
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 seven friends. One friend, named Alex, must always sit next to her. How many different arrangements of the other friend can Cara sit between given this condition?

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