Date of Death: April 1st

TW: suicide and graphic horror 

As I dressed myself casually for school, my excitement was consuming; I could not settle the anticipation building in my veins. It was April first, and the prank that I had been planning all year would be epic, so deceptive that everyone would believe it. Then I would laugh at them and reveal the truth: it was just a prank! It was a solid plan.

I threw open the curtains and looked around my room for the fake knife I had bought, but it was out of sight. The fake knife looked so real that it even shined the same way real metal did. It weighed the same as a real knife too, making it basically imperceptible; except if you ran your finger along the blade, you would realize that it was dull and could not cut through anything. Still, it was possible that my mother had mistaken it for a real knife and put it in the dish-washer. She had a habit of picking up stray things and placing them back where they belonged, and it drove me crazy. I thought perhaps it was OCD, or maybe just an impulsive cleaning thing. 

"Nellie! Come on, you're late!" my mother shouted from the front door. She was heading out to the car, waiting for me so that she could drop me off at school. I rushed to the kitchen where I found the knife sitting on a drying rack and grabbed it by the handle. I wrapped it in a towel, stuffing it in my pocket, and then ran to my mother's car, eager to get to school early.

"Planning one of your crazy pranks?" my mother asked. Her green eyes- that mine looked so much alike- twinkled with curiosity and excitement. I smirked and wiggled my eyebrows.

"Of course! It's my April Fool's tradition," I said smugly. My mother just chuckled and shook her head.

“Don’t get in too much trouble.” She pulled out of the driveway and we started driving.

I got to school early, where all the students usually gathered in the cafeteria before the bell rang. I greeted my friends and told them I had a special surprise in order for everyone.

"Ah, your annual April Fools Prank?" one asked. I smirked but said,

"I guess you will have to find out. Who knows if it's a prank or not!" They laughed at me knowingly and patted me on the back.

I stood in the cafeteria, the sounds of meaningless chatter echoing across the large room. There was joy and excitement, despite the fact that the dreaded first period class was only minutes away. I exhaled and stepped up to a table, climbing up so that I was standing on top of it. A few heads turned, but I needed their full attention. I clapped my hands as hard as I could, drawing all attention to myself. The cafeteria seemed to pause, all looking up at me. I put on a pained face, dramatically frowning as I reached into my pocket.

"I hate being alive! You all have made my life a living hell, and I’m done with it!" I shouted at the students. I thought smugly that this was the acting performance of my life. Gasps rippled around the room as I unwrapped the fake knife and pointed it at my own neck. All eyes were now on me, some concerned and some knowing. One of my friends frowned at me, disapproving of my prank. I suppose it was a bit insensitive, maybe even offensive, but there was no turning back now. I offered a tight-lipped frown as my way of apologizing.

"This is what you've made me do!" I accused them all. Some laughed, shouting that it was April Fool's Day after all. Others stepped closer t the table and tried to pull me down. My lips quivered, a smile threatening to break loose. As I made eye contact with one of my laughing friends, I nearly lost it and laughed. I tried to refocus to salvage my performance. The students were starting to lose interest, guessing that it was a prank. Some people flat-out left the cafeteria, while others started to resume their conversations that I had interrupted. I sighed, but was determined to go through with my prank; after all, I had spent a year planning it. 

“Fine. Know this is all your fault, ALL of you!” I drew the knife across my throat but gasped as cold metal cut my skin... In the first millisecond, it merely stung. Something was very very wrong. After another second, I felt hot blood drip down to my chest and I inhaled sharply. Instead of air coming in, my own blood flooded into my lungs. I sputtered, trying to breath normally. Blood splattered out onto the table as I fell to my knees.

The students laughed and yelled at me to give it up. Most of them were not falling for it. Some students looked vaguely concerned, but it was April first; nothing ever happened that wasn't a prank! My disapproving friend shook her head in disappointment and just walked out of the cafeteria. I reached out a desperate hand and tried to call after her, but blood just spurted out of my mouth. I clutched my throat, frantically clawing for air.

“It’s a stage prop! There’s a blood bag inside of it that pops when you press a button!” a student shouted. The rest of the students voiced their agreement. Yes, that was how the stage-prop knife that I had bought worked. Except... The knife I held in my hand was not a prop.

“Yeah! She’s faking a suicide! Real sensitive. You should be ashamed of yourself!” As my vision started to succumb to darkness, it hit me: I had grabbed the wrong knife. The knife fell from my hand and I stumbled off the table. Students screamed as my body lurched forward. I fell on top of a group of students who shoved me off of them hastily.

“Help…me...” I managed to gurgle from the floor, staring up at the gathering faces. Their faces twisted in horror, realization hitting them. A boy picked up the knife and examined it. He quickly dropped it and stared at his shaking hands, now covered in my blood.

Their faces stared at me, waiting for me to laugh and shout "HA! April Fools! Gotcha!" But that did not happen. Then, everything went black.