"Everyone, take a breath," you say, even though speaking out makes you uncomfortable. "You're both getting too worked up. Chill out so we can continue the assessment."
Manish's face crumples. "I thought you were on my side."
"You two are hopeless!" Desmond's shaking with anger now. "All you're doing is wasting my time!"
"I didn't realize I'd assigned three people to work together," Dr. Ellison says.
Uh-Oh
You hadn't noticed Dr. Ellison joining you. It's as if she teleported. Of course, she's a professor of magic, so you can't rule that out.
"I'm always interested to see what students become passionate about. Your ability to work with others is, of course, part of what we assess in this exercise." She studies all three of you. None of you can meet her gaze.
"Now then." With a flick of her wrist, her pocket square re-folds itself. She puts it back in her jacket. "Desmond, come with me. Bomomsay Clestenrogo and Manish, please continue the assessment. And I'll have a word with my TAs about intervening earlier."
You and Manish finish the assessment without further disruption. You work through more magical exercises, a quiz about magical theory, and a brief joint interview with a TA, during which Manish won't look at you.
After, as the students stream out into the hall, Manish shoves past you, head down, shoulders hunched. "Hey!" you call, but he goes on without a word.
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