>alright Gertie you can do this
>the massive deinosuchus shuffled her way over to the podium
>her eyes adjusted to the glare of the spotlight
>she got a good look at the hundreds of students before her
>all staring at her
>the proto-gator's jaws hung open
>a tiny squeak escaped her mouth
>oh God oh fuck this was a mistake
>she looked down at the speech she had prepared
>it was like the words had turned into a different language
>her back felt slick with sweat
>she was going to blow it
>she was going to make a mockery of herself and embarrass-
>Ms Scaler's words came back to her
>"you're not there to give them a speech. You're telling Mr. Iakadan thank you."
>Gertie rallied herself
>"ah, uh...Mr Iakadan was one of my teachers at St. Hammonds..."
>silence from the crowd
>she pressed on while mentally kicking herself
>"Mr. Iakadan was..."
>she trailed off
>the speech she'd spent so long rehearsing vanished from her mind
>she'd have to wing it
>"Mr. Iakadan was the type of teacher who wanted to make sure you didn't just remember the information from the class for the test. He wanted it to mean something to you. To make sure it stuck in your heart as well as your mind."
>thaat...she didn't know where that had come from but it sounded good
>sounded right
>"I remember one day Mr Iakadan called me after class and asked if I wanted some help to improve at my art work. He said I was doing ok but I thought I could do better."
>the deinosuchus shrugged
>"I politely told him no. He asked me why and..."
>Gertie trailed off again
>not sure if she wanted to admit this infront of a crowd of strangers
>"I said it was because I knew I'd never be as good as some of his other students and we probably shouldn't waste our time on something I wouldn't be that great at."
>her view shifted down to the podium
>cont