If you have the courage to make it through a lonely night with nothing but self-destructive thoughts to keep you company;
You have the courage to make it through anything.
- Unknown
Aanya
The silence in the lecture hall felt suffocating, making my heart race even faster with every passing second. I tried to divert my gaze from the laptop screen and looked around.
The dimly lit room only allowed me to see the silhouettes of figures sitting around me. Fortunately, I was sitting in the last row, granting me the advantage of being inconspicuous. In the front, a girl from group II stood near the projector screen, giving her presentation.
Her voice echoed in the hall, the only sound breaking the eerie silence. I could see the horticulture teachers, Mr. Deepak Sharma and Mrs. Uttam, sitting in the front row, attentively assessing each group's performance.
Riya whispered encouragingly in my ear, sensing my nervousness, while Rohan chimed in with a lighthearted remark about our presentation being better than the current one. But I couldn't share their optimism at the moment.
My stage fright was crippling, rendering me unable to find humor in the situation. Even though I had given presentations before, fear knew no distinction. It always had a way of finding me, gnawing at my confidence.
The girl from group II seemed to be solely focused on graphs and mathematical figures, lacking any depth in her explanation. "It's not a maths class," Riya murmured with a hint of annoyance, and Rohan couldn't help but snicker at the observation.
However, their banter couldn't alleviate the rising anxiety within me. Presentation after presentation, my anxiety grew. The fear of standing before my peers, of being judged, of stumbling over my words, and of making a fool of myself, loomed over me like a dark cloud.
"We have the advantage. Two toppers in our group," Rohan said, giving my shoulder a playful nudge.
"Even when one is still missing," Riya said, her tone laced with disapproval.
She was right.
Where was that irresponsible being? It was his responsibility to give the presentation, not mine. He was the leader, not me.
As the lights in the lecture hall were turned on, we all started clapping, as was expected. It didn't really matter if we liked the presentation or not; it was a show of encouragement and support for our fellow students.
"Group III," the teacher called out.
The presentation from Group III was really good. It made me feel a bit insecure about our own work. After all, we were up next-Group IV.
The teacher announced our group's name, and with each step I took towards the projector, the thumping of my heart grew louder. Rohan was there beside me, helping to connect the pen drive, giving me a nod of reassurance.
He was my moral support, and I was grateful for that. Taking a step to stand in the center, I glanced around the dimly lit hall. Thankfully, the subdued lighting hid people's faces and reactions from my view.
My palms were clammy, and my legs trembling. I didn't know how I managed to stand there. But I couldn't back out now. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.
Let's get this over with. It was time to face the fear head-on.
Every presentation I had heard so far was centered around how climate change affects horticulture production. They kept repeating the same points in different ways, and it was becoming monotonous.
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