Benny knew her put on a relaxed, carefree front, but the opening speech for Ethan's wrestling match against Kurt was the hardest thing he had ever done. Benny had always had trouble with public speaking, and meeting new people. Erica was rude, so Benny felt the need to defend himself around her, which was why he was so relaxed around her, and Sarah had met him while he was under the premise of relaxation by Ethan, so she had gotten used to him and his antics, and his shout outs to every girl he met always shook him to the core at the last minute, unbeknownst to everyone, and right now, Benny had to give a speech, to his entire class, in the only class that didn't have Ethan. Ethan was the one that usually gave him his confidence boost, and made it seem like he was talking to only Ethan. His class line up seemed tailored to include every bully he'd ever been made fun of or hurt by, and a bunch of popular girls that didn't like Benny. Sarah was in the class, though. Apparently her grades had been lowering and she was educated three years under her class, because they were going over the basics, which Sarah had forgot and her teacher didn't have the time in his curriculum to go back and go over the basics of essay writing.
Benny had to read his entire class the essay he had written about self-esteem, and courage. The theme had been 'Something that is important to you' This was an important topic for Benny. His anxiety was clear by way he rose shakily and exhaled the same way. It took a minute for him to start reading, which put off everyone immediately. Sarah listened intently and leaned forward, curious to hear what topic Benny chose and how he wrote it. Benny stuttered on the first word of the title. Self-Confidence and How It Affects Your Life . This, of course, ended up sounding more like this:
"S-self confidence and how it a-affects your l-life." There was a collective giggle throughout the girls and Sarah stared at him like he was from another planet. What was up? Why was Benny, who was usually so loud and bubbly stuttering? Sarah was definetely curious now, as Benny continued read, all the while stuttering and dropping his paper on the floor, which really caused the class to laugh as his worst nightmare unfolded right before his eyes. Benny froze up mid-speech and just walked out, tears forming in the middle of his eyes. He sat down on a bench, and was breathing shallowly. Sarah got up and ran out of the room to find Benny. The whole class was in hysterics now as they pounded their desks. She found him sitting on a bench crying. He looked so sad, and it made Sarah feel so bad for him.
She sat down next to him, and spoke in her most comforting voice.
"What happened, Benny?" He tried to regain his compsure and took a deep breath while he wiped away the tears.
"You saw what happened out there, I just can't- I'm not good at public speaking."
"You always seem so confident, and you did the opening speech for Ethan in that wrestling match, and you've never had problems before." She was a bit confused, and put her arm around him.
"I've always had problems. Ethan's not in class with me, but when he is, he makes everything so much better, and easier. He gives me that thumbs up when I go up to present my presentation, and suddenly I feel like I'm only talking to him. Like it's just a casual conversation between us, like at his house. He's not here, though. There's just every girl who hates me and all those guys who have bullied me at some point in my life. It's so..hard, without him." He continued to cry, and his voice broke once or twice, and Sarah just patted him on the back. After all, Benny was like a brother to her, and he wasn't at all a bad guy.
"Say, what if I gave you that thumbs up before you read your essay? I'm not Ethan, but, you know you can talk to me, right?" Benny nodded.
"I'd like that" He said,smiling. He wiped his tears a final time and composed himself.
"Now, how about you go in there and read your speech. Okay? I'll make sure to give you a thumbs up and a big smile." Then they both got up, and walked into that classroom, smiling.