Casey felt himself beginning to shake as Ashley began practicing their presentation. She got her words out clearly and concisely in a way he knew he would never be able to pull off.
They were in a study room. Nobody would be listening to him but her but he could already feel the pressure mounting. Screwing up in front of her right now would somehow be nearly as bad as screwing up in front of everyone else later. He couldn't fully explain why that was even to himself.
"…and the Third Estate renamed themselves the National Constituent Assembly."
Ashley looked at Casey expectantly. He was up.
He knew this material. He had studied it extensively and tried valiantly to practice it at home. He needed to do this!
"The N-national Ashembly—assembly!—and it's consta-consto-constitution," he began, already kicking himself on the inside. He sounded so stupid! "Contonfration—confrontation!—w-was inevitable because…because…"
