Andre asked why.
Simone looked toward Grant and the others.
“Because they’re not coordinated yet.”
Grant smiled.
“That is confidence.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“That is specific.”
Rafael laughed.
Andre did not.
“How much wrestling did you say you had?”
“Some.”
“That answer has expired.”
People laughed.
Simone sighed.
“College.”
Elijah’s expression changed.
“College wrestling?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Ohio.”
Andre narrowed his eyes.
“What school?”
“Lakeview State.”
The coach stared at her.
Lakeview State University was a Division II program with a women’s wrestling team serious coaches knew very well. It was not the kind of school casual sports fans recognized instantly, but Andre had coached athletes who competed against them. He walked toward his phone.
“What years?”
“2016 through 2020.”
“Last name Carter?”
“Yes.”
Andre typed.
The result appeared quickly.
He looked at Simone.
“Two-time All-American?”
She closed her eyes.
“Here we go.”
Grant’s smile faded.
Andre kept reading.
“Conference champion.”
“Once.”
“National semifinalist.”
“Once.”
“No national title.”
Simone pointed at him.
“Important detail.”
Elijah stared at her.
“You told us you had some wrestling.”
“I did have some wrestling.”
“That is not what normal people mean.”
“Sounds like a normal-people problem.”
Rafael started laughing.
Grant rubbed his face.
Andre looked up again.
“What about judo?”
Simone sighed.
“Brown belt.”
Elijah blinked.
“Judo brown belt?”
“Yes.”
Grant asked the obvious next question.
“Jiu-jitsu?”
Simone looked as though she wanted to leave.
“Brown.”
Nobody spoke for a second.
Grant stared at her plain rash guard.
“You’re a BJJ brown belt?”
“Yes.”
“I thought your registration said blue.”
Andre picked up the intake tablet.
“No.”
He scrolled.
“She wrote brown.”
Simone looked at Grant.
“I cannot be responsible for what you imagined my paperwork said.”
Rafael laughed harder.
Andre raised one hand before the room could turn the reveal into a spectacle.
“Her résumé does not automatically make this a good idea.”
The laughter stopped.
Simone nodded.
“Agreed.”
Andre looked at her.
“Why all three instead of one?”
“Because one person makes one decision.”
She pointed toward the men.
“Three people make more decisions, and those decisions have to agree.”
Elijah frowned.
“Three people also cover more space.”
“Yes.”