Dive Deep into Creativity: Discover, Share, Inspire
so i'm currently consuming only orange food (on accident) and my mind just decided this needed to happen so consider this:
it's neil's sophomore year and they've managed to make it to championships again
this year it's a home game, so they don't have to travel anywhere
enter neil
it's the morning of the game, and as he pulls an orange from their fruit bowl he gets an idea
how much orange food do you think can he eat before the game?
he tells no one, but eventually they all catch on
the foxes were never one for superstition or pre-game rituals
the closest they got was tapping the "riko racquet" before each game
but suddenly it's like they're on a mission
that first year it's mostly neil, but after he scores the winning shot of the game it's cemented in the team forever
the next year almost all of them join in, going to every length to keep it orange
neil buys orange ice cream and special orders all orange m&m's to try and get andrew to join, to no avail
his junior year he stops to pick up coffee (the one thing they agreed to allow, though they usually shoot for orange mugs) when he has an idea
"do you think you could make an orange coffee"
the barista: 👁👁 can i what now
turns out they can
when neil shows up at the dorms with orange coffee for everyone andrew has never been so close to murdering him
nicky all but loses his mind when he sees the tray
matt very excitedly adds it to their running list of orange foods held to the fridge with a fox magnet
when neil graduates allison frames it and they hang it next to the trophy stand
by his senior year andrew still outright refuses to join in
until it's his last college championship game
neil comes home from his run early and flips on the kitchen light to find him on top of the counter
3/4ths of the way through a pumpkin pie, orange whipped cream and all
and halfway through a two liter of orange crush
they both freeze
for a long moment nothing is said
a clock's ticks echo through the room
neil grins, "don't believe in superstition, huh?"
"shut up, junkie"
"i'm not the one devouring an all orange pie like a gremlin right now"
"i will kill you"
"you'd have to put down the pie first"
eventually he does, in favor of a very different pre-game ritual