A sharp rap cut off Ethan's speech.
Ethan paused, staring blankly at Leo, the red marker in his hand still hovering in midair.
"Calm down," Leo said.
He stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and looked at the complex arrows and terms.
"Your diagram is beautiful, Ethan. Really. The logic is perfect, the concept is grand."
Leo looked directly into Ethan's eyes.
"But don't forget, we're building a house with Pittsburgh's old, cracked bricks."
"We're not dealing with a group of test subjects waiting to be remolded."
"We're dealing with the workers on the South District construction site, waiting for a paycheck to buy medicine."
"We're dealing with the single mothers in the barbershop worried about affording their kids' education."
"We're dealing with the sanitation workers who get up at four every morning to sweep the streets."
Leo pointed out the window.
"We're not playing 'SimCity,' Ethan. There's no 'restart' button here."
"We're serving living, breathing people."
