Give use your best 300 words using the following prompt:
He had a death grip along the sides of the podium. His mouth was dry; the luminous stage lights blazed down on him with hot, white light. Someone in the audience of thousands sneezed, otherwise there was perfect silence. Pierre took a large gulp of water from the nearby table, cleared his throat, and said to hell with his prepared notes: he’d speak from the soul. ‘Terrance Roberts, is my friend, and my friend is both a monster and a saint.’