It was impossible that so many young persons could be gathered in a room without some shuffling of feet and some noise with books and slates.

Moreover, boys and girls unused to study for nine months of the year are not always able at first to con lessons without unconsciously and audibly moving their lips.
Buzzing lips, however, were among the seven "deadly sins" under the regime of Czar Brench.

Dropping a book or a slate, wriggling about in your seat, whispering to a seatmate, sitting idly without seeming to study and not knowing your lesson reasonably well were other grave offenses.
Because of the length of the lessons, there were frequently failures in class; the punishment for that was to stand facing the school, and study the lesson diligently, feverishly, until you knew it.

There were few afternoons that term when three or four pupils were not out there, madly studying to avoid remaining after school.

For no one knew what would happen if you were left there alone with Czar Brench! He seemed to care for little except order and strict discipline.