Nia knew none of this when she woke up.
At eight fifteen, she made coffee and opened the kitchen window.
Nia was halfway through breakfast when her phone began vibrating against the counter.
She ignored it.
Then it started again.
She opened the first message from Melissa.
MELISSA: Have you seen the video?
MELISSA: It's everywhere.
Then:
MELISSA: Please tell me you're okay.
Nia called her.
Melissa answered on the first ring.
"Oh, thank God."
"What happened?"
"You're trending."
Nia leaned against the kitchen counter.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the video has hundreds of thousands of views. Maybe more now. Someone posted it on a huge martial arts page."
Nia closed her eyes.
"How?"
"I don't know. One of the guys must have uploaded it."
"Did Victor approve it?"
"Absolutely not. He told everyone to stop sharing it."
"Then why are you sharing it with me?"
"Because you need to know what people are saying."
Nia sighed.
"Melissa, I don't need to read thousands of strangers' opinions about a fourteen-second round."
"You probably should read some of them."
"Why?"
"Because people are contacting the academy. Reporters, podcast hosts, martial arts channels. One guy offered Derek money to appear on his show."
Nia was silent.
Melissa continued.
"And Derek's furious."
"That's unfortunate."
"Nia!"
"What would you like me to do? Call him and apologize for following the rules?"
"No. Of course not."
"Then I don't see what I can do."
Melissa lowered her voice.
"Someone said you used to compete. They're trying to find your old tournament footage."
Nia looked toward the drawer where she kept her mother's photograph.
"Let them look."
"You don't sound worried."
"I'm not worried about the footage."
"Then what are you worried about?"
Nia considered the question.
Not even Derek.
"What happened in that gym wasn't just about me," she said. "If people only talk about who won, they'll miss why the challenge happened in the first place."
Melissa did not answer immediately.
"You know," she said eventually, "I think you're going to make a lot of people uncomfortable."
"Probably."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I know."
Nia made another cup of coffee, then opened the social media application she rarely used.
The video appeared near the top of her feed.
She watched it once.
The first thing she noticed was how little the footage revealed.
It did not show Derek's earlier remarks.
It did not show Victor's attempts to discourage the challenge.
It did not show the conditions Nia had requested before agreeing to the round.
Another replied that the only unfair thing in the video was the assumption that Nia had no experience.
A third person asked why anyone cared about her race at all.
Nia locked her phone.
But she knew what happened when people treated a person's identity as the entire explanation for an event.
At ten thirty, her phone rang again.
This time, the caller was Victor Hale.
Nia answered.
"I assume you've seen it," he said.
"Yes."
"I want you to know that I did not authorize the upload."
"I understand."
"We're trying to identify who posted the original clip. I've asked everyone to stop distributing it."
"That may be difficult now."
"I'm aware."
Victor sounded exhausted.
For the first time, Nia could hear the strain beneath his usual authority.
"The academy has received dozens of calls. Some are supportive. Some are abusive. A few people are threatening to cancel their memberships."
"Because Derek lost?"
"Because they think the video represents something about the academy."
"Does it?"
Victor went quiet.
"Nia, I'm trying to have a practical conversation."
"So am I."
"We need to discuss what happens next. I'd like you to come in tomorrow, preferably before the evening class."
"Why?"
"Because this is becoming bigger than either of us anticipated."
Nia looked out the window.
"What do you want from me, Victor?"
"I want to understand your background. I want to understand what happened during that round. And I want to find a way to keep this from damaging the academy."
Nia let the silence stretch.
Then she asked, "What do you want to do about the behavior that led to the round?"
Victor exhaled.
"We'll discuss everything tomorrow."
"That's not an answer."
"I know."
For a moment, Nia considered refusing the meeting.
But Melissa's warning returned to her.
People tend to let Derek get away with things.
Nia had seen enough of the academy to suspect that the problem was not limited to one man.
"All right," she said. "I'll come tomorrow."
"Thank you."
"One thing, Victor."
"Yes?"
"I won't make a public statement defending the academy until I understand what I'm being asked to defend."
Victor was silent for several seconds.
Then he said, "That's fair."
They ended the call.
Nia set the phone on the table and looked again at the photograph on her refrigerator.
Nia did not yet know which choice this situation required.
But she knew one thing.