Never can get away

Lily sat up on her bed. She groaned when she counted the days in her head. Today was the first of April, and Lily was not excited about April fool's day. She never was. Lily's family always spent the day pranking each other. She could not count the number of times she had opened the drawer to get silverware for breakfast, only to find the measuring spoons there instead. Or that her cup of orange juice turned out to be melted butter. Lily glanced at her clock. She was happy to find that she had slept in enough to miss the first wave of pranks. Lily found that most people pranked first thing in the morning. Her family tried to prank her in the morning, hoping that she had forgotten the date. But not this year. This year Lily wouldn't fall for any of their pranks. Lily walked down the stairs slowly, in case her brother had left any April Fool's day surprises. She was relieved to find that she did not have to avoid her family's breakfast prank, as the food was already cleared and the dishes were placed in the sink. Lily pulled out a container of cereal and inspected the box. She found nothing unusual and poured herself a bowl. Lily's brother entered the kitchen just as Lily was washing out her bowl. "Hey Lily," James said, barely paying any attention to her. He was holding a large book in his hands. Lily narrowed her eyes, for James never read. He had always made fun of Lily for being a bookworm. Lily didn't say anything for fear of it somehow being a prank. She walked out into the sunny spring air of her backyard. Her older sister was basking in the grass on a blanket. Lily's sister, Sarah, did not move when Lily sat down on a chair a few feet away. It was warm outside, and Lily began drifting. The warm sun that warmed her skin made her momentarily forget about pranking. Or rather, avoiding being pranked. 

Lily woke suddenly, and she was disoriented until she remembered that she was sitting outside on a sun chair. Over an hour had passed. Lily smiled, for this year's April Fool's day had so far turned out great. Lily got up and returned to the house. The cool air conditioning wafted over her, and Lily decided to paint. Her painting set was in the same position as she left it. Lily was glad to find that no one had thought to set it as a prank. She sat in front of her window and painted a blooming tree in her yard. Lily was finishing the colorful leaves on the tree when a young man walked by. Lily squealed slightly and jumped up. It was Luke. They had been friends for years, but Luke had started dating her when she turned sixteen. Lily hesitated before she opened the door. Luke loved teasing her, and it would be very much his personality to prank her. Luke walked past her house, and Lily didn't care if she ended up covered in green paint. Luke had been on vacation for two weeks, and Lily had not been able to see him. Lily briefly wondered why he had not told her he was home. "Luke!" Lily shouted at his receding back. He turned around, and a large grin spread across his face. Luke wrapped her into a joyful hug. "I have something for you," Luke said, letting go of her and stepping back. He held out a small box. It had light green paper and golden string. Again, Lily hesitated. After all, this was the day that tricking people was more than socially accepted. Luke showed no sign of teasing. She took the small box from him, deciding to take the chance that it was not a prank. Sure enough, when she opened the box, nothing sprayed her or scared her. A petite necklace sat inside. It was silver with an emerald set in the middle. The words "April fools." were engraved onto the medal. Luke watched her pull it out of the box. "It is for you to remind yourself next year that it is April Fools Day," Luke said with a grin. Lily thanked him and placed the necklace over her head. It was an odd time to get a gift, for April Fools Day was not a holiday people usually exchanged gifts. "If I may ask, what is the occasion for this gift," Lily inquired. Luke laughed, "I just thought of you when I saw it." Lily cocked her head, unsure if she should be insulted that her dislike for April Fools Day was known. After all, that would mean he was reminded of her dislike or forgetfulness of April Fools Day. James poked his head out of the window. "Mom wants more help cooking diner," He told Lily and then noticed Luke was standing next to her. He disappeared for a few moments and then returned, "Mom says that Luke can help if he wants to." Luke shrugged and followed Lily into the house. A comforting aroma wafted around the house. The three of them walked into the room, and Lily's mother was cooking pasta. Lily forgot about April Fools Day as she enjoyed spending time with Luke and her family. Luke helped Lily set up the diner outside in the backyard. Lily was slightly embarrassed when her mother insisted that he joined her family for dinner. The group enjoyed their time spent together in the cool spring air. The sun was setting, and Lily realized that she had not been pranked all day. She leaned over to her sister, "Why has no one pranked me all day?" Her sister shot her a confused look. "Why would you be pranked. It is the second of April." James had overheard the conversation. "Did you not realize our prank yesterday?" Lily grew more confused but had no one to turn to for an explanation. Luke decided to clear up the situation. "Yesterday, James reset your alarm clock so that you thought today was the first of April. Everyone agreed to not prank you on the actual April Fools Day." Lily was starting to believe them but was still confused why they would need to reset her alarm clock. Lily's sister helped her. "We all know that you don't like getting pranks on April Fools Day, so we made it so that you didn't have to have an April Fools Day." No one contradicted her, and Lily was starting to believe their story. But, for the rest of the night, Lily half expected someone to shout: April Fools!!!