March 2005...
The day of the presentation had arrived!
Savannah wasn't what you could call prepared but she at least knew what to say. The project was worth 20 marks and from what she had heard, getting an A in Mr Williams class is harder than learning how to drive. But only she knew how badly she wanted to pass, whether it was an A or not.
She took a deep breath, squeezed her notebook before walking into class. As usual, everyone was busy talking with their peers while Mr masked boy was busy staring out the window ( she gave him that nickname when she fell and he caught her). She diverted her gaze to Christine's desk and fortunately she was there talking with Alex.
She quickly rushed to her seat and tapped Christine's shoulder.
"Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I need to speak with Christine ". Savannah said to Alex as she abruptly dropped her books on her desk.
"Sure, why not?" Alex said as he turned away.
A confused Christine looked at me with her brows raised before saying," why did you do that?"
"It's important. Trust me". Savannah said before picking up my notebook.
"Okay fine". She didn't know if Christine would take her seriously after she interrupted her conversation with Alex.
"Okay, please read my speech and tell me how it is?" Savannah said as she shoved her notebook Infront of Christine. Christine didn't reply immediately and just looked at her and then at her notebook.
"But, I've read it before", it looked almost obvious that she was confused, "if it's because you're scared to present then I'd back up for you". Christine seemed sincere but Savannah didn't want to give up. It wasn't just about her being scared to present. She was just having what you'll usually call stage fright. This was going to be the second time she's going infront of the class to say something and the first time it went terribly, and she so badly didn't want to embarrass herself Infront of everybody, worst, end up failing the assignment.
"Okay, what's wrong?" Christine said which brought Savannah out of her zoned out state. She probably already guessed something was wrong.
Savannah sighed before placing her notebook back on her desk.
"I heard that Mr Williams is really strict when it comes to giving A's. And plus, I hate going infront of the class to say something ". Savannah said as she put her hand on her forehead.
"That's all you heard about him?" Savannah looked up at Christine, confused by what she said.
"What do you mean by that?" Savannah asked after staring at Christine for a bit too long.
"I mean that that's seriously the only thing that you've heard about him?" Christine asked and the question made Savannah curious. She wasn't known to be a gossip but she did always keep her ears out for any juscy news.
"Go on". Savannah said in a low tone as she moved her seat closer to Christine.
"Well there isn't much news but..." Before Christine could finish her sentence, Mr Williams walked in, obviously making Savannah more nervous than she already was.
All the students got up and greeted him before he signalled them to sit down.
"Don't worry. I'll tell you after class". Christine whispered to Savannah just as Mr Williams turned to face the board.
"By then we would already be done with the presentation". Savannah whispered as she brought out her writing materials.
"Oh wait. He's also popular for giving students detention for making noise in class".
"Well you could have told me that beforehand". Savannah whispered, yet still loud enough for Mr Williams to hear.
He slowly turned around before saying, "Savannah, Christine, the two of you should stand up", he started as the two got up from their seats, "since the two of you like talking in my class, I think I should separate you". His last words making Savannah and Christine look at eachother. Savannah probably more anxious than Christine. She didn't mean to get the two of them in trouble but here that are.
"Christine, you can sit down". He said as Christine slowly sat down, her eyes still glued to Savannah's. "Amelia, you and Savannah should switch seats". The moment those two words left his mouth, Savannah became even more anxious. Of course she didn't know the seating arrangements well but what she did know was that if she switched seats with Amelia, then she would be sitting right next Kyle! Why was her luck so bad. First she got in trouble, then the teacher separated Christine and her and now she's sitting next to Kyle?
She reluctantly took her books and bag and sat on Amelia's seat. She stole a few glances at Kyle but he didn't seem to even notice her presence. It was like as if there was something really special outside that no one else noticed.
Mr Williams went on again about how important this project was before he called on the first team. Obviously it wasn't their team but the team members looked really prepared. The team members were Amelia, Rachel, Hannah and Amanda.
Each team was supposed to take only 10 minutes on their presentation and if they can take less, then their chances of getting anything above a B is high.
Amelia's team took only 10 minutes for their presentation and Savannah wasn't exaggerating when she said they were good. Probably even better than her team.
The next team to come up was their team. Savannah could feel the anxiety kick in when she stood facing the class. They were less than 20 in number but Savannah saw them as being in hundreds, almost thousands. Kyle and Alex held up their cardboard presentation and it was Savannah's time to speak.
She brought a pen with just as a prop to look like a microphone, and then she went on.
"Today we're going to present on a separation technique called Chromatography. Chromatography is a separation technique which is used to separate ink into different colours". Savannah started before letting Christine continue. She let out a sigh knowing that she didn't have to open her mouth again or else she might just blurt out nonsense.
The crowd cheered as the four of them went backstage. That's the only way Savannah could make out them leaving to have their seats.
The other teams went up to present but obviously she couldn't pay any attention knowing that her time left to listen was already up. She smiled at the thought of her speech not ending up terribly like she expected.
The last team walked back to their seats as Mr Williams walked back to the front of the class.
"Great job class, you all did well. I'm honestly proud of your presentations and time spent working on them. And I'm also proud to announce that the best presentation yet was Amelia's". Mr Williams said as the class clapped for Amelia.
.....
The bell rang, signalling the time for lunch. All the students got their things ready and made their way to the canteen. Savannah and Christine were also on their way to the canteen when Savannah felt tap on her shoulder. Savannah turned around to meet eyes with Kyle.
"Okay, I'd see you in the canteen". Christine said as she left Savannah and Kyle alone in the classroom. Savannah felt a rush of adrenaline hit her, she had never been this close to a boy before, not even Adam.
"I wanted to say, you did well today". He said as he walked past her, but before he could walk too far, Savannah grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving.
"I wanted to say something too".