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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 – 205 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 Vampires Lesson” by Anastasia Stead

Submitted to Contest #87

An old woman sat in front of a roaring fire, the warm glow enveloped the room in welcoming light. The children played, yelling and carrying on as an old woman serenely sat cross-legged watching their youthful, exuberant, energies mingle. She looked around the room and breathed in the palpable energy that was expended by the young ones. They played with each other and toys that were scattered though the room. Their parents left them in Kahla's care. Nana Kahla was what they called her. She accepted it even though she was no ones true gr...

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“Cracking a smile” by I'm Dru

Submitted to Contest #87

This was already a vicious cycle for Irene. She loved doing this to Arawan mostly because she was trying to get his stone face to show some sort of emotion. There was something mischievous about her doing this, and Nisus would always tell her that she was mean. Yes, maybe she was. Maybe she wanted to get a reaction out of him and maybe his stone face will crack. He was one of the few stone giants in their village and Irene loved toying around with him. Arawan was tall and slow, not talking a lot, keeping it all to himself and somehow that r...

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“Brixtle” by Shawn Luther

Submitted to Contest #87

Brixtle knelt under the leaf, watching the human. It was large and slow, lumbering across the glade. One hand clutched a large wooden stick, which it leaned on heavily. The other held a wooden pail which bounced against its leg, splashing water with each step. Brixtle covered his mouth and laughed. He danced across the branch, following the humans progress. The human was heading down the path which cut through the Great Woods. It appeared oblivious to everything around itself. Its attention was f...

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“Trojan Fish” by Christopher Cayen-Cyr

Submitted to Contest #87

*NOTE: The following is an excerpt of a lost text by Homer describing the events that took place between The Iliad and The Odyssey. Recently unearthed from Grecian ruins, it should not be reported outside of academia, as review of authenticity remains ongoing.*Sing to me, O MuseOf the God of twists and turnsThe God of all foolsWhose pranks we spurnAll know of the Trojan War’s genesis. Eris, the insidious Goddess of Discord, planted the seeds of trouble into the world by dropping an apple addressed to the fairest into a lake where three deiti...

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“Gagarin Meets Veles” by Martin Mendoza

Submitted to Contest #87

Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was surrounded by complete darkness. Slowly, he started noticing millions of tiny flames appear around him, although he had a feeling that those flames had already been there for a long time. They seemed familiar, and in an instant, he realized that they were stars. It seemed to him that the instant had lasted just short of an eternity, time during which the cosmonaut was trying to remember who he was and what he was doing. Before he could finish, however, he witnessed a very bizarre sight – right in front of him, ab...

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“You Are a Joke” by Andrew Tan

Submitted to Contest #87

A quaint time that was, and not solely because we call it both day and night. My years had just waltzed into its fifteenth, and if we assume the language of those who purposely stay up, it was three in the morning. Now, there was this law of nature—though I find him unnatural—that all who were born on the first of April were claimed by this unknown entity. Like a godparent, this embodiment of pranks itself made it his utmost duty to visit each of “his” fifteen-year-olds during the ill-defined six hours when no one could objectively blam...

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“one bit trick, one part crime” by Brad Nelson

Submitted to Contest #87

April 5th, 2020Dear sweetest Diary,I write to you on this fine evening to let you know of my intent to win next year’s competition. Indeed, on April 1st, 2021, I will pull off the grandest trick of them all. The illustrious god of trickery, Dolos, will have no choice but to name me high king of tricks, and I shall accept this title with the greatest of honor. At last, all my dreams will come true. I will have this mortal world at the tippy top of my little fingertips. How wonderous it will feel, as the mortals and gods alike bow down to my d...

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“The Birthday” by Lynda Moore

Submitted to Contest #87

The Birthday Why is it that some birthdays bother you far more than others? It was my 69th birthday. Not one I was looking forward to, so appropriately I planned nothing. My first preference would have been to sleep through it. But failing that, I thought I would sit in my living room with a nice glass of wine, ponder the mysteries of life and how I got this old. How I could have made it this far. The last year of my seventh decade, and what was to follow the next year didn’t bear thinking about. Neither of my ...

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“LOL” by Anne Scherliess

Submitted to Contest #87

LOL (Sound of heavy doors closing. Keys being turned from outside. Large wooden beams being pushed through metal holders.) Hi. (Giggles) Did that scare you? Don't worry, you'll get out of here as soon as you have solved my riddle. (Giggles) Still scared? (Giggles) Don't fret. It's just me- April. -- I know, funny, right? (Giggles) I love pranks. You see, my parents are comedians, which is why they named me April. They met at a stand-up comedian thing at this very pub. (Pauses for applause---) Anyway, they were always naturally ...

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“One Last Dance” by Akintan Tosin

Submitted to Contest #87

Chapter 1Tobi was very excited, he was finally going to get his chance to get back at Nne for all the years of emotional torture she put him through on April fool’s day. He had sneaked into the country from Birmingham, where he is an undergraduate at the state university. Normally, James would be waiting to pick him from the airport, but Tobi wanted to be discreet. If he was going to get his grandma to shit herself, his arrival needed to be a shocker.On the cab ride home he explained to the driver how much horror he had gone through as ...

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“April Fool” by Alex Holub

Submitted to Contest #87

Justin's been waiting all year for today. When he hears his mother's car pull into the garage, he rushes to the door. "Did you get them, mom? Did you?" "Yes, Justin, I got them," Ginny said, and she sets two bags of groceries on the kitchen table. Justin turns his attention to the bags, rummages through their contents, and pulls out two produce bags along with a bag of caramel pieces. "Super cool. Thanks, mom." "You're welcome, although I don't know what you want …" Ginny's interrupted by her phone. "Hi Patsy, yes, it's still on." Ginny's vo...

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“Champ” by Chris D

Submitted to Contest #87

When Elgin had been born, the first thing his grandmother had said was, and he's paraphrasing here, "he looks just like his father." He paraphrases, because she used some colorful words that he'd rather not repeat. He likes to lead a pure life, unlike the man he resembles. Resembled, actually. He's dead now, along with his tradition of pulling the worst pranks on the 90th day of the year. He refuses to name the date aloud, as if it is haunted. He'll let you do the math. At the age of eight, Elgin had encountered the first truly awful p...

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“Reciprocated.” by Esther Onubogu

Submitted to Contest #87

Date:March 30 Time: 2:00 pm Isabella glanced at the tall hotel building. She and her few friends from college had planned this reunion for months. She was looking forward to seeing all her friends after five years but there was someone particularly she was itching to see. His name was Tyler Reids. She had had a crush on him for quite a while. Of course they lost contact at some point and she forgot all about him but was lucky to stumble across his contact information on the Internet. She texted him,he texted back and the feelings r...

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“MM & STRUGGLE” by Bin Sobchuk

Submitted to Contest #87

MMToo many things happened. Margret is a widow now. She must pay attention to her behavior and avoid to talk to men. Sometimes she even feels it is a burden to go shopping! Today is April 1st; she is invited by her girlfriend for dinner. After dinner, they went out for a walk. In the elevator, Margret is seeing her face so bright under the light. She is surprised and delighted. In front of gate, she is still obsessed in that moment and touches her face unconsciously while watching her reflection. Meanwhile, two condo workers come in-Tom and ...

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“A Fool” by Parvesh Boodhoo

Submitted to Contest #87

“I cannot do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good that I can do,” said the songwriter, Jana Stanfield. Sahil was a person of good sense of humor. Being in his company had been always been cheerful and like never boring. As a staff in a huge Marketing Company of the Island, he was a down to earth in person. His colleagues were amazing and they were a real team. This office was his second home and all the staffs were his family. Sahil was so popular for his good deeds he was offering in his daily life. He was ...

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$50

Prize money

491

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.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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