Watching Film

Four otters were getting together to play a game of 2-on-2 Basketball. The teams were divided into odds and evens. Otters 1 and 3 were on team 1 and Otters 2 and 4 were on team 2. This was an easy way for everyone to keep track of everyone else.

Otter 1 turned to his partner, you guessed it, Otter 3, and tried to discuss some potential game strategies:

“I don’t think they’re going to run that much pick and roll against us because we match up pretty well. But be ready in case they aren’t gonna shut it down until we shut it down for them.” Otter 1 explained, “Did you watch the film on them I sent you last night?”

“Yeah, and then I immediately stopped it when I realized the reason you asked to borrow my sloth costumes was so you could dress up disguise yourself, and SPY on them! That’s crazy!”

“What's crazy?” Otter 1 replied, “Spying?”

"On our friends? Yes! That's crazy!" Otter 3 cried.

"Oh," This took Otter 1 by surprise, "Wow, I didn't know that... I always hear that people watched film when they play sports, I just wanted to see what watching film was like, that's all."

"That's only for professional sports dude," Otter 3 explained. "When you just go out and film regular people playing basketball it's not quite the same."

Otter 1 felt so silly about this whole thing. He had never intended to be creepy. He just wanted to watch a little film on his opponents like a professional athlete.

"Well, what should I do?" Otter 1 asked, "Should I tell them? Apologize?"

Otter 3 began thinking, this situation was completely without precedent so there were no guidelines over how to even approach an apology. Otter 3 was starting to feel guilt, not for something that she actually did but just for something that she had knowledge of. Luckily the Even team wasn't here yet so there was time to --

"Look, here they come," Otter 1 spotted the Evens as they made their way to the court, "Hey guys! We're over here, hustle up!"

"Don't tell them to hustle... We have to figure out..." Otter 3 was sputtering. Somehow she was now the one who felt most responsible for violating their friends’ privacy, and she didn't even do anything.

"We have to just hope they don't say anything and never speak of the video again, okay?" Otter 3 concluded. "Deal?"

"Deal." Otter 1 concurred.

“Hey guys how are y’all?” Otter 3 exclaimed as the Even team arrived at the court, "How was your trip?"

The Even team looked at each other confused. ‘How was your trip?’ Though the two teams are enemies on the court they are functionally neighbors in the forest. Their trip was... unremarkable, not even worth asking about really.

"It was, you know, fine..." Otter 2 said.

"Yeah... pretty regular trip." Otter 4 added.

Otter 3 was so nervous she was beginning to sweat even before the game started. What a dumb question to ask, how was your trip. She needed to make up for this, and quickly.

"Seen any good films lately?" Otter 3 asked, and immediately regretted.

Otter 1 looked at Otter 3 like, dude... get it together.

"Um, no... nothing really," Otter 2 responded, "You?"

"None! Zero! Absolutely not! I hate film! Never touch the stuff myself. Nope." Otter 3 stumbled through a nervous response.

"By the way, Theodore, was that you we saw the other day filming us while wearing a sloth costume?" Otter 4 confronted Otter 1.

Otter 3 went ashen. This was it. She could no longer protect Otter 1. He would just have to own up to it and accept his punishment.

"Yeah, that was me," Otter 1 confessed... "I didn't know..."

"Could you send us the video?" Otter 4 interrupted, "We were getting up some good HORSE shots and wanted to see them again."

"You filmed them playing HORSE?" Otter 3 turned to Otter 1, "How was that helpful to us at all?"

Otter 2 and Otter 4 were struck by this comment. They both looked at each other, confused.

"Wait you two were trying to spy on our plays?" Otter 2 asked, "To beat us at a pick-up basketball game?"

"No! No! We didn't... I mean well..." Otter 3 could not believe the position she'd found herself in, "Well I certainly didn't..."

"You guys know how athletes always talk about watching film?" Otter 1 explained to the Even team, "I just wanted to watch some film on a team and you guys were the only other team I know besides Me and Sandy."

Otter 1 and Otter 3 waited tensely to see how the Even team would respond to this revelation.

"Oh..." Otter 2 started, "Well, look I get it, we all want to watch film."

"Yeah I mean we were just playing HORSE, and we did see you, and we do want to see the video so..." Otter 4 conceded. "Can we get the video and say no harm no foul?"

"Deal!"

Otter 1 and Otters 2 and 4 all shook hands and considered the matter settled. Otter 3 shook everyone's hands as well but had one last thing on her mind.

"Wow, so I was very scared, had a ton of anxiety and everything just worked out fine?" Otter 3 asked.

"Yeah..." Said Otter 2.

"Pretty much..." Added Otter 4.

"How great is that?" Chimed Otter 1.

"That's... Wow..." Otter 3 said as she shook her head, "Well, you guys want to play basketball or get some lunch?"

They were all pretty hungry, so they headed to lunch.