And it was.
I barely got four hours of sleep last night. After we got to our apartment I spent the next two hours holding Peyton's blonde tangled hair up while she puked her insides out on the floor of our small apartment bathroom.
By the time she was finished my crappy black alarm clock that sat on the white wooden nightstand beside my queen-sized bed read two am. So in order to get a few extra minutes of sleep, I went to bed already dressed with my swimsuit and regular clothes on. I was exhausted and I almost never made it to practice (thanks a lot Peyton). Peyton paid the price because I ended up taking her Honda Civic to get to the pavilion faster. It was the least she could do for me after last night, unfortunately for her, she has to walk all the way to her am lab today in Peterson Hall. Or (from what I expect) she will probably end up waking Stensby and make him drive her to the science building.
I held on for dear life as I walked inside the pavilion, the practice started in five minutes and to Coach Jennings, I was already late. Luckily for me, he was still in his office reading some documents when I walked out of the locker room already dressed in my red speedo swimsuit. Regan helped me put on my swimming cap and we chatted for a few minutes by the edge of our lane before Assistant Coach Tanner walked over to us to give us instructions for this already dreading five am practice.
"Good morning guys," Coach Tanner greets. "I hope you had a good night's rest and didn't spend it drinking at last night's keg party on Ackerman." We were all in so much trouble and we haven't even started. "We'll start off with an 800-meter warm-up at an eighty percent rate, after that, I'll give you further instructions."
I jumped into the cold water right after Regan did, it was freezing yet it was relaxing at the same time. If Coach Tanner started off with a relatively short warm-up that meant that we were in for one hell of the practice. It took us a good fifteen to twenty minutes to finish off the warm-up. The golden boys of BGU finished off first and I followed them up with Regaño. While we waited for the rest of the team to wrap up the warm-up, I started chatting with Regan again.
Regan is my only friend here in the swimming team, most of the girls here are either stuck up or they spend most of the practice paying attention to whatever Connery and his friends are talking about. I can't stand girls like that and most importantly I couldn't care less about what Connery and his friends are talking about so I just stick with Regan. Peyton introduced me to Regan on her rush week, they were both rushing the same sorority and we met up for lunch during that week. Practice with the team had not started yet so I didn't even know she was on the swim team as well until she told me that day.
"Did you go to the keg party at the Alpha Phi Sigma house last night?" Regan asks and I nod. "Did you really? I ran into Peyton in the living room, she was half-naked by the time I saw her but I didn't catch you."
"Oh, that's because Stensby had me running around the house like his little slave looking for two bottles of Fireball that he and Peyton didn't even end up using. By the time I found them and ran downstairs Peyton was completely wasted and we left early."
"That's a shame, you missed out on Dant getting slapped in the face by one of the girls of the Gamma Phi Alpha house." Regan laughs. "It was straight-up hilarious, I bet if you search properly you can find it on Twitter."
"I would've loved to see that, it was about time someone put him in his place. Is that the reason why he has that big red mark on across his left cheek?" I ask Regan pointing towards the big red mark on Dant's left cheek and she nods.
"Everyone listen up and pay attention," Coach Tanner's voice fills up the pavilion and we all quiet down. "We will be doing four rounds for each of the following sets, the only rest you will have is the seconds between your assigned time to get back into the water. Each set will be done at a one hundred percent rate."
I was dying. My legs were numb and I was completely out of breathe by the time we finished off the fourth round. I was completely out of breathe by the second round too but that was beside the point.
Coach Tanner had us swim Ryan Lochte's Brutal Individual Medley Set (as everyone calls it), this was one of the few swim sets Ryan Lochte posted on his Twitter account while he was still in Florida before the 2012 Olympics. This set is built up to help you develop endurance, the type of endurance that a swimmer would need to build if he or she was competing in the 400 meters individual medley at the Olympics. The medley is completely grueling, especially during competitions.
It consisted of four rounds of 2Ã100 butterfly from a dive all-out @1:30, 2Ã50 backstroke, 1 all-out, 1 cruise @ 50, 100 freestyle @1:20 and 400 IM all-out @5. By the time we finished the four-round we had already swam 12,800 meters and that's without including the 800 meters we swam to warm up.
We wrapped up practice with a 200-meter cooldown and I was eager to get out of the pavilion by the time I reached the end of the last fifty meters. Besides the fact that I had a class I needed to get ready for in a few hours, I was craving food. Before coming to practice the only thing I had a chance of pushing down my throat was a protein shake.
As we got out of the pool Coach Jennings called for a team meeting regarding the start of the season. "As you got a chance to catch a glimpse of at today's early morning practice, every practice going forward will be this if not more intense. The season starts in three weeks and we have to be prepared."
Keg parties are definitely canceled.
"The director thought that it would be fun to have a rematch of last year's finals to bring more attention from the media for the start of the season. With the only difference being that it will be in their house this time. So, you don't need me to stress it enough to you how important it is to come back home with the win." Coach Jennings talked in a very serious tone. "We were the laughing stock after we lost here at our house last season, this our redemption, and I'm not coming back to campus with an L."
"BGU on three!" Connery said hyping up the rest of the team. "1...2...3 BGU!" We all shouted in unison.
"You are now dismissed, enjoy the rest of your day, and come mentally prepared for our last practice of the day." As soon as I heard we were all dismissed, I sprinted to the locker room but I stopped in my tracks midway when Coach Jennings asked me to meet him in his office. "Green, I would like to have a quick word with you in my office, it won't take long. I know you're eager to get out of here."
Coach Jennings walked away towards his office and I gulped. What did I do now?
"Someone's in trouble, did you drink way too many Fireball shots Green?" Dant teases and I shoot daggers at him shoving my middle finger in his face.
I took a deep breath before walking into Coach Jennings's office. My hands were starting to sweat as I opened the big glass door. Jennings never called anyone into his office besides Connery unless you were in some kind of trouble.
"Is everything okay Coach?" I ask as I close the glass door behind me.
"You can relax Everest, you look tense, you're not in any kind of trouble if that's what you're thinking. Unless there's something I should know." I shake my head. "Then you should be fine, I called you into my office because I wanted to let you know that I took you out of backstroke as your main event for this season."
My eyes widen and my mouth drops. He did what now?
"You will be competing in all of the breathe stroke events for the rest of your senior year."
"Coach, with all due respect, my best times come off my backstroke meets. I haven't competed in breathe stroke meets since I started swimming in high school. It's my worst time out of all the styles." I debate trying to make Coach think a bit more clearly.
"You should give yourself more credit Everest, you're a great swimmer and after the relay race yesterday it has never been more clear to me. I have never seen anyone win after trailing one complete body during the first 50 meters in this category. I know you have what it takes, now you have to start believing it too."
Did Coach just give me a compliment?
"What holds you back is your technique, but leave it up to me to figure out how we can help you correct it during non-practice hours. You will have to sacrifice your weekends leading up to the first meet at OHSU because you will be competing in the 100 meters breathe stroke event. I know this is new for you, there isn't any amount of pressure on you for your first event. I strongly believe you'll do great."
No pressure? It's easy for him to say.
Coach Jennings had to be joking. I replayed all of his words as I walked out of the pavilion. He wanted me to compete in breathe stroke events? Out of all the great swimmers in our team he chose me. What happened yesterday with Dant at practice was luck. I may have been cocky about it to him (I wouldn't have passed the opportunity on shoving it in his face, I heavily dislike the guy) but that's it. If it were to happen again, he would win in a heartbeat (I'm never admitting it to his face, but you get the point).
As I walked towards Peyton's car still trying to find a way to deal with the fact that I will completely suck this season (thanks a lot Coach J) my phone went off. It was Aunt Claire. That's weird. She never calls me this early in the morning. "Hi, Aunt Claire!"
"Ev, hi baby girl, how are you doing?"
"I'm doing okay I guess, I wrapped up with swim practice and now I'm heading to the apartment to get ready for my am class. What about you? You're calling a little too early."
"That's good to hear. I'm excited to see how the team does this season. I bet Coach J is pushing your limits already. I know I would after that disappointing loss last season." I laugh. He definitely was. "I'm doing great. I am, I just got out of the night shift at the hospital and wanted to give you some exciting news."
"Exciting news?" I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "Did you get promoted?"
"Not yet, still in the works. Fingers crossed it happens sometime soon."
"I spoke a little too early huh?"
"It's okay baby girl, I was actually going to tell you that I was catching up with a friend on the phone yesterday before my shift and he owns a law firm near BGU. Now here's the exciting part, I was telling him about you and that you're currently studying pre-law down there. He told me that they were interviewing students this week for a paid internship."
Since when does Aunt Claire have male friends? "Really? That's amazing, I like my job at the cafe, but a paid internship at a law firm fits perfectly on my resume for law school."
"Now, I know you have to be focused for the season but they can work around your schedule and you don't have to go in every day if I'm not mistaken. That gives you a little bit of free time to focus on your classes too."
"That's perfect, do you have the details of the time and place?"
"I do, I'll email them to you when I get home."
"Awesome. Now, before I forget. Since when do you catch up with friends that are not females Aunt Claire? Is there something you're not telling me."
Aunt Claire laughs. "You've got jokes Ev, the only relationship I've got as of now is a twelve year and still going strong relationship with my job."
Aunt Claire and I ended up catching up until I got back to my apartment. She told me all about her problems at work, her very much needed girls trip to Vegas with her girlfriends from high school, and how much grandpa Willy is already missing me. Grandpa Willy is driving my grandma, Sara, a little crazy. Their 50th wedding anniversary is coming up and aunt Claire is planning their second wedding. I may have to get on a plane for that one, but I wouldn't miss it for the world.
My grandparents, aside from Aunt Claire, are the only parent figures I currently have in my life. They would pick me up from school when Aunt Claire got stuck in the hospital, Grandpa Willy would always give me an allowance that I would always end up spending on candy when I was little and then on food as I got older. What can I say? I've always been and will always be a foodie.
As I was getting out of the car I received a very cryptic message from my best friend Stensby. PEYTON'S HUNGOVER ASS IS GETTING ON MY NERVES. IM THIS CLOSE OF PUSHING HER ASS OVER THE FUCKING BALCONY RAILING :)