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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

“Legging Up Time” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #87

Rhoda had got it into her head that she was going to give a new slant to the whole Secret Santa business. Well, in a manner of speaking! To start with, she most determinedly suppressed any thoughts of Santa. Rhoda was no Scrooge, and was fond of Christmas, but she wasn’t even fond of Christmas in October, when the shops decided it was time to start playing I wish it could be Christmas every day and the expurgated version of Fairy Tale of New York. And as for Christmas in April, well, the mere thought made her shudder. And Secret Santas gave ...

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“The Most Elaborate Prank” by Fay Winter

Submitted to Contest #87

Ooh, I'm gonna get her. I'm gonna get her good. It's April Fool's Day today, and my best friend just made me drink decaf instead of coffee. But she has no idea that I've just started to plan my own prank for her for next year. And it's gonna be epic. It's going to be hilarious and elaborate and amazing. "Man, Jake! I can't believe you fell for that! The simple switching the coffee and decaf labels...Man, your face was priceless!" I just smile at her. "Yeah, Posy, you really got me good. Good job." She raises her eyebrows at me and burst...

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“GOTCHA!” by HC Edwards

Submitted to Contest #87

Finn always saved her house for last, not just for the chocolate, but the love of mischief that had been his standard all these long years. It was tiring work, visiting so many homes in one evening, and if it wasn’t for the folderol of that last house he would have been bored a long time ago. Rose was a conundrum of a human being. Since childhood she had shown a predilection towards the sciences, constantly experimenting with...

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“Open your eyes” by Aboh Pride Akom

Submitted to Contest #87

I open my eyes. I am readying myself for the morning. A golden cheekbone lined by the rising sun, beautiful in its simplicity. I touch it, once, her skin warm under my fingers, a reminder of how alive we are. How young we are. We are teenagers. Our hands are clumsy, too big for our skinny limbs, not sure where to go or what to think. These hands hold pens, and books, and dreams. We discuss the future in vivid colours, full of blossoming hope of what it could hold. Neither of us say it, our lips tied by the thin string of fear, but our dreams...

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“Wicked Girl.” by Dennis Asare

Submitted to Contest #87

There was once a merchant who set out with his wife on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Their daughter, though, they left at home, with an Arab slave girl to keep her company. One evening quite late, the merchant’s daughter and the Arab girl were singing and laughing and dancing about in the upstairs apartment. By accident, the Arab girl knocked over the oil lamp, leaving the young ladies in darkness. “What should we do?” said the merchant’s daughter. “It’s too late to rouse the servants.” “I’ll go out and find a light,” said the Arab girl. “But w...

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“The Depths of Deceit” by Karmissa Ariadne

Submitted to Contest #87

All who entered the caverns were never seen or heard of again. It marked a place of no return and a fate unknown to those who failed to resist its allure. Soft echoes vibrated along the cool rocky walls of the underground tunnels, barely breaking out of the only known entrance. The echoes were haunting in a way that it howled like sad, lost souls but could have easily been a trick of the wind. A small group of locals who lived nearby the cavern had tracked another missing person to its entrance. “Do ye hear that?” Noran said, scratching his ...

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“Let Them Play” by Sjan Evardsson

Submitted to Contest #87

Horace A. Grimwald was, to any casual observer, a serious little man of indeterminate age with comically thick glasses and salt-and-pepper hair. Closer inspection would show that behind his coke-bottle glasses his bright, green eyes were flanked by laugh lines, and the few other wrinkles he had were consistent with someone who smiled a lot more than he seemed to. His employees knew him as a collection of self-contradictions. Horace encouraged his employees to personalize their workspace, but the only decoration on his desk was a hand-carved...

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“Mr. William’s Wandering Bus Service” by ✰ 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐲 𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐞 ✰

Submitted to Contest #87

My thighs cling to the plastic seats of Mr. William’s Wandering Bus Service bus as we swerve around on-coming traffic. I lean closer to the window and look out. I notice the hills slowly leveling out. The terrain repeats itself, field after field. I’m in Kansas. Just eight-or-so more hours of sweating my make-up off, and I will be standing in the air-conditioned hotel. I chew my lip with anticipation. An elderly lady, smelling like floral perfume, sits next to me. I inch sideways and lean closer to...

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“Game” by Sandra Claros

Submitted to Contest #87

In the early days of history, when the earth had no owners or value, God and the devil walked without destiny or care in the vastness of the universe. And now ?, the devil asked God, the one who scratched his hair in the sun with the comets that flew according to the movements of his breathing. I'm already bored, God said, making the stars tinkle in his eyes. Shall we play a little game with these marbles, the asteroids? - asked the devil pointing to the planets of the second dimension with his incandescent arms. ...

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“One year it took me...” by Sambulo Kunene

Submitted to Contest #87

Last year I was the odd one out. My friends planned a huge deal of a fake party to prank me for April Fool's day. Then I did not realize that they were pranking me. I seriously thought that they were planning a surprise party for one of our dear friend who had been asked for a hand in marriage by a lad that we all admired! He lived overseas so it was a big deal to us because we considered him exotic to say the least. So when one day at dinner she had a huge smile on her face and announced his intentions about her and how she accepted his req...

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“96 Percent” by Dalia Navarez

Submitted to Contest #87

“Y’know, if a guy thinks he’s bad even though he’s actually pretty good: he’s an idiot.” Reese took a gulp out of something in a brown paper bag. “But if a guy thinks he’s doing good, even though he’s actually chunking some other guy’s guts out: he’s a freaking vigilante!”He took an A&W can out of the bag, crushed it against a wall, and threw it into a trash can across the hall. The can hit the rim and spinned about a million times before giving up, falling into the empty trash can with a metal clank of brown, syrupy splatter.“Ah, anothe...

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“Just Three” by Anthony David M

Submitted to Contest #87

Soon, the day will arrive, it is thought by some to be a holiday for atheists. Many just play pranks and have a big laugh. Let me recall my escapades of All Fool's Day in the past. I am a gullible girl, and all my friends capitalize on it. One of these years as a student I was focusing on my studies. Our Final exams were due sometime in late April. I got a message from Clara, my friend, and my classmate. "Dear Sheba! Did you hear about the special exam course orientation we have today? Be sure you attend it. It is at 11 am in lecture galle...

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“Gravity” by Steve Cripwell

Submitted to Contest #87

He read the email and a big smile appeared on his face. ‘Now that’s a great idea,’ said James Enfield, the station manager. ‘That will certainly put us ahead of the competition. Show those other radio stations who the top broadcaster is.’ The two men sat at the conference table in his office. Jim spun his laptop around so the other could read the content of the mail. ‘Will it work though?’ his colleague, Mark, was sceptical. ‘It may make us look stupid if it fails to generate interest and I’m certain there are other things being planne...

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“A Favour For The Neighbour” by Barbara Burgess

Submitted to Contest #87

“John?”“What is it Lisa?”“Come and have a look at this post someone has put on Facebook today. It looks as if it is a local man. He says he does not believe in April Fool and so instead he wants to do some good deeds for people for nothing. No charge.”“And?”“Well why don’t we ask him to cut that lawn and clean up all that mess and clean up the yard too. You know it’ll never get done otherwise. Now is a good a time as any, don’t you think?”“I’m not sure.”“Well neither you nor I are fit enough to do it and that’s for sure. We could messag...

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“About Pecht” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #87

Pecht had found over the years that he sometimes lost track of time. He knew that this happened to a lot of individuals. He didn’t think that this happened to a lot of people like himself; because technically, he wasn’t “people”.Now Pecht did not forget anything; ever. It might sometimes take him a moment to speak or act: because he was recalling so much and contemplating so many possibilities, but to outward appearances he could seem somewhat scatterbrained.Pecht was a Pixie. These days, it was exceedingly rare to encounter any sort of bein...

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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.

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

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