The next morning was practice at 5:00 AM, like clockwork. Every week day, first thing in the morning, the entire swim team had to be ready and gathered in the conditioning room to warm up. That meant they had to have arrived and changed into their swimwear well before that. Brian wouldn't exactly call himself a morning person—he didn't<i>enjoy</i>waking up that early—but he never had a problem being awake and on time. He enjoyed the routine, the strict structure of it all, and found the workout refreshing. He loved being in the water, far more than he ever enjoyed going to a gym.<br/><br/>When he got to the pool facility, Coach Bolton told him that the men's and women's teams would be practicing together for the foreseeable future. The scheduling conflict that the women's coach, Ms. Darbus, had turned out to be a longer-term issue, but he didn't disclose any additional details about the reason for her absence. Brian would take the captain role for both teams during practices, and the women's captain, Kelsi Nielsen, would become co-captain. She was less than thrilled.<br/><br/>Brian hit the locker room, changed into his swimwear, and then went to the conditioning room, where the rest of both teams was gathering. They always did warm up stretches in a circle before starting the practice. Once everyone had assembled, Brian and Kelsi took up places at the head of the room and informed the two teams of the changes.