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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

“Poisson d'Avril” by Nina Chyll

Submitted to Contest #87

“Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. In the Julian Calendar, the new year began around April 1.People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called ‘April fish.’ These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs.”April 1st 1568, Angoulême, FranceThe woods swal...

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“Wicked Delights” by Kathleen Doidge

Submitted to Contest #87

It was the snow that froze not just the soil, but all movement and echos. The seven-year-old cooed as a midnight snowflake landed on her tongue. I on the other hand, frowned. Flurries attacking my eyes was not so much fun as an adult. People actually expected me to be able to see.I glanced down at the vibrating ball of energy, ready to remind her about those eyes I was supposed to be using.Wrong move.The kid jerked my arm to the side, making it click and sputter as it tried to remain in its socket. I hopped forward to keep my limb attached, ...

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“A Wet Blanket” by Niveeidha Palani

Submitted to Contest #87

Ace inhaled and pushed for what seemed like the hundredth tray in. She folded her knobbly arms and eyed the purple clock ticking profusely on the walls.She had to speed things up. It was almost dawn.Ace slipped the batch of cookies into some clear boxes and lowered them into large Birthday Bags.Her trunk was jammed with pastries.Five minutes later, Ace pulled up at Koli Bakeries."Hey,"Ace managed a smile. "Hey, Lydia. Sorry, no time to talk. I'm kinda in a hurry right now. I need to get these in the car before eight-thirty."Lydia hoisted her...

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“Ready” by Lani Lane

Submitted to Contest #87

When Alexander was ten, his older brother Joshua changed his clocks on April Fool’s Day. Alexander had woken up when his alarm screamed at six in the morning. He drowsily changed out of his pajamas, brushed his teeth, and headed down the stairs. He rubbed his eyes, confused that his mom wasn’t already in the kitchen pouring coffee before she went to work. Maybe she was sleeping in for a change. Shrugging, he started banging around the cupboards and putting together a bowl of cereal. He had just taken his first bite when a voice made him ju...

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“The Tale of Sly Hedrek” by Michael Boquet

Submitted to Contest #87

Bricriu, king of the Kernow Fae, stood by as the door to the cairn was opened. He was accompanied by his wife Keary, Malvin his royal advisor, six members of the royal guard, and four torchbearers. Once the cairn was open, the group made their way down a long, winding staircase.Each measuring exactly six feet in height, the fairies all had elegantly quaffed hair that shone in the low light of the torch lit cairn. Each was anxious about the task before them, yet they moved gracefully down the steps. Serious expressions darkened their austere ...

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“Mr. Black Rose” by Skyler Woods

Submitted to Contest #87

Detective Tina Monroe saw the rose sitting on the dead woman’s chest. The musky scent of the killer’s cologne fermented the air. It seemed morbid, but Tina admired how the killer painted the prostitute’s body with her own blood. The delicate rose that he laid between her bare boobs was the finishing touch.Tina could tell that the killer used a switchblade to carve into the prostitute’s torso. They were clean and precise incisions.“So what are we looking at?” Police Chief Danny White asked Tina. He kneeled over the dead woman with a lit cigar...

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“The Imperium Stone” by Sasini Athapaththu

Submitted to Contest #87

Amelia had been looking through the window for about an hour now. The environment that had been bright and lively a moment ago had drastically changed into a gloomy and dull environment as if it was about to rain. People were hurriedly walking towards their destinations and some even had their umbrellas out as if they were expecting the downpour anytime soon. A downpour on April 1st? When the spring had just begun? Maybe the sky was playing a trick, an April fool's trick, on them. Amelia got her eyes away from the window and looked in the ...

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“A Fatal Prank-CHECK ” by Jay DMer

Submitted to Contest #87

The day started off like any other April Fools' Day. Minor pranks like taping the bottom of the faucet and letting all the water squirt up at the person's face and clothes, unplugging the copy machine so others can think it doesn't work and they have to handwrite it, sticky noting a random persons' cubicle, and placing an upside-down cup that says "DON'T MOVE THIS CUP UNLESS YOU’RE GOING TO KILL IT" on someones' desk who's scared of insects but come to find out there isn't anything under it. They're much more pranks that happen at our compan...

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“Rob a bank” by Ari Berri

Submitted to Contest #87

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ryan asks. “I mean, this can go wrong in so many ways.”“There’s literally no way this can go wrong.” Hazel snaps. Her long brown hair is tied up in a bun. “We have people working with the police, and people working in the bank. I’ve thought of everything.”Hazel’s family owns a very successful bank. However, they have a rival, a different bank owned by a different family. It’s April first, and Hazel has decided to prank them to show how bad of a place the rival family is.There are twenty of them in the smal...

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“April fools day?” by Lauren :)

Submitted to Contest #87

Today is April fools day. All my friends know that I am the most annoying when it comes to this day. I have so many tricks planned! They are so in for it! I have school today since it’s Monday. I wonder if our teacher is going to prank us at all? I don’t think that she would but that doesn’t mean she won't! I live pretty close to school so today I’m going to walk with my best friend, Jenny. She lives right by my house maybe one or two houses away. First I tricked her. I dressed up...

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“Throne of Mirrors” by Claire Lindsey

Submitted to Contest #87

Beware, ye wise, the mirror-glass faeThe trickster vain and cruelHe hides ‘twixt glass and dark and dayTo seek and catch the foolSomewhere in dusk and dying light,The mirror fae lurks and waitsHis smile is bright as stars a-flightHis glass-gaze ne’er abatesTake care that ye not stare too deepOr at the mirror lingerHe there awaits new souls to reapAnd wear upon his fingersThose ringéd fingers, shadow-thinWould scarcely hesitateTo grasp at ye, rend soul from skinAnd bind ye to his fate***Three of the children of Lyhre walked the dusty streets,...

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“The Grind” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #87

Every morning I wake up exactly one minute before the alarm goes off. I can’t really explain why this happens, I guess it’s just routine. I stumble out of bed, wishing I could sleep for just a couple more hours. I brush my teeth, take a shower, and get dressed in my red Novak Home Improvement uniform. I don’t have time for breakfast because I’m a working girl, and I’ve got bills to pay. That’s the typical grind, and it never changes. This particular morning, something feels different. I’m not sure what it is, but something feels off. I ...

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“Retreat” by H L McQuaid

Submitted to Contest #87

CW: bears and swears“You sure we’re going the right way?” Jon asks as the Land Rover bumps along the rutted dirt road. Though it’s only late afternoon, the tops of the trees stretch overhead, their limbs intertwining like fingers to form a dark canopy that filters out the light.“I’m fairly certain,” Andreas says, with a hint of a Swiss accent. “Though…” he pauses as he holds his phone closer to the Rover’s moonroof. “I’m not getting any signal here.”“Kara,” Jon says, glancing in the rear-view mirror to the red-headed, thirty-something woman ...

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“It will be fun!” by Vanessa Queens

Submitted to Contest #87

“Come on, Jake! It will be fun!” The words echoed in Jake’s head, bringing him headache. “It’s April Fools’ Day anyway! It’ll be a harmless prank and nothing else,” his friends insisted. Jake wasn’t so sure.He loved his friends, but the truth was that sometimes being with them was stressful. He hated it whenever they put pressure on him to do things he really wasn’t keen on, because he felt his palms sweat and his heart beat faster. So, sometimes he just pretended he was ill, or busy with school homework, or even grounded.Like today, April F...

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“Shoes” by Carrie O'Keefe

Submitted to Contest #87

In the town of Dartmoor England lived a young shoemaker Patrick. He worked diligently on his families legacy to be the best shoemaker of all times. He had his heart set on marrying a young lass named Alane.To impress Alane he worked on making her the best shoes possible. The leather was as soft as her touch and would keep her feet warm like her personality. He found the perfect blue dye to make bows that would match her eyes. The morning came for him to present his shoes and ask her hand in marriage. When he got to his work bench he found th...

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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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