****
I can't remember the last time I worked so much to the point of starting to see the sunrise up on the horizon. After literally more than 24 hours of work non-stop, all of our group rested half-dead on the chairs and desks of the lab, wondering what the heck had just happened. I had two big dark bags under my eyes that revealed how tired I was; Oliver couldn't hold any longer, and was sleeping over his desk, drooling like a baby; Prof. Fukuda also looked very tired, and you could see the sweat marks on his clothes. Even all mighty Maria seemed like a truck had passed over her as she rested on my lap with a hair messier than a dog's fur after a bath.
The only absent from this doomsday scenario was Ricardo. Maria, being as persistent as she was, tried several times but couldn't reach him, so, by the end of the day, we were one man down to do the job. But to be fair, I actually preferred this way. We still hadn't had time to clear up with each other that whole situation regarding Alberto and me, and, because of that, things were still a bit awkward between us. I really hoped we could resolve this situation as soon as possible...
Anyway, it really took a full day, 24 hours, to get everything ready for the opening committee meeting in which we would take part; revising through dozens of papers, picking up the themes that would be important to address and present them at the symposium, while also having to prepare an almost professional slide show presentation…. It was an incredible amount of work to do in just a day. Despite that, we were able to reach something presentable to this first meeting, well… barely, but we were indeed confident that we could transmit to the committee the most relevant works in the field of biologicals (just if we could stay awake during our speech); it helped that, despite being absent from this year's symposium, the board representing Med School already had chosen and picked the most notorious and important papers from its area, taking some weight off of our shoulders. I couldn't imagine how much more intense our day would be if we had to pass through all the Medicine papers….
But it still wasn't time to rest. Our 2 hour "sleep" in the lab got abruptly interrupted by Prof. Fukuda's cell phone alarm, which meant that it was 9:00, and only 30 minutes before the presentation, so we should get ready to get down to the university auditorium where the meeting would take place.
"Hey, Miyuki! Don't forget this!" - As we were just leaving, Maria turned to me and picked up a silver bobby pin from her pocket.
"Uh…. How am I supposed to react to this?"
"Oh! Come on, you silly girl. It is for your hair! You wanna look pretty when making your speech to the guys, don't ya?"
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?? "- That caught me completely off guard. Me? Doing the speech? I hate public speeches!
"Don't "What" me! We still haven't chosen who will speak for us, but I think you'll be a perfect fit, Miyuki. And you cannot give your speech with this mess of a hair, can you?"
"Oh! I think this is a tremendously good idea, Maria!" - Said Oliver, complying.
"Christ, Oliver! I thought we were on the same side!"
"But I thought that Professor Fukuda would speak for us…."
"Nope. Only students are allowed to make the speech. Professors will only be listeners. So, we need YOU to represent us."
"No, no, no! It is true we still haven't chosen who will speak, but why must it be the foreign girl from the country where people are generally shy?"
"Just don't fret about it, Miyuki! You'll do fine" - Maria placed the silver bobby pin on my hair, calming down my rebellious bangs, while petting my head like I was some kind of desolated dog.
"Hmm…. If we had some make-up, we could make your situation a bit better. But whatever! I think you're good enough! Time to show your natural beauty to the world!"
"Oh no…."
Dragged along the university hallways we reached the auditorium - a big hall with a set of desks disposed of in such a way where it seemed more like the House of Representatives than a university body - There was probably space for almost a hundred people here. How the heck was I supposed to speak to such a large amount of people?
As I was horribly overthinking and trembling, Professor Fukuda, probably realizing my anxiousness, put his hand on my shoulder and tried to calm me.
"Relax, Kashiwagi-san, don't sweat it before it actually starts. First, take a seat and observe how the meeting will go. After all, this is a great opportunity for you, isn't it?"
That was indeed a wise comment. There would probably be a ton of things to discuss before each area started presenting itself, and this event was one of the reasons I moved overseas: to have meaningful and more rich academic experiences that would help me develop as a scientist.
"You are right, Prof, Fukuda! I'll try to calm down and enjoy myself a bit."
"It's good to hear that! Now, let us be quiet, the meeting will start - "
"PAM!"
In the midst of all the chattering and gibberish going around in the place, a large stomping sound was echoed through the auditorium hall, which caught everyone's attention to the origin of the sound: ahead of the semi-circumference of desks, a beautiful young girl appeared in the center stage. She stood tall with a killer eye toward the audience.
The silence was almost immediate as the girl's aura got everyone's eyes as it shut down everyone's mouth. The gal was astounding. Of course, she had drawn attention to her by creating a large sound by stomping the wooden floor, but what kept this attention was the fact of just how gorgeous she was. Her figure was not too slim but not overly curvy, with a fine "S" line that probably made her an obsession with the boys. Her long light brown hair was shiny and neatly brushed with a cute red ribbon on the back of her head. Below her lab coat, she wore a rather, I think, expensive blue blouse, followed by a pair of thin black jeans. She really was someone who got people's attention.
Thank you all for your presence" - The girl started speaking.
"My name is Lisa, and I am the president of the 15th University Academic Symposium Council, as well as one of the representatives for the Chemistry course in this symposium."
"Everybody must be excited to be here, but I must say that we will have a lot of hard work to do, and I must ask for your full cooperation in this regard. Also - …"
Lisa proceeded with her speech, mentioning the importance of this year's symposium, what were the objectives for this particular event, the weight of our responsibility to the university, and other formal stuff. She really seemed like a very determined and responsible person; sum this up with her appearance and you can understand how she was so captivating with the audience.
But, as eloquent and beautiful someone can be, nothing can hold your attention long enough when something interests Maria.
"Hey, hey!... Miyuki!"- Maria whispered in my ears with excitement while repeatedly poking my shoulder.
"W-what!? Stop that! It hurts."
"Look, look! On the other side of the room! Look who's here!"
"Hmm...?"
"Across the room! Behind the third table from the left to the right, third row!" - As my eyes followed Maria's directions, I could see a curled figure, crawling between the desk, holding a large camera in his hands, while trying not to disturb the others around him.
"Is it…." - I questioned.
"Yes! It's your prince, Carlos! Miyuki!"
"Wh-what!? What's with this "prince" stuff!?" - Maria really knew how to embarrass me.
"Oh, don't be silly. This is a total Tisney's princess fanfic stuff. A frail girl with her life in peril! While a tall, beautiful prince risks his life to save the feeble girl's life, who awakens in the arms of her promised! Oh! How touching!"
"Stop messing with me!"
"There you have it! That's the embarrassed, blushed, and genuine expression I was seeking! Ha-ha-ha!"
"B-but, so what? Why does it matter that he's here?"
"Hm… No particular reason, but judging by your reaction, maybe it is you who care."
"It's just that I still haven't given him my thank you gift over the whole incident with the boat. I don't know what you are insinuating."
"Right…. He-he. Are you going to speak to him afterwards?"
"Why? I don't even have the present with me. W-why else would I want to talk to him?"
"Yeah, why else…. Hahaha"
"Oh, you! -..."
"..."
"That being said, we shall proceed to the group presentations from each area. Chosen randomly, the representatives of Biology are the first to make their speech. Please, make your way to the center spot and you may start speaking."
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?
Maria got me distracted and I didn't even realize that it was already our time to speak. Oh no! I was preparing myself mentally for this but lost focus during our chat, and now I got caught completely off guard.
I was frozen and didn't want to move an inch.
As nobody from the biology group stood up to make their way and a minute passed, people started looking in our direction, starting to wonder if something was going on.
I couldn't move and was sweating hard. One of the most stressful situations I've experienced in my life was also in one of these events, specifically the congress in which Prof. Fukuda scouted me. The thing is, I was in my country, at home, speaking my own native language, and even in these ideal conditions I had to prepare myself mentally pretty hard. Oh God, what should I do now? I hated speaking in public!
I must… Move!
Hurry, Miyuki! Just take the first step!
I, need-
"Kashiwagi-san"
As I was trembling and sweating, Prof. Fukuda put his hand on my shoulder, and, once again, wisely, had the right choice of words for the moment.
"Rewind your mind. You may be tired from our all-nighter, and I know you are nervous having to talk to such an audience, but remember, you are not alone. We are all here to support you, and we know your potential" - As Prof. Fukuda said that, I could see Maria and Oliver smiling at me with their thumbs up, trying to cheer me up. That felt… Heartwarming, and at least gave me enough strength to stand up, and start walking toward the center spot.
"Focus your eyes on one point when talking. It will help you!" - Said Prof. Fukuda, as a last piece of advice, whispered in my ears.
I can do this! Everyone is counting on me and helped me to be ready to face this presentation.
… Even though I didn't have that much time to prepare myself for it.
Either way, Prof. Fukuda's words and Maria's and Oliver's smiles and support really seemed to help create some courage in me. Just enough to be able to face the audience in the room.
Avoiding looking too much at the audience, I booted up the digital presentation and proceeded to start speaking, not worrying too much about it being perfect.
If I can at least transmit the main points clearly, I don't think anyone will notice how nervous I am.
And so, it started.
"So, this paper about the reproduction of the African Koalas in the pan meridional region of Australia, focusing on the lack of predators and the consequent massive population growth of this species, has a real value to the study for biology, ................."
At some point, things started to go on "auto-mode." We prepared a list with the most important papers that we thought should be present at the symposium and commented a bit on the most noticeable ones. Thankfully, the guys from Med School had already prepared all of the presentation material from their area, so I just had to read a script when it concerned their part.
Very well then. Although my legs were still trembling and that I could feel the cold sweat in my arms, everything seemed to be going good so far. Or so I thought….
CLICK!
Hmm?
Trying to maintain my focus I couldn't help but notice a most distracting sound coming from awfully close.
CLICK!!
What the heck was just that?
CLICK!!! CLICK!!!
As I briefly interrupted my speech and tilted my head down, I could see the origin of my distraction. No more than 5 feet away, crouching beneath desks, there it was, the thousand-dollar camera being pointed directly at me.
What the heck are you doing, Carlos!?
And so…. Now I had one more obstacle to surpass in this already tense moment.