Siya sees Sipho stand up confidently. He sees how Thembi looks at him and his heart sinks. Sipho takes off his jacket and puts it on top of the desk. He is holding his notes in his right hand, his left hand in his pocket. He looks almost casual.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have just heard the proposition insulting learners, telling us that we are irresponsible, can’t focus in class, have short attention spans and can’t remember to turn our phones off.

First, we, as the opposition, believe that we are responsible, we know when to use our cell phones and when we should not. That is a matter of personal and school discipline, just like uniform rules or bunking class.

And second, we argue that they are essential: we use them to communicate with our parents when there is a need to do so. Today a cellphone is a necessary tool for communication and safety. Indeed, I – and I am sure every one of you is with me on this – I feel uneasy, insecure if I do not have my cellphone with me.

This leads me to my final point: we as the opposition believe that the rights of learners should not be infringed upon. It’s our right to feel safer and to be able to communicate with our responsible adults anytime the need arises.”

Siya notices how Thembi is paying attention to Sipho’s speech. He has never seen her smiling the way she did when Sipho was speaking. Damn! I wish I had his confidence, he thinks.

“We thank the first speaker of the opposition. We now call on the second speaker of the proposition.”

Siya can feel his heart wanting to escape, his palms are wet, and he cannot feel his knees. Thembi quickly highlights something in his notes. “Relax, you will be good,” she whispers.

As he stands at the podium his eyes find Thembi. She’s looking down and Portia is covering her face. He looks at his notes. He is so desperate to say something, but words don’t want to come out his mouth. His mouth is dry, his heart pounds. His knees are weak. He can’t breathe. He just stands there, and he can see the smirk on Sipho’s face.

There is an awkward silence in the hall. He can feel all the eyes staring at him. Some in the audience feel sorry for him. Others are amused. He wishes the earth could swallow him up.

“We thank the second speaker of the proposition.” The adjudicator rescues him. He takes his walk of shame to his seat. It feels like his seat is miles away.

“We now call on the second speaker of the opposition.”

“Well there is nothing for me to rebut from the previous speaker. They say silence speaks louder than words. In this case I think his silence meant the proposition does not have anything of substance to offer to the house!” There is laughter from the audience.

Sipho shouts, “Yeah, yeah!”

“Anyway, let me put the nail in the coffin. In many of our township high schools there are no computer labs. Learners can use their cellphones to access internet to acquire knowledge and empower themselves. Our case as the opposition is that we should be allowed to bring cellphones to school. Not only that: the Department of Education must provide free wifi for learners to be able to access internet and educational applications.”

* * * * *

The next session of debate is on. Siya is sitting in the audience. His heart sinks when he sees Thembi chatting and laughing with Sipho, just in front of him. They are leaning into each other.

“God, can this day get any worse?” he sighs. “It’s game over for me.”

***

Tell us: Which argument did you think was better – the one for the proposition or the opposition, or did you think they were as good as each other? Why?