They'll Never Forget This April Fools......

Em woke up to her alarm clock mimicking the twittering of hummingbirds. Her hair, still wound up in tight knots from staying up all night, was  stuck in the bed covers. Yanking them out, wincing, she checked the time on her alarm clock. “April 1st.” she smiled. “Yes.” For the past year, Em had carefully planned a big prank against her horrible foster parents for payback. The time was 5 am, and it was earlier than any of her parents’ wake time. Slipping on her thinly sewed jacket and pulling back her black, bouncing hair she snuck out of the window, on the second floor. Em knew that the way down was long, but she climbed to the other side of the balcony poles, rusted and flimsy, and jumped down onto the roof on the greenhouse, then down onto firm, solid ground that would not quake under her boots. If there was anything that her town, Taicha, was known for, it was for cows. Lots and lots of cows, brown ones, black ones, white ones with splotches, even tie-dye ones! Near the house, there was a green field dotted with specks of flowers, white and yellow, and at that field were cows. Em had lugged down a brown, woven sack of smelly green cow feed to lure the cows in the green house and perhaps even inside the house. The prank however, would most likely result in her smelling like cows for days, maybe even weeks, but that sacrifice would be worth it. Slung across her shoulder were thick, brown, leads that she would colt onto some cows to lead them over to her home. The cottage like home, rimmed with brown plaster the color of a paper bag, was only half a mile away from the long, stretching field. Em ran the length, across the sidewalks, through the narrow back alleys, and even jaywalking across a street road, until she reached the Taicha Cow Farm. Unluckily, there was a tall fence there, twice the size of her and a cow. She frowned, thinking her prank would be all in vain until the wind blew a soft breeze along with a whiff of smoke towards the fence, knocking it down. Turns out the fence was as flimsy as paper, that could be easily knocked over. A smile returned on Em’s face, and she ran into the prairie plains, continuing to run until she saw the speck of black and white cows on the edge of the green rimmed horizon. 

Moo! The cows bellowed through their throats. Em had found the cows, outside of the barn, grazing on trampled grass. Quietly and quickly, she stepped next to one of the cows, removed its dull, gold cowbell and placed it on the compost pile, and started a trail of cow feed.  The cow herd slowly ate down the feed, but their feet started to go faster, and as she nervously sprinkled down feed she hoped the feet wouldn’t trample her as the sun rose higher in the sky. Glancing down at her purple watch, she noticed the time. 6:15, it wrote. Soon enough, her foster’s would wake up and she would be gone, along with a visit from the rude social worker. Hurrying, she stooped down and spilled the feed towards the home. Perfect. She thought to herself. Swiping off the beads of pearly sweat off her forehead, she opened the black, fenced door gate towards the greenhouse, sprinkling the final amount of feed in the sack. Mooooo! The cows bellowed. Arf! Turns out the grayish white sheepdog had followed the cows into the greenhouse. “Oh well,” Em thought. “The more the better, I guess.” The door was just big enough for the slimmer cows to fit through inside the house, so the rest would be inside the greenhouse, knocking down hanging smelly plants and fold-up tables. One of the cows, a rosy red, screeched a moo; Em could hear her foster’s upstairs, starting the day. Ugh! Em thought, stomping her foot and furrowing her eyebrows. If only she had more time, the prank would be more elaborate, but Em figured leading 30 cows into the Cooper’s residence would be prank enough. Em cut open the final bag of cow feed and sprinkled it all over the soft, dirt ground where the cows greedily ate the final mounds of the wheat seed. Em snuck back into the attic, pulled the thin cover over her, and waited.

Maria Cooper groaned. “Has that blasted girl stunk up the house?” she whispered, moaning. Pulling off her face mask, Maria, still in her fluffy slippers, walked downstairs. As she went down the staircase, she could feel a labored breathing, and a very wet nose. Could it be a cow? She thought to herself, No, Maria. That’s clearly ridiculous. “Moooo!” she heard. Oh It’s a cow. She confirmed. “Hammer!” Maria screeched. Hammer Cooper, woken from his not-so-peaceful slumber, stumbled downstairs, to Em’s delight. “What, honey?” he yawned, stretching his arms out, and touching a cow’s nose. “That, honey.” Em giggled as she heard Hammer’s strangled scream. She heard the phone dial a number, and Maria saying, “Hello, Taicha police, this is Maria Cooper.” The police! She didn’t expect the police to be involved! Slowly, she crept out of her den and snuck downstairs. The police were standing right there, along with the social worker. Em’s mouth dropped open. Right there was Officer Melton, a veteran of the force that Em only saw on tv for a kidnapping or fire. She gulped, and stared at the officers, and Maria and Hammer. “You called us because of a cow problem?” Officer Melton asked, scribbling into a small notepad. “Yes, Officer,” Hammer replied in a gravelly voice. “Well, cows got into our home and we don’t know how.” Officer Melton scribbled something more onto his notepad, and motioned to Em. “I believe you have a foster child, correct?” he questioned, adjusting his smart leather blue cap emblazoned with the seal of the Taicha Police Force. “Yes. So?” Maria said, confused on why he asked her. “Well, then,” he brought out the social worker, her face tired, but she forced a smile. “I’m afraid you are not capable of taking care of a child,” the social worker said, “We will have to get Em back. ”Em crossed her arms, not liking the fact she was talked about like a thing. Maria’s stark green eyes bugged out of her head. “Excuse me! I need this girl to pay my bills and taxes that pay your salary! And my contract ain’t ended yet!” she snapped. After she noticed the police officer hush up, she smirked. “Em, go cook breakfast.” Em started to head to the stove, but the social worker interrupted. “Actually,” her pen clicked. “Are you aware that we may rebuke your contract if the real guardian arrives?” Em stopped short in her tracks. “Well,” Maria said, trying not to show any worry, “Her parent figure isn’t here. They’re off in, whatchamacallit, Mexico! De-por-ted!” Maria sounded out the words syllable by syllable. “Oh?” the social worker said. “Deported, you say?” She motioned towards the screen door where her mom stood there, a smile on her face. “Mama!” Em exclaimed, her face brightening like a star. The two rushed in for an embrace that would seem like it lasted forever. “When did you come back?” she whispered. “Just now, dear. I heard about the cows crossing the road!” Em gritted her teeth and looked around. The cows, still there, mooed and chomped moodily ont he flowers. “Mama, this isn’t an April Fool’s Prank?” she asked. “No, dear. Now, let’s get something to do with these cows.”