“Adnan, we are going to have a presentation tomorrow and you will be the first presenter, so be ready for that ....” informed Sir Saleem.

Adnan rushed home right after school and started preparing for presentation. As he was one of the weakest students of his class, it probably was a tough task for him to handle.

Though Adnan was not among the brightest students, he was not sluggish and he worked hard in accordance with his mental capacity and knowledge. He always wanted to improve himself and remove the notorious impression on teachers that he was not a very bright student.

But due to shortage of time, he felt he could not complete all the preparation he had to do. The next day, when he was called for his presentation, he stumbled on the way to stage. When he was in front of the mike and he faced everyone, he blacked out due to extremely low confidence.

He didn’t remember how he came down from the stage but when he came back to his senses, he heard his classmates whispering, “He is pretending to faint in order to escape this task.”

Whatever little confidence Adnan did have, it was shattered by this incident. But being a hard worker, Adnan decided to give his best to the next presentation event that was coming up in a couple of weeks and turned to his classmates for guidance. All of them gave him the cold shoulder.

Sameer was the only kind hearted student in the class who offered him help. Adnan eagerly agreed and held Sameer’s hand. Sameer used to take Adnan to library or computer lab on daily basis, where he trained Adnan to speak aloud and gain confidence.

Finally, the day arrived! When Sir Saleem conducted the presentation, Adnan not only raised his hand first but also delivered his presentation with full confidence and without getting stuck anywhere.

Everyone in the class was amazed and wondered how did he improve himself within a short span of time. Other students started asking themselves, “Is that the same Adnan who fainted a few weeks back because of the fear of presentation?”

Even the teachers could not believe that the student who had been such a shy person could appear so confident.

Adnan, then concluded with a special short speech and disclosed the secret behind his beautiful come back. “Where there is a will, there is a way. Opportunity only knocks once and I utilised my card wisely.”

Adnan thanked Sameer for his unconditional support, love and support, and paid tribute to Sameer with the proverb: “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 22nd, 2020