Five days before regionals, Coach Orlova called what she referred to, with a bluntness that made half the team visibly nervous, as "the bout that actually matters" — a final head-to-head between Ivy and Lex, scored and recorded, to determine which of them Kingsley would officially submit for the qualifying slot.
"This isn't a formality," Coach Orlova said, addressing the whole team but looking directly at the two of them. "Whoever wins today goes to regionals as our saber entrant. The other one stays home. I know that's not what either of you wants to hear, but the Federation needs a name on the roster by Monday, and I'm not sending mixed signals into a tournament that only has room for one."
The salle had gone very quiet, the whole team sensing, correctly, that they were about to watch
