"He underestimated Damien far too much," the man continued. "He believed his experience alone would carry him through. He assumed there was a gap so wide that nothing a student did would matter."
tThe instructor wasn't finished.
"Losing to a student," he continued, "and a first year at that, is already deeply embarrassing to us as instructors."
There was no bitterness in his voice, only blunt honesty.
"Trying to justify that loss," he added, "or blaming the student by accusing him of cheating, would only make it worse."
Several instructors nearby shifted uncomfortably.
The man's gaze remained steady.
"Even if," he said, "it were true that Damien cheated in some way—and I am not saying that it is—it still shouldn't have been enough to close the gap that was meant to exist between an instructor and a first-year student."
The implication was sharp.
If the gap had truly been as large as it was supposed to be, no trick should have mattered.
