Rainbow Connection, AFTG ✔️

1.5

PORTER
CHAPTER FIVE

October arrived without warning. Porter was almost relieved when he realized it had been a month since he'd arrived at Wymack's doorstep; either Riko still hadn't found him, or Riko wasn't even looking. There was one issue with October though, and it continuously glared Porter in the face as the days counted down.

The Foxes played the Ravens at PSU in six days.

Even if it was just Porter's own nerves, he would've been terrified, but the Foxes weren't playing a typical season. If the Foxes were having a typical season, the match might have drawn a little less attention, even with Kevin on their line. This year, however, they were at an unprecedented six-and-one record. The only game they'd lost was their opener against Breckenridge. They'd won three games by the skin of their teeth, but victories were victories no matter how they got them. The Foxes were pulling together and getting stronger one week at a time. No one expected them to win against the Ravens, but it was obvious they'd put up a spectacular fight.

The Foxhole Court didn't have enough seating to accommodate the crowd this game was sure to draw, so the school sold discounted seats in the basketball stadium and promised to broadcast the game live on the scoreboard televisions there.

Palmetto State University spent the entire second week preening and prepping for its day in the spotlight. Groundskeepers trimmed every square inch of the sprawling campus. Cleaning teams drained and scrubbed out the manmade pond in front of the library. Student clubs were invited to design and hang banners wherever they could fit them. Rocky Foxy the mascot walked the campus for hours every day and poked his oversized head into classrooms to get the students worked up.

The Vixens set up camp in the amphitheater to pass out temporary tattoos and foam paw prints -- Hayden made sure to stop by the Foxes specifically and kiss Renee's cheek, wishing all of them luck and promising to cheer the loudest. Porter doubted it would be a struggle for him.

There was an event every night leading up to Friday. The school's choir and jazz band had free concerts on the stadium lawn on Monday. Seventy percent of the student body wore orange for Tuesday's Orange Day. Wednesday was White Day with a higher turnout. Abby had taken him shopping for both days, despite the fact that he did not go on campus. Either way, Renee and Matt complimented his outfits before he changed out for practices.

Thursday was the pep rally, which the Foxes were required to attend. Several thousand students stopped by to cheer and party. News cameras were on hand to televise the festivities and take comments from the small team. Porter stayed with Dr. Dobson during the time, banned from media coverage.

Thursday was when Dan finally started to lose her cool. From what Nicky told Porter, this was Dan's fourth year as the team's captain. If Porter's English lessons did anything good -- other than teaching him how to read -- they taught him a lot about how Nicky Hemmick viewed the Foxes; he knew that, because Nicky never, ever shut his mouth.

The more excited the students grew, the more uneasy the Foxes felt, and the tension at their practices that week was suffocating. They were sick with nerves by Friday. Andrew was the only one completely unaffected. He bounced off the walls and harassed his teammates endlessly. Kevin, on the other hand, didn't say a single word at Friday morning's practice.

Traffic that day was completely out of control, no matter how much outside help campus security called in. Wymack signed his Foxes out of their afternoon classes and called them to the stadium at three. Serve wasn't for another four hours, but he wanted to shield them from the madness unfolding around the university. Porter had been there since eight AM.