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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#87: Fool Me Once

From trickster gods to office pranks, humans have long been fascinated by mischief and mayhem. There’s just something about breaking free of the rules of polite society and causing a bit of chaos that appeals deeply to our psyche.

This week, let’s embrace that playful spirit. Whether it’s someone being pranked or doing the pranking, there’s plenty of opportunity to dive deep into your characters’ motives and reactions. No joke — it’s time to break out the (metaphorical) cream pies and throw some anarchy at your protagonists.

This week's prompts

Write about a mischievous pixie or trickster god.

Kids – 206 stories

Write about someone who’s spent a whole year planning a big prank, and now they’re finally ready to pull it off.

Middle School – 75 stories

Write about someone who hates pranks and spends April Fools’ Day doing good deeds instead.

Holiday – 69 stories

Start your story with a big company pulling an April Fools’ prank that ends up going horribly wrong.

Holiday – 82 stories

Write about someone who goes to great lengths to avoid being pranked on April 1st, only to realize they had the date wrong and it’s already April 2nd.

Holiday – 60 stories

Stories

“THE DAY OF FOOLS” by Debbie Curtin

Submitted to Contest #87

The idea for this surprise game changer happened at a recent conference set in Miami. It was to take place today and coincidentally the date was April 1. The big drug companies were meeting to discuss the health crisis across the country. They would each be staking a claim to a region to market and sell to individuals, pharmacies, hospitals, etc. Everyone who attended this particular event, came with their best product, which was not so much about their actual product, but more about the approach with their upscale show boat staff and ...

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“FALLEN” by Atiatunnasir Oni Bashir

Submitted to Contest #87

Hey! You, Inmate 717, come out for your daily routine, the prison warden said. Inmate 717 knew what will befall him if he did not obey his command. This new lifestyle has become his modus operandi ever since three months ago, waking up on the cold hard ground, being a portion of food for the Mosquitoes, subjected to strenuous activities, given food not enough for a toddler. He remembered how he had once been, the lifestyle where he had been a young rich CEO of the Evergreen jewelry industry. His name was Peter Emmanue...

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“Curiosity Can Kill” by Navneeth N

Submitted to Contest #87

“What are the symptoms?”“It’s similar to the common cold and flu. A loss of taste, fever, or coughs. Pretty similar.”“Yeah. However, not that similar to the other strand of the virus.”“It’s being genetically engineered to be stronger and more contagious. It’s occurred several times in the last centuries, you know?”“Do you even know why we’re doing this?”“I don’t know. Or care. The government wants us to keep our mouths shut about this.”“Does it ever occur what they’ll do with this?”“I don’t know. Maybe a biological weapon? Or a method of pop...

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“WHAT A FOOL!” by Giselle Morales

Submitted to Contest #87

The pale crescent moon shone like a silver dime in the night sky, peeking through the cracks of the blinds in Nico’s bedroom as he sat on his twin-sized bed starring at his alarm, calmly waiting for the time to change. He couldn’t sleep a wink because he was prepared for what’s to come the next day. Nico had made sure that all windows and doors were to be locked, all rooms in the house were to be cleaned, and that it had looked isolated before April 1st. Nico did not particularly enjoy April Fools because it was the day to pull pranks and ...

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“"Pranking me, avoiding them!" by Ye Wint Aung” by Ye Wint Aung

Submitted to Contest #87

April 1st, also know as April’s fool’s day is the day we let our playful spirit out of the box and have some fun. Some people like to prank their friends, families and even random people they can find. Some of us don’t like getting pranked but likes to prank others.Some of the pranks we pull off can be an ultimate prank or a normal prank, but sometimes our victims can be embarrassed by our pranks. That’s why some of us don’t like getting pranked.George Sherman has a long history of his April’s Fool’s. Every year on April’s Fool’s day, he alw...

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“Fool of the Gods” by John Miller

Submitted to Contest #87

Pan was kicking back at the Club of Gods with the rest of the deities. He wasn't particularly wanted or welcome, but he was a god and, as such, they were stuck with him. It wasn't that he ever did anything annoying, other than stink the joint up. After all, his lower half was that of a goat, and Pan wasn't exactly the cleanest of gods. He was at a table with Jesus, Thor and Coyote. They were talking about mortal...

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“Fred” by Jeremy Cook

Submitted to Contest #87

Take some time. Look around you. Look what love has brought about, what it has brought me to, what I have brought others to. There was a girl I fell for hard, long ago in England, Christina’s the name. Was the name. You’ve been around as long as me, you forget what you remember and what you want to forget way too often. No, I don’t think it has to make sense. Anyway, I travel a lot for my...work, and I found myself wanting to go somewhere I’d never been before and there were not many places left on that list. So it was Manchester, and my f...

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“passionate about passion” by Samantha Obediah

Submitted to Contest #87

My birthday is the last day in March, that's kind of a joke in itself I was definitely not planned for but almost born on the day that everyone's making jokes. Which you would think I was doing if in reality I wasn't and everything I'm about to tell you is the truth. Theres a world outside this world we don't know about, a magical place where the firefly's are the front doors to a secret magical existance between existances where your story does always come true. I was walking home on a warm august afternoon on the trail behind the river...

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“The Unwelcome Garden Pixie” by Fiona English

Submitted to Contest #87

Marie cherished Sunday mornings in her garden. She spent a lot of time gardening, and as a result, she had one of the most beautiful gardens in her town. The golden California sun enhanced the colorful flowers and leafy herbs, and many butterflies and bees were familiar friends with Marie’s plants. Gardening brought Marie peace because she liked to feel connected to nature, and it brought her closer to the creatures she shared her garden with. Marie, in bright yellow gloves and a straw hat, had been tending to her poppies. Then, she h...

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“Emily's Birds” by Andy Spears

Submitted to Contest #87

The beautiful cardinal kept pecking at Emily’s window. Red, bright, brilliant. This bird was perfect. Emily knew what she would do next. The little cardinal had no idea how it ended up in Emily’s garden shed. The bird had never seen a human-type creature with tiny wings before. Today, Emily’s wings were yellow, a faint yellow, like a canary that had gone a bit pale. Now, the cardinal was taking the drops from Emily’s syringe. Sweet, heavenly taste. The cardinal could not resist, and now, now, it was falling as...

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“Necessity” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #87

“Is this really necessary?” her words echoing in my head as I nailed the last board over the door, and made sure the potato gun was loaded. “They are coming for me, I know it. I can feel it in my bones. It’s like a tambourine in my chest chanting a tune I’ve never heard before.” “Why?” “Why, What?” That was a good question. One I might have asked myself had it not been for the tambourine concerto, and the fact I was out of potatoes, and wasn’t sure if apples or oranges would have a similar deterrent effect. It shoul...

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“The Blue-Headed God” by Rani Jayakumar

Submitted to Contest #87

Kris didn’t mean to be a troublemaker, but that’s what he was. He was king of Sweet Mercy High, and everyone knew it, and loved him for it. He received all the privileges a golden-boy might - the teachers doted on him, letting him come in late, even flirting with him (irrespective of gender), giving him extra time on tests, not that he needed it. The lunch lady saved him the biggest slices of pizza and the last chocolate milk. He knew everyone’s first name and used it with impunity. The other boys looked up to him like a god. He go...

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“Auld Patsy” by Brain Changer

Submitted to Contest #87

The rotten house of Auld Patsy had one big window facing Cracker Street. Nine-year-old Tuley cocked her head to watch his long fingers place—in the second box on the third window bar—an unpainted wooden girl, next to the brown cow with a gold bell. His black eyes twinkled at her, then his head jerked back to the doll. He raised several wrinkles along his bony nose. Lifting the doll, he pinched it with his penknife. He blew the shaving away and placed it back on the shelf, then moved the cow to the other side, then back again to the first pla...

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“Elliot's Favorite Day” by Anna Marchetti

Submitted to Contest #87

Elliot Hughes woke up excited that morning. It was his favorite day of the year. It was the first day of April, “April Fools’ Day”. On this day he could prank people without facing a lecture from his father. This was the only day he ever felt he could truly be himself when he spent time in the Human realm. Elliot loved his father, but pretending to be Human was lame in his opinion. His dad, Rian Hughes, was one-hundred percent Human. His mother on the other hand, Marin Toadvale, was a Pixie. She lived in the Fae Kingdom with the rest of the...

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“Fools in a Jar” by Theophilus Wep

Submitted to Contest #87

FOOLS IN A JAR By I.W. Theophilus "Samantha, what if I told you that the world has a shape of a triangle?" Mike, my seven year old brother asked me. "I would slap you" I replied jokingly. "Why though?" He asked. "Because you would be a shame to your teachers and parents" I said. "But, why can't the world have a triangle shape?" He asked again. Before I answered him, a strange voice coming from under the bed said "Oh, the world is triangular in shape of course" In a shock, I jumped off my bed while Mike run towards the door in panic. The voic...

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$50

Prize money

492

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 02, 2021 EST

Won by Catherine Hill 🏆

Title: Samill the Trickster

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

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