"I tried all kinds of different ones before settling on a math sequence."
"Oh, good," Manish says. "I was afraid I'd be the only person who prepared."
"All right, students," Dr. Ellison calls. "We'll start with a simple drill. Non-magical," she adds.
"Boring," a student near you mutters.
"It pays to be careful, Desmond," Dr. Ellison tells the student. You resolve to keep your comments to yourself for the rest of the assessment.
Dr. Ellison turns back to the room at large. "Begin by one of you reciting the alphabet backwards. When your partner tells you to stop, perform your method. When you have finished, see if you can remember where you were in the alphabet."
Here We Go
The room becomes a cacophony of sound as students all around say the alphabet backwards. It's a good thing the tapestries cut down on echoes.
Manish dutifully begins reciting, "Z, Y…X, W, V, U?" Manish bites his lip. "This is harder than I expected, uh, V, U, T…"
You're ready for your turn. "Stop!" you say.
Manish puts his hands behind him and takes a wider stance. "Most of my predecessors in this place have commended him who made this speech part of the law, telling us that it is well that it should be delivered at the burial of those who fall in battle." He takes a deep breath. "For myself, I should have thought that the worth which had…" He frowns. "…displayed itself in deeds would be…rewarded—sufficiently rewarded by honors also shown by deeds—" Manish breaks off. "I'm still learning that part. It's Pericles's funeral speech."
Sure, okay. "Do you remember the letter you stopped on?"
"Not a clue." Manish relaxes. "So it worked. My task is now finished," Manish says with a grin.