Their return signaled the midday break for lunch, which they ate in scattered groups in the stands. They had the better part of an hour to digest afterward and ended the day with two hours of exhausting cardio. Normal practices would have kept going until dinnertime, but with classes starting tomorrow, Wymack was willing to give them a one-time break.

Neil was the last one out of the showers and he found everyone waiting for him in the lounge. Wymack gestured for him to sit. Neil went to his usual chair and glanced around the room, wondering what was going on. None of the others looked bothered by this unexpected meeting. Andrew's group was more distracted by Andrew, who was already fast asleep. He'd been wide awake a few minutes ago, but he'd spent this week tweaking his medication schedule in preparation for the school year. His body wasn't used to it and he was crashing at odd times. Wymack worked around it when he could.

"All right, maggots," Wymack said, snapping his fingers to get all eyes on him. "School starts tomorrow, which means we're switching our practice times. Mornings are going to start at six o'clock at the gym. Afternoon practices are here at three. I've seen your schedules. I know you can get here on time, so don't any one of you be late, you hear me?"

"Yes, Coach," they said.

"This isn't our campus anymore," Wymack said. "Everyone's checked in and ready to go, which means a lot of people to contend with. Campus police doubled their numbers this summer but they can't cover everything or everyone. Be smart, be careful. If someone's looking for trouble, get help. If the press slips past and wants answers, you tell them we're not saying anything until Kathy's show on Saturday."

"Kathy?" Dan asked.

"Kathy Ferdinand." Wymack took one look at her confused face and scowled at Kevin. "Didn't you tell them?"

"There wasn't a need to," Kevin said.

"Like, morning show host Kathy Ferdinand?" Matt asked.

"That's the one," Wymack said. "We have to do some publicity at some point. It was part of our agreement with Chuck and the ERC. Kevin chose Kathy because she agreed to wait until after our first game. Saturday morning we're heading up to Raleigh to give her an exclusive first interview."

"She must have fainted when you said yes," Matt said. "When's the last time you made an official public appearance?"

"December fourth," Kevin said.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Dan asked. "I'll wake up early to watch it."

"Or you could come to the studio with us," Wymack said, ignoring the look Kevin sent him for that. "Kathy invited the entire team to the broadcast. If we show, we get front row seats. We've got to take the bus up anyway to fit all these yahoos, so there's plenty of room."

"Did you want us to sit out?" Renee asked Kevin.

"It doesn't really matter," Kevin said.