Presentation (F)

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Well, I was going to start a drabble thread... but apparently I fail at drabbles. They always turn out too long. This is the result of one attempt.

Many thanks to High on Lullabies for beta-ing my writing attempts ever so patiently.

And I haven't given up on my other stories, they are just going very slow at the minute.

But uhm... yes. I give you one failed drabble. I hope you'll enjoy and please let me know what you think of it.

Presentation

Slowly I felt the feeling rising. On the inside I panicked as my greatest fear threatened to come true. My exterior remained calm as I continued explaining the figure on the screen. It was one of those tickles that appeared to rise all the way from your toes, proceeding with snail-like speed but unstoppable nonetheless. If only I could hold out until I finished the presentation...

The next slide came up, another graph with way too many lines in it. Rushing ever so slightly through the explanation, I mentally checked how many slides were left. Three and a summary. Difficult, but I had a chance. I felt the tickle slowly progress upwards.

Another rushed-through slide and I found myself looking anxiously at the door. A faint itch at the back of my nose warned me that time was running out. A slightly breathy quality crept into my speech, alarming me to the impending hitches that would make talking impossible fairly soon.

The third slide appeared on the screen, suddenly bright as flashy red and green colours screamed to be seen. The bright lights sped up the tickle to much more than a snail's pace. The breathiness became worse. Still, I managed to keep speaking intelligibly. I knew my speech by heart.

Looking at every person in my small audience in turn, I tried to convince them of the correctness of my conclusions and prayed there wouldn't be questions. Just the summary now.

I was aware I was sounding out of breath now, and in a way I was. It became harder to keep my breath from hitching and my face from contorting in pre-sneeze agony. Somehow I wrestled through the key points, emphasising them by whipping my pointer at each point in turn. I really wished I had hands free to delay the tickle's progress for a little while longer.

When I finally managed to squeeze out the last sentence, I let out a quiet sigh. I chanced a subtle nose rub during the applause, but it did little good. “Are there... any questions?” I had to pause as the tickle threatened to overwhelm me for a moment before another rub lessened the urge momentarily. Immediately, at least four hands were raised. I gave another sigh; my wish to get away in time proved idle hope. I just had to try and hold on just a little longer...

The first two questions were answered quickly, not taking more than two precious breaths each. The third question apparently didn't want to be formulated. After starting over at least ten times and struggling to get past the first three words, it finally got formulated and slowly got stuttered out. All the while I was getting more agitated, feeling the itch spread from the back of my nose to the front, ever increasing in intensity with a ticklishness that refused to be suppressed for any length of time.

A last rub that was supposed to look like I was getting something out of my eye and I responded to the question as well as I could with most of my attention focussed on keeping my breathing steady. “Okay, last question” I announced and the last hand went down.

Suddenly it was impossible to concentrate on the question as my nose was on fire and the first hitch escaped. I quickly signalled one of my colleagues to take over and excused myself, speed-walking to the exit, praying my face didn't show the condition I was in.

The moment the door clicked shut, hitching stole my breath. Slow at first but quickly becoming more rapid and urgent, my inhalations were sharp and ever so slightly vocalised. Worrying as I was still within hearing range of the conference room, I once more halted its progress by pressing one finger under my nose. Turning a corner and finding the hallway empty, I literally ran to my office, slamming the door behind me. Leaning back against it, I removed my finger and let the reaction run its natural course.

Holding back for this long translated itself into another minute of tortured hitches, my breath refusing to do anything but come in sharp, shaky gasps. Finally, I found the release that I by now desperately craved. “Hah... aahhh... aaaaaah... HATCHOOO!” I sighed with relief as I realised it had gone unwitnessed...

[Chanel_no5]

Ohhh, that was lovely! Loved the increasing desperation. Thanks so much for sharing!

[High on Lullabies]

It may fail to be a drabble, but that's the only thing it fails in

I think you're a brilliant writer in the way you build-up suspense and (on-topic) tension Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to beta this one too, it was a real pleasure

And really dear, the only patience I need to have is waiting for you to write the next one!

psst...did I mention about the spellings?