about to explode. “I-I mean…yeah! Totally! I also have fun watching your hockey games. I-uh…I even have your poster in my dorm! And the hoodie from your fan club! And, and-I bought the signed puck from last season!”
I groan internally, covering my face with one hand. Oh my God. Please, Lucy, no.
Braydon raises an eyebrow, obviously entertained. “Wow. I didn’t realize I had a fan club.”
Lucy bounces a little on her heels. “You do! I’m literally the president of it. Well, unofficially…but, you know, I’m the most dedicated!” She beams at him, her fangirl energy radiating like she’s about to faint.
I step back, wishing the floor would swallow me whole. This is so embarrassing.
“Will you come to watch often?” she blurts out, almost squealing.
“Yes-” he starts.
“No-“I cut in, my death glare aimed directly at him. “He’s usually busy with hockey.”
He smirks, his eyes twinkling like he knows exactly what he’s doing. “I’ll be here as much as I can.”
I bite back a growl. Is he doing this just to annoy me? Because it’s working perfectly.
Lucy practically hugs him, then adjusts her hair shyly. “I’ll see you soon, then!” she says, still glowing.
“Sure,” Braydon responds, and turns to me. “Baby, ready to go?”
Baby? My brain freezes and I glare at him. Has he lost his mind?
“Let’s go,” I snap.
Like he hasn’t done enough, he extends his hand to me. I look at it, then at his smug face, then back at his hand. Yep. He’s officially lost his mind.