There are times when you just can't get a mask to cooperate. My only brush with panic in the last ten years was having a mask flood as I flew over the edge of a wall, and ending up in black water with a mask I just could not get to clear, so I had no visual reference. I don't know if the skirt got folded or something got caught under it, but I had to choke down panic at being lost in the dark. So I empathize with your student/companion.
