Few days ago my teacher gave us three topics for the Compet.i.tion .Last time when I gave my speech I wasn"t satisfied . So , I"ve been preparing for my speech day and night as I wanted to give my best in front of people especially Austin .

Finally the day has come . Even though I was prepared I was nervous . I stood in front of the mirror and practised before going to school and then after coming to school I practised once again in front of Rachel .

Different compet.i.tions are held in different schools . We have sports compet.i.tion in my school , which is tomorrow .

Along with the students who were partic.i.p.ating in essay writing compet.i.tion , we five students were taken to another school along with our English teacher and few other teachers in our school bus. All the girls sat in the front seats . I sat beside Veronica and Austin sat in the last row as all the boys were sitting at the back . We started around 8:00 am and reached by 11:00 am .

As soon as we got down from the bus ,an old man around his late fifties came and took us to a room where other school students were present . There were more than a hundred students in that room . He told us to take our seats and before leaving he told our teachers that the compet.i.tion would start by 11:30 .

The Compet.i.tion began sharp at 11:30 .After sometime , my teacher informed me that the next speech was mine .

I started to get nervous . Veronica was sitting beside me . She was talking something and I wasn"t in mood to talk to her .

What are your plans this weekend ?, Austin asked me .

I tilted my head and looked at him . I was so nervous that I didn"t even look who was sitting beside me until he spoke . And I didn"t understand why he asked about my plans .

I shook my head and said that I had no plans .

Then what are you going to do sitting at home ?, he asked me .

I might just sleep or watch movies , I replied .

That"s it ?, what about hobbies ? , he asked .

I do , I have a habit of writing things happening or which happend in my life and I love sketching .... I mean, I design dresses whenever I"m free , I replied.

Even though it was a normal conversation , I wasn"t nervous anymore while talking to him , I forgot that I had to give a speech in few minutes .

I was called by my teacher . I looked at my teacher and then at Austin .

I was going to get up from my chair .

Don"t stress yourself and loose your confidence .You will do well, trust me , he whispered into my ear .

I gave a smile and headed towards my teacher . I don"t know why , but I wasn"t nervous .

I was called to give my speech . They gave me the mic to hold and told me to start . I paused for few seconds , I was blank . But when I saw Austin"s face I don"t know how but I was able to give my speech confidently . I was satisfied with the speech I gave .

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The fifteen year old me didn"t understand why he asked me about my hobbies and about my plans at that time . But now when I think of that day , thanks to him that I was able to give my speech confidently . He tried to divert me so that I would stop being nervous and be confident while giving my speech .