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Perfect!

Penelope took a step back to admire her handiwork, brushing her hands against her uniform skirt. It had taken her some time to decide on the design of the flyer, but ultimately she had decided that a direct, simple approach was best. Large font, bright colors that would stand out agains the cool blues and whites that dominated the school, clear information on how to get in contact with her through e-mail as well as phone.

She reached down to pick up the remaining flyers to hang on other billboards in the school. One down, ten to go!

Penelope had been so engrossed in her own task that she didn't even notice the fellow student beside her until she bent down and saw an unfamiliar shoe on top of her flyers. She could not help but be slightly annoyed at this rudeness; it indicated that the owner of said shoe was careless, an observation reinforced in her mind when the other girl dropped her papers and scattered BOTH of their flyers.

She did not get too rankled, though, especially whenever the stranger apologized and began to gather her own materials. Penelope worked to do the same, speaking quietly and politely as she too worked to seperate their papers, "No harm done--I'm sorry that I got in your way."

As she worked, she could not help but cast her eye over the bright yellow flyers that had fallen, seeing that they advertised some sort of breakfast. Penelope rarely attended any clubs on campus, feeling that she had little to offer to places already well established, but a small get together like a breakfast sounded like it could be a fun, low stress way to get involved in something. That was a good idea... maybe she should do something similiar once she got some members for the debate team, as a kind of icebreaker party?

After reading the flyer she moved to hand it back, giving a small smile and introducing herself. Even if the other girl was kind of careless did not mean that SHE had to be. "I'm Penelope, by the way. Do you need any help putting the rest of these up? I have some too, so we could walk together."

Penelope decided to keep the flyer in her hand whenever her new acquantence offered--she wasn't sure if she would actually attend the breakfast that it advertised, but it never hurt to have it to remind her should she be able to attend or if she could take inspiration from it. "Thanks, Lydia--I'll certainly hold onto it."

Then, the moment of comfort turned upside down. Lydia... wanted to see the flyer? Penelope's flyer? Not some other flyer? Penelope found herself strangely taken aback by the request, even though she knew that she shouldn't be. She was hanging the flyers up to get people interested, afterall, in her proposed debate team, and Lydia could have read it after she hung it up. But, all the same, it somehow never occured to her that she would have to potentially convince someone in person or that anyone would ask her while she was handing them out, before she had time to prepare herself!

Still, she had no real objection other than her own nervousness, so she handed one of her flyers to Lydia with a small smile. "Sure, here you are. A fair exchange of information, I'd say."

"Well it... it certainly involves arguing, being on a debate team," Penelope began, finding her own opening statement lame but too nervous to come up with anything better.

However, she was determined not to let it end that way. She had to sell it! Maybe Lydia wouldn't be interested in joining after hearing what Penelope had to say, but she still deserved the best answer possible. Anyone like her who asked the question would expect a good answer, whether it be on the phone or in person. Besides, if Penelope couldn't even supply basic information, how was she supposed to actually be able to debate herself?

The teenager took a deep breath and started again, "That didn't come out very well... what I mean is that debate, competitive debate like this club will participate in, is a kind of controlled setting where people learn how to argue. There are certain rules that must be followed and judges decide who is the winner, but the goal of the debate is to win by having the best argument. So... it's more about arguing effectively and persuasively... learning to develop a rhetorical strategy, I guess you could say. If that makes sense?"

After her fumbled entry, Penelope felt she was moving along in the conversation fairly well. She was encouraged by her companion's questions rather than discouraged because it indicated that the other girl was still interested in what she had to say.

"Well... not everone on the team participates in the debate at once. Each member gets a chance to go solo against one person from the opposing teamm. You work together in practice to learn different strategies and think about different topics, but you don't all argue at the same time."

She paused to clear her throat, mentally checking to make sure she had fully answered the question before moving to the next one. "A panel of judges decides who's the winner based on whatever rules are set in place--you usually debate topics with no clear 'right' and 'wrong.' So, politics, ethics, religion, current events... stuff like that is normal, although sometimes you get to debate historical precedents and things too."

Penelope stopped in her explanation when she saw Lydia begin to free up the board, and she swiftly moved to do the same, holding out open hands, "Here, let me help with that. I can hold the pins for you or your flyers... it's got to be hard with your hands full!"

"It just depends on the event, really. Sometimes you add up all the solo performances; sometimes you average all the judges' scores sometimes they have individual awards too, for who scores the best." She continued to explain, to try and answer these questions as best she could while stille helping the other girl out with her flyers. "Winning doesn't mean that you're 'right,' though--it's all about who presents the best argument, the best evidence, the best technique."

"Probably not," Penelope admitted reluctantly, running her eyes over the abused flyers when Lydia asked her opinion. She didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings--surely being that clumsy was hurtful enough--but she thought it better to be honest than to risk Lydia having people ignore her signs and ruin her event. "They look kind of aged now, like they've been sitting here for a while, so they'll probably be overlooked."

She was not, however, the type of girl to see a problem and not offer a solution. An idea came to her, as she suggested, "Maybe we could go to the library, see if we can use the copying machine? We'd just need one clean sheet to make duplicates. They have weird hours in the summer but... it's worth a shot?"

"Yeah, dancing is a good way to think about it. It's similiar in those regards, even though the art forms are very different," Penelope nodded, folding her own flyers to her chest. She smiled whenever Lydia seemed excited over the library, and she turned towards the area. She had no intention of leaving the other girl alone, not when she could help her, but before she could say anything... her cellphone rank. The dark-haired girl flushed deeply, excusing herself long enough to answer it. "Hello? I'm at school. Yes ma'am. Yes ma'am. I'll come straight home."

She hung up the phone and smiled sadly towards her compaion. "I'm so sorry, Lydia... but I need to be going. That was my Mom; she came home earlier than expected and wants me to help her make dinner. It was very nice to meet you, and I wish you the best of luck with your breakfast." Genuine remorse shone in her eyes and on her face. Penelope prided herself in helping others and in completing her own tasks... and having to leave early meant she wasn't going to be able to do either.

Penelope could see the disappointment on Lydia's face, and it tore her up inside. She would rather stay with her new found companion than hurry home at her mother's beck and call, but... well, she had little choice in the matter. She had to obey her parents.

Lydia bucked up fairly quickly, however, and her light-hearted skip made Penelope feel a little less guilty as well. But only a little. Still, she tried to keep a strong face as she waved good-bye to the retreating girl, "Yes, see you around!"