Hello there! After nearly two years of absence, I have finally returned with a brand new story :)
I've had the premise of this story written down years ago, but only now managed to get the inspiration (and time) required to write it.
Since English is not my native language, it may take a couple of chapters for my writing to improve. So, please, bear with me.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1
May 17th.
The day the National Emergency Medicine Symposium began.
Sakura was sitting on a chair in the front row, cursing the day her mentor thought it was a great idea to enroll her as a lecturer at this event. Tsunade-sama knew she had a problem with public speaking, so she just couldn't wrap her head around why her shishou would do her dirty like that.
'Hey, at least she gave you some Propranolol to help with the anxiety' Sakura tried to console herself.
But it was in vain. Her heart was still galloping inside of her chest and she was still feeling restless. The pinkette was revisiting the PowerPoint presentation on her phone, trying hard to distract herself from the feeling of wanting crawl into a hole and die when she heard Shikamaru sigh on the chair beside her.
"What?" Sakura whispered as she kept her eyes locked onto the screen. She could feel his hand lightly brushing against her left thigh.
"Can you stop fidgeting already? It's really annoying."
"Well, you would too if it was you giving a presentation in front of 70 medical professionals."
He scoffs as he removes his hand. "Whatever."
Sakura's glistening eyes shifted to Shikamaru, her hand grabbing his in an attempt to regulate her nervous system. "What if I make a fool out of myself?"
"You won't."
"Shika, how can you be so sure?"
He turned to face her, a sly smile on his lips. "You've been working on this presentation for close to a month now. I've heard you rehearse it in the bathroom every single day for the past two weeks." He squeezed her hand. "You've got this."
Her eyes widened in shock and embarrassment. "Shit!" She let go of Shikamaru's hand and covered her face. "I didn't think anyone would hear me there."
Her best friend chuckled. "You seem to forget just how thin the walls are in my apartment."
"Not a chance!" the pinkette fought back, a hint of a smirk tugging at her ruby lips. "In fact, you and Temari made sure I didn't miss this little fact this morning." She watched as Shikamaru's cheeks changed shades of red by the second and giggled. God, even after all of these years they've known each other, it still amazed her how easy it was to tease him.
A round of applause echoed inside the conference room, announcing Sakura that she was up next. She gave Shikamaru her phone and neatened her skirt as she got up from her chair. Her knees nearly gave in. She took a couple of deep breaths before making her way up to the podium. She took the microphone in her left hand, the pointer in her right and turned to the audience, scanning the room for anyone familiar. She spotted Tsunade Senju standing against the wall in the back of the room alongside Kakashi Hatake, her absolute favorite doctor to work with in the entire world. Suddenly, she began experiencing paresthesia in her hands and face.
'Oh no, no, no, no! Keep it together, Sakura! You don't want to let them down.'
"Ehm..."
Her grip on the microphone tightened. 'Please, please, please don't have a panic attack! Come on, Sakura, concentrate on your breathing. Deep breaths.' She cleared her throat, the sound echoing all around her. 'Shit! Come on, dummy, you know this presentation inside and out.'
"Good morning, everyone."
'Ok, this is good. Your voice isn't shaky at all. You can do it! Just smile and everything is going to be ok.'
"My name is Sakura Haruno, I'm a third year emergency medicine resident at Konoha Emergency Hospital, and in the following minutes I'm going to present to you the latest updates in the ACS guidelines."
"Well, I'm not doing anything like that ever again, that's for sure!" the pinkette yelled, hoping Ino could hear her over the deafening music playing in the background.
Her friend took the last sip of her Martini as she fanned her face with the bar menu. "Shikamaru texted me once you were done and told me you were amazing! He said he couldn't even tell that you were nervous at all!"
"Well, once I began talking, I don't know what happened, it was like a switch went off in my head! Not that I am complaining, though!"
"That's great!" Ino shouted as she signaled to the bartender to refill her drink. She took Sakura's hand in hers and smiled softly. "I'm so sorry I couldn't make it there in time to hear your lecture! I worked in triage last night, and oh, it was such a shit show! At one point I even lost my temper and yelled at Naruto in front of everyone!"
"Oh boy" Sakura prepared herself as she straightened her back. "What did he bring in this time?"
" A 76 years old grandma complaining of toe pain that was going on for three weeks!"
The pinkette couldn't help but burst out laughing, nearly falling out of her barstool. "Oh god, ha ha, that's Naruto's luck, alright!"
"It was fucking 5:30 in the morning, Forehead!" Her best friend kept on laughing. "It's not that funny! I was exhausted!"
"Poor Naruto! Ha, ha! He actually texted me the other day! He swears dispatch has some kind of beef with him, hence the bullshit cases he gets sent to!"
"Probably!" The blonde grabbed a napkin from the bar and began drying her forehead, neck and cleavage. She sighed, exasperated, as she looked around her. "I just don't understand why they had to change the location for the cocktail party this year! The last place was far more spacious, not to mention fancier! I actually feel claustrophobic!"
Sakura nodded as she grabbed her black sequin clutch from the bar. "You wanna go outside for a breath of fresh air?"
Grinning, Ino grabbed her drink before placing a kiss on her best friend's flushed cheek. "Oh, I thought you would never ask! I've got to go to the bathroom first, but I'll meet you outside?"
"Sure!" the green eyed woman answered as she took Ino's glass from her hand and began making her way through the dance floor toward the balcony. Passing the very intimidating looking loud speaker set beside the stage, Sakura swore the vibration might have busted one of her eardrums. Annoyed, she ran her fingers through her damp bubblegum hair and began quickening her pace. She needed fresh air and she needed it now!
The next chapters will be longer, I promise :)
I would love to read your thoughts!
Until next time.
Laura