A Day to Remember...Or Forget

I've been meaning to write about this for several days, since it actually happened last week. I wish that I could say that there is a viable reason for my procrastination, but...not really.

Last Thursday I had to present an expose for my Expression Orale class. As one of two such presentations, the grade for this assignment is rather important--not to mention, there is a possibility that I will have to present the same presentation again for my final exam.

Needless to say, I was nervous. In fact, I was so nervous beforehand that I was dangerously close to being sick--something that is relatively normal for me before oral reports, as anyone who knows me well can attest to. In middle school, I even asked an entire class to turn around and/or close their eyes so that I wouldn't see them staring at me. Presentations are definitely not my favorite thing to do.

Thank God, I did not vomit during this one. However, I was interrupted in the middle of my presentation by an unforeseen event. What was this event, you ask?

The fire alarm.

That's right. My presentation was all but forgotten as the entire class had to walk down five flights of stairs to exit the building. When we got outside, we could see that smoke was billowing out of one of the windows on the third floor.

I wasn't fooled.

I've been around enough fires to recognize the results of a fog machine when I see one. For one, the smoke was far too white; a fire that is actually burning something is usually a grey or black. For another, you could actually hear the humming of the machine if you listened closely enough.

I wasn't fooled, but was rather amazed at the measures that the administration took to try to impart the "seriousness of the situation". Not that it worked; a lot of people were completely unfazed, and stood so close to the 'burning' building that they probably would have died from smoke inhalation were it to have been a real fire.

We stayed outside for nearly half an hour. Fifteen minutes were spent listening to a man on a megaphone saying something--no one could actually understand him over the sound of hundreds of people talking, the fog machine humming and--did I mention it was raining?

By the time that we actually returned to class, we only had time to review the mistakes that I and others had made during my presentation and the ensuing discussion. To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure whether I should be disappointed or relieved that my presentation was cut short. I'm counting my blessings, though--I got 8 out of 10!

And now I have to do another one within the next few weeks. I highly doubt that this one will be interrupted by a 'fire'.

Of course, there's always a tornado drill...