I Need a Box or Two

So, not only am I the Queen of Algebra I at BHS, but also the Debate Coach (Super-Nerd, I know). I have approximately 3.5 students on my team (two real ones, and three that just show up so they can get out of school for the meets). The last meet we went to wasn't too terribly official, and let's face it, I haven't actually been to a Debate Meet in about nine years, so we just kind of showed up. I wore Jeans and a sock-hat (it was casual day at work, you better believe the Jeans are coming out). Apparently, I didn't know that not only was this the Regional Wear Your Best Pant-Suit Day, but it was also I'm Going to Smoke Your Butt in Debate Day.

We showed up with three pieces of notebook paper and Jeans (one of my kids was wearing a tie, which saved us from being asked to leave the premises) and were greeted with dozens of teams armed with three-piece suits and BOXES. Boxes with newspaper articles, boxes with Abe Lincoln's speeches, boxes with brisket sandwiches, and boxes with small Asian children doing research on Wi-Fi during debates. Let me remind you, we had three pieces of notebook paper; no boxes.

One of my debaters placed tenth out of twenty five (the Tie saved us again) and the other placed next to last. Needless to say, the next meet, I only had 1.25 people show up. We have the real Meet in a month, and I have arranged for a few boxes AND a pant-suit for Yours Truly.