Prep for State

A division of the Grayson Jones series

🎤 They Didn't Win Districts... But They're Going to State Anyway 🎤

Grayson Jones knows what it feels like to lose.

His team did their best. They showed up. They tried. They even had snacks.

But they didn't win.

They lost.

Until... they didn't?

Because Richard Nixon Middle School—the team that did win—just got caught cheating. Big time. Like, rule-breaking, secret-code-using, "how did they even think this was okay" cheating.

So now, everything's upside down.

And Grayson's team—the underdogs from Eisenhower Junior High who barely agree on anything—are headed to the state championship.

In Kansas City.

Tomorrow.

🧠 Grayson Has ADHD. That's Not a Problem—It's His Superpower. 🧠

Grayson's brain doesn't follow a straight line. It zigzags. It loops. Sometimes it jumps off a cliff and forgets its parachute.

But here's the thing:

He's not trying to be "normal." He's trying to be real.

And in this moment, what's real is this:

His team has no plan.
They've never practiced under pressure.
And they only got this shot because another school got disqualified.

The world might call that a lucky break.

But Grayson knows the truth: if they want to make it at state, they'll need to do more than just show up.

They'll need to figure out how to work together.

🧩 Meet the Most Unexpected Debate Team in the Universe 🧩

There are five of them.

One of them is allergic to group projects.

One of them corrects your grammar in real time.

One of them starts every sentence with "Well, actually..."

And one of them brings three backup pens and a highlighter to every meeting.

Also: there's Grayson.

Let's meet the squad:

Grayson Jones – ADHD genius, master of chaos, cactus hoodie enthusiast, part-time philosopher, full-time blurter. Creative? Absolutely. Organized? Not even close.
Maya – Cool, brilliant, and often terrifying. Her brain is a chessboard. She's thinking ten moves ahead. Unfortunately, most of the time she's also planning to murder someone (usually Theo).
Theo – Knows every rule in the debate handbook. Has printed copies. Laminated. Color-coded. Nervous energy and facts pour out of him like soda from a shaken can.
Jasmine – Quiet but powerful. Sweet but deadly. Writes arguments that make judges weep. She's the heart of the group—and also the only one who remembers to bring tissues.
Percival – British accent, dramatic flair, and a talent for monologues. Nobody knows what school club he was in, but it definitely involved capes. Percival is chaos in a cravat.

⚠️ There's Just One Problem: They Can't Stand Each Other ⚠️

They don't agree on anything.

Maya wants to rewrite the entire argument.
Theo wants to follow the rules to the letter.
Jasmine wants everyone to stop yelling.
Percival wants to perform Hamlet.
Grayson wants snacks.

They interrupt each other. They argue about whether rebuttals should be funny. Someone cried (Grayson). Someone threw a pencil (also Grayson). Maya stormed out of practice three times. Percival keeps writing in iambic pentameter.

Prep for...