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The only tiel to dinner at Dairy Queen Mo an afternoon shift and Dad had a school board , which left us with the littleon her best behavior with the promise of a kidʼs meal and dipped cone Neither of us had been informed that the DQ had a new employee

My stomach wound into knots as we approached the counter where Alex waited I said a silent prayer that we could get our dinner without causing a scene

"Can I help you?" Alex asked, eyes locked on Jase Even in the ridiculous fast food uniform he looked like the embodiment of physical perfection

"Number five with a Mello Yello," Jase said sharply "Scout?" Alex didnʼt even look at el and e nore the tiny bit of disappointnore the tiny spark of hope I felt when Angel later announced that the pretty boy behind the counter kept looking at me Of course, the snarl that escaped froh, those autumn months were uneventful Alex Cole lived his life, and I lived mine We shared a state of peaceful coexistence

And then Mrs Sole changed everything

"Iʼve had the best idea," she announced as she attempted to perch herself on the end of the table that served as the editorial staffʼs office Mrs Sole is a 5 foot tall 65 year old woman who is rather round and has a unusual fondness for double knit pants She really should not try to perch onto anything ever "I want to do a series of articles where we have triters giving opposing views on a topic"

"Like a point/counterpoint type thing?" I asked, liking the idea

"Kind of," Mrs Sole said, "but instead of two separate articles I want it to be h she were confessing to so a transcript of my favorite podcast" Mrs Sole knehat a podcast was? That woman was always full of surprises

"Sounds cool," I said

She looked relieved "Iʼlad you think so, because I want you and Alex to write it" The lights in the rooen, which had been plentiful just moments before, went thin

Okay, so Alex definitely has soo he wrote an article on the lack of support the acadeo to athose when I was actually on the tea would have been a much wiser choice than I was She had placed in the state debate finals last year, and her writing was flawless

"Me?" I asked, trying not to look in Alexʼs direction

"The two of you have such si styles and cadences that I think you will play nicely off of each other" Mrs Sole slid rather ungracefully from the top of our table to the floor

"I need one thousand words by Friday on socialized medicine You can decide who is pro and who is con"

She walked away, leaving me in a state of absolute panic A thousand words by Friday? It was Wednesday!