This is continued from last week’s story: https://betulerbasi.com/2021/01/15/big-day/

The big day had come. He woke up early, got dressed and left for the defense room. He had to set up the table, make sure that the food was in place for the celebration afterwards, all while trying to hide his nervousness inside of him and smile at people. It was tough, but the prospect of relief was near and this made him alive that day.

As he walked into the university building, he did not even notice it. His mind was so concentrated on what he needed to do that he did not notice anything around him that day actually. Was there a kid smiling at him on the streets that he just walked that he could smile back at? Who knew? Sorry kid, he was busy that day.

He set up everything. The table looked very neat and he took his place in front of it. The committee walked in the room together. They seemed to be in a good mood, which was a good sign. They sat in their places and his presentation began.

His voice was shaking when he started. He feared that everyone was hearing it. It would turn out that no one had noticed it. Rather, people had thought he looked very confident from the beginning. His confidence had picked up during the presentation, for sure. But it would be a lie if he said he did not feel relieved at being able to hide his initial shakiness.

When he was done with his presentation, the committee asked their questions. That part went even smoother. He knew what he was doing and the questions were not that difficult for him.

Overall, it was a good defense and it went smoother than he thought. Now it was time for celebration. Everyone moved to the room next to the defense room.

Now he was even happier.

[to be continued]