Falling Alphabetically

They do it alphabetically to be fair. Joan’s name was well down the list. All she had to do was to walk up those steps and across the stage to collect her diploma. She had watched many of the others trip on that last step, where the stair riser fell a little short of the necessary height. So far nobody had fallen, but Joan was already feeling nervous about walking in heels she did not usually wear. And with each subsequent tripper, she felt more and more agitation. It would just be so typical if she fell on her face.