Exiting his house, Dash spotted his 1963 Ford Mustang Boss 429—the car his father had gifted him when he turned fifteen and had supposedly kept secret all this time. This car was a beauty, a classic that everyone has seen at some point due to how incredible and exclusive they are. One could identify them just by their distinctive gray color, two black stripes running from the front to the rear, and the incredible roar of the V8 engine—a beautiful car representing speed in a single machine.
"Hello, my dear companion, let's take you for a ride..." mumbled Dash as he sat in the driver's seat and started the vehicle.
Vroom!!!
The powerful sound of the engine was a sweet auditory melody for classic car enthusiasts. Of course, Dash was indifferent to what he drove, but he couldn't deny that he had a beautiful car.
As he always did, Dash drove to Devon's house to pick her up, and from there, they headed to school. This whole process made Dash wonder if going to school was enjoyable, as the things he could do there were limited.
He knew that being in the first year might bring some novelty, but so far, all he could see were kids bullying others and many cases of boring fights that led nowhere. When Dash parked at Devon's house, he didn't get out; he simply turned off the car engine and sent a simple message to his friend: "[The frog has reached the well, come out, and let's go to the reformatory.]"
As soon as Dash sent the message, Devon, wearing a large black sweatshirt, emerged from the house and walked towards the other door of the car without even stopping.
"How was your weekend?"
Dash's question didn't catch Devon by surprise; this weekend, she had spent it at home reading and working on research about an important topic for the debate club, so they didn't meet as they usually did.
"Don't even mention it; it was a complete headache to research animal experimentation..." Devon, who enjoyed debating, had to team up with Dash, who had refused from the start to research for the debates if he joined that club. She knew this wouldn't stop Devon, who without a second thought dragged him into the club and told him she would take care of everything. Now, thinking about it, she feels a bit guilty for not helping him, but there were more incredible things than arguing with words, according to the old Dash.
"We're on the opposing team; I have some valid arguments that could serve us for that debate..." Dash first went to a cafe to stay awake because if he didn't have some caffeine, he would fall asleep in class.
On the way, Devon reflected: "Experimenting with animals is justified when the research is fair, but some do it unjustifiably, like experimenting with chemical weapons. There's no data on those, so they won't have much to go against us."
Dash furrowed his brows and asked, "According to what I read this weekend, practically all Nobel Prize winners in Medicine since 1901 have relied on data obtained from animal models."
"That's obvious; we share 95% of our genes with mice, making them an effective model to apply to humans," Devon said, intervening with real data on the issue of animal experimentation.
"Do you think we'll win?" Dash frowned as he drove by the window and ordered two lattes.
"Absolutely, those arguing against won't have many valid arguments to oppose animal experimentation." Devon was confident that they would win this debate.
When Dash passed by the window, he took the coffees and handed them to Devon, who was reviewing some notes. To be honest, the two were the only ones who could stand each other without instinctively attacking.
"There are chocolate donuts; do you want one?"
"We shouldn't eat so much sugar in the morning. Do you have any idea of what we need to study for the debate?"
"We just need to divide the arguments into three points: medical, social, and human evolution. There's no need for anything else in this debate, don't stress too much." Dash, who eventually ordered a box of chocolate donuts, also handed it to Devon, who was totally lost in her morning food obsession.
"We exercise a lot; eating donuts will only give us a bit more energy for the debate later." Dash said as he took a big bite of the huge donut in his hand.
Devon shook her head and, after smiling, began eating without paying more attention to Dash, who was driving. As they drove, there was no need to rush to school, so they took the long route, and when they arrived, they still had plenty of time to plan.
"Do you know the guy we got on the team?" Devon walked alongside Dash by the lockers and asked, not remembering his name.
Dash turned his head and muttered, "I have no idea. We left that day because we were in a hurry to go to that new restaurant..."
"Damn, now I remember..."