“I wasn't trying to interrupt anyone.”
“You're standing right beside the competition area.”
“I didn't know.”
“Exactly.”
Kayla frowned.
“She was just practicing.”
Logan looked at Kayla.
“Did I ask you?”
The girl fell silent.
Naomi swallowed.
“Where should I go?”
Logan pointed.
“Back there.”
Naomi picked up her bag.
She moved without arguing.
But Daniel had seen everything.
“Logan.”
The champion turned.
“What?”
“She can stay.”
Logan raised an eyebrow.
“I wasn't kicking her out.”
“You were making her uncomfortable.”
“She needs to understand the hierarchy.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“There is no hierarchy for being allowed to learn.”
Logan smiled.
“Sure.”
Then he walked away.
Naomi watched him go.
She felt embarrassed, but she refused to leave.
She placed her bag against the wall.
Then she returned to the mat.
Kayla smiled at her.
“You okay?”
Naomi nodded.
“Yeah.”
“You don't have to prove anything to him.”
Naomi looked toward Logan.
“I know.”
Then she tightened the laces on her shoes.
“But I didn't come here for him.”
That sentence would matter later.
Much more than either of them realized.
Three weeks passed.
Naomi improved quickly.
Not because she was naturally gifted.
She wasn't.
She simply refused to quit.
She arrived before almost everyone else and stayed after the lights in the main hall had been dimmed.
Daniel began giving her additional drills.
Kayla became her unofficial training partner.
Even a few of the more experienced athletes started respecting her.
Everyone except Logan.
To him, Naomi represented something he didn't like.
She hadn't asked his permission to belong.
She simply kept showing up.
One Thursday evening, Daniel announced that Westbridge would host an open regional assessment.
Anyone who had trained consistently for at least a month could participate.
Naomi immediately signed up.
Logan saw her name on the board.
He laughed.
“You're serious?”
Naomi looked at him.
“Yes.”
“You've trained for three weeks.”
“Almost four.”
“That doesn't make a difference.”
“Maybe not.”
Logan stepped closer.
“This assessment isn't a game.”
“I know.”
“People are going to watch.”
“I know.”
“You could embarrass yourself.”
Naomi took a breath.
“Then I'll learn from it.”
Logan stared at her.
He seemed almost annoyed that she wasn't afraid.
“You think confidence makes you ready?”
“No.”
“What does?”
“Practice.”
For the first time, Logan had no immediate response.
Kayla, standing nearby, tried not to smile.
The assessment began Saturday morning.
The gym was packed.
Parents filled the bleachers.
Local coaches watched from the sidelines.
Several athletes had come from neighboring cities.
Naomi stood near the edge of the mat.
Her hands were cold.
Her stomach felt like it had turned into a knot.
Marcus Carter, her uncle, sat quietly in the back row.
He had promised not to interfere.
Naomi had insisted.
“I need to do this myself.”
Marcus had nodded.
“All right.”
Marcus had once been a competitive fighter himself.
But injuries had ended his career years earlier.
He rarely talked about those days.
He simply watched Naomi.
When her name was called, she stepped forward.
Her first opponent was stronger.
Naomi lost the opening exchange.
Then another.
But she adapted.
By the end of the round, she was still standing.
She didn't win.
But Daniel nodded approvingly.
“That was good.”
Naomi smiled.
“I lost.”
“You learned.”
“That counts?”
“More than you think.”
Across the room, Logan watched.
He had expected her to collapse.
Instead, she had made adjustments.
That bothered him.
Later that afternoon, Naomi was packing her things when Logan approached.
“You got lucky.”
She looked at him.
“Lucky?”
“Your opponent made mistakes.”
“Everyone makes mistakes.”
“You wouldn't last against someone serious.”