The Last Joke

Rex arrived at the office early, two days before Aril 1st, 'day of fools' he thought to himself, as he put his briefcase down and his lunch tucked away in the top drawer. He'd been working for the company for 3 years now. A shy man, well groomed, quiet, kept mostly to himself, his nose dusted with freckles and hair as blond as the sun sparkles. The small local newspaper was an ideal place for Rex, as a copy editor's assistant, he did well for himself, and lived at home with his mother, whom he helped with bills and providing a home care worker to do chores for them. Rex preferred his life that way, yes, he supposed a 'mama's boy' as his colleagues often teased him. Even during middle school and college he was teased and rather bullied to some degree, nothing dangerous or physically hurting him, but he was the target of the 'pretty boy' syndrome.

"Ok, ma, off to work now, pay mind to Clarissa today and please don't give her too much attitude." He kissed Nora on her nose, who sat in her big comfy chair, eyes half open half closed, her cotton dress a size too big. Nora lost a lot of weight after her last mild stroke, the doctor putting her on a strict diet.

"I have to eat rabbit food all day, who wouldnt be so cranky, I'm hungry for a cheeseburger and fries." Nora grumbled, watching her son picking up his briefcase and waving her goodbye for the day, she would be so bored usually, missing his companionship. He was a good boy, he took good care of her, she had noone now that Jimmy passed away the year before, the house so empty and silent except for Rex.

"Maybe I am going to get you a service dog, something small to keep you company." He would tell her at supper. He loved her so much, he would do anything to ensure her happiness.

"I don't know about that, I cant handle too much stress, what if it yaps all day long?" Nora argued, eyeing her boring salad, staring up at her tasteless. How she craved a good meal of meat and potatoes!!!

"Well, that's the chance we have to take with dogs, but it might be good for you." And so the argument always stayed until Rex got up from the table to help with the dishes.

"Morning Rex, here's the layouts for today, how's your mama?" Tom Wilks the head editor asked him, placed the files on his desk.

"She's good thank you, thinking of getting her a service dog to keep her company while I am at work." Rex replied as he took the file. He sensed something today but couldnt quite place his finger on it. The office was quieter than usual, even though it was after 8 am.

"That's a good thing, it would do her good." Tim answered, shifting his feet, almost shuffling. He was nervous and for good reason, he almost felt like saying something to Rex but he couldn't - if the secret came out he would be fired, he hated the staff but he needed the job and it paid well enough.

At lunch, the bell rang, like school thought Rex as he began to walk to the lunchroom to get water and tea. As he passed the copy room he heard voices talking, the door was wide open and they were loud, probably louder than they thought they would be, four of the staff members, Howard, Paul, Jenn, and Frank.

"Ok, so we do the plan first thing Friday morning, OMG, I cant wait to see the look on his face." Jenn pitched in laughter, Rex didnt really like her at all, thought her too arrogant for her own good. Jenn was the secretary and had been since the company started.

"I think this is the best ever we have done so far. It's harmless enough right?" Piped in Frank, a short man with a round face.

"Oh yeah it's harmless, dont worry, it's just a joke, April fools after all. Rex needs to lighten up and have a good laugh. " Howard added.

"We sound the fire alarm at ten am, when everyone is working away, we stay at our desks and Rex will be the only one leaving the building, the fire truck alarm sounds will come off Franks' computer." Jenn finished, and at that Rex left and went back to his desk. They all came back in, acting as if nothing was going on.

'April fools huh.' Rex thought angrily as he looked around at his colleagues acting like nothing was going on. "I will show them who's the big fool." He muttered to his screen.

That night Rex concocted a plan. They wanted to pull a joke on him? Ok, fine, we will see who's going to pull a joke on who.

April fools day came, Rex arrived earlier than usual. The janitor was already cleaning so the main door of the building was still open.

Rex had spent half the night in preparation of revenge. He knew what he had to do. First, the fake spiders in the coffee pots and Jenn's mug, it had her name on it so that was too easy. Next, he took two cans of silly string and sprayed it all over Frank's chair, making a huge mess of it, oh boy, won't Frank be surprised, April Fool's buddy, Rex laughed as he sprayed the colorful mess. He then proceeded to his next prank. He hacked into Howards' computer and posted naked women all over his background screen saver. Haha, take that u perv, he never liked Howard either, grubby little wierdo. Click, the screen saver was saved, naked women deal done.

Finally, the last prank on Paul, the office jock, thought he was the woman man of the year. For Paul, Rex took a bottle of crazy glue and spread it all over his chair, Frank would stuck to it, painful. No way out, Rex was clever. And the last deed for the morning.

Rex typed a one page letter, it was almost 8;45 am now, the gang would be starting to arrive soon, he had to hurry. He was handing in his resignation, he would find another job, he didnt want to work here any longer. He had been offered work at the Beer factory, and he would take the job there instead. He placed the letter on Tom's desk and as he left he could see Jenn's red Toyota driving into the parking lot, he didnt care anymore about them. So long suckers.