Unlike many of my other teachers, my debate coach was not willing to let a little bit of administrative ineligibility prevent me from winning him glory. To this end he decided not to check to see if I was eligible to compete in the region debate. I wasn't, in point of fact, eligible and we both knew it but we both wanted to win region debate and up until that point in my senior year I had not lost a single round of Lincoln Douglas debate. In the weeks leading up to in the day of regional debate I kept everything pretty hush-hush, I didn't sign up officially - he signed me up on the back end as late entrant so my name wouldn't appear on the list the administrators would check. I drove my own car and when I was there I stayed a bit apart so as to minimize my exposure to blabbery. The debating however, was loud and proud and it went really well. I uncorked debate hell and mopped the floor the bodies the vanquished, this is a debate style rhetorical flourish in the witch I inexplicably describe the results of word fighting in martial terms to sound more interesting to the non-debater. When all was done and all was said I had won all six of my regional debate rounds placed first in region and qualified myself for the state tournament should be happening in two weeks. It was pretty awesome and everybody on the team was congratulating me and expressing their excitement and confidence in my easy road to the state championship. I had forgotten for a bit that I was a fugitive from justice and I celebrated with my debate friends. It was my last good day in high school debate as my ineligibility soon caught up with me but it was not a bad way to go out unvanquished, celebrated and loved.
