
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
Cara is sitting at a circular table with her six friends, including her friend Alex. How many different pairs of people could Cara be sitting between where one of the pairs must always be Alex?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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