Samuel practically ignored the announcement. Last year the guys had won the tournament, and he could care less. It took considerable prompting by his peers, family, and even teachers to keep him from skipping school while it occurred. He just couldn't stand the idea of doing something so silly. It made no sense to him, and therefor he believed that he shouldn't be required to do it. However, he also knew that if he didn't he'd get hell for it, and that was a greater incentive to take part than any pride he had for his gender. 

He was currently sitting silently outside the math class, looking at his laptop. He currently was checking out a gardening forum, reading about the cultivation of Sugarcane. He also had another tab open about CNN. It never hurt to be aware of the outside world, not that it interested him too much. He usually just checked out the Travel section.