Twirl and Whirl

The pen flipped and twirled through and around her fingers like they were attached with invisible strings, manipulating it into acrobatics. Whirling around like a windmill, propelled by muscle memory, the pen was a blur. It was a habit of hers--doing this--while thinking, and she was racking her brain for the answer to the last question on the exam. The pen acted like a gear, jump-starting her memory, pulling out the answer. She flipped it up on in the air and snatched it, scribbled down the answer and walked out of the examination room.