ATTACK!

She couldn't sit straight. Her legs refused to cooperate with her. They were doing their own version of the jive under the table. 'Damn it, Why did I have to wear a skirt today?', she thought.

It didn't feel like the middle of December anymore. She started to feel hot and soon felt like ripping off the sweater she was wearing. Her hands became clammy and droplets of sweat started making their way down her forehead.

Her mouth went dry, her lips felt like they were stuck with super glue. Her heart began to pound... it started slowly at first, but soon she could feel the palpitations occurring more rapidly. She became concerned- she wondered if she should cry out for help.

She started feeling short of breath. Though she tried to breath through her mouth, she couldn't. It almost seemed like she had forgotten how to breath. She felt faint and every breath became more difficult to take. She was sure she was going to fall off her chair any moment. She only hoped that her fall would be dignified. What if her skirt flew up in the air when she fell! The mere thought was mortifying. She felt her eyes glazing over, her vision blurring when...

Suddenly, a thundering roar interrupted her thoughts. She thought it must be a storm outside. But when she looked around, she realized that it was a a big round of applause! She could hear her name being called and looked up to find her professor calling her and announcing to the audience'And now, we have my graduate student who'll be defending her thesis today. She'll be presenting the work she has done for the last two years.' She took a deep breath and walked up on stage. 'Lets do this!, she told herself. 'Its gotta be better than fainting and having my skirt fly up in the air!'.