The scene opens with Jim's mother, Linda, asking her son what's going on with him. She's worried that he's been sleeping all day, and that he doesn't know what he should be doing with his life. She tells him that she's his mother, so she can't understand what he has been up to. He tells her that he has to go to a swim meet the next day to compete against a long-time rival. He's also worried that his friend, Mary, will be unable to compete because of a minor injury she got in the pool the day before. He asks her to take his spare swimsuit and swim with him, but she refuses, saying that she needs to get herself ready for the swim meet. She also tells Jim that she used to love swimming with her friend, the late Ken "the Swimmer," and that one day, the water turned to a red color. She wonders if this is a violation of the health code, and wonders if she would still be alive if she hadn't been born.