I was tasked to write a short story on the fly about a dancing green octopus in the context of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX office on Nov 8, 2022. This is what I came up with:
The sun had just peeked out after a light rain shower in Nassau. Sherman, the Caribbean Reef Octopus, looked out of his aquarium toward the sea. He had plotted his escape for weeks. Sam and Caroline sat down to play a video game, foolishly leaving a window open. Sherman clambered out of his tank, down a wood cabinet, and started across the tiled floor. He hoped the sky would be overcast again when he got outside so his beautiful green skin with blue and brown undertones wouldn’t get baked in the sun. His heart skipped a beat when the phone rang, and his captors abruptly paused their digital escapade to answer it, which wasn’t their usual behavior. Sam and Caroline jumped up to celebrate a financial rescue just as Sherman slithered across the windowsill. He made it through the bushes and onto the road- fortunately, a Toyota swerved, missing the young Cephalopod by inches, allowing him to continue his exodus. The orange rocks of the coast were in sight, so Sherman picked up his pace in anticipation of returning home, to freedom, to eating lobster tonight! When he finally reached the edge, Sherman turned back for just a moment, threw four tentacles in the air, danced a jig, exclaimed, “So long, Suckers!” and then did a cannonball into the ocean.
I LOVE THE STORY SO MUCH .