“Marla,” Jayden tells me. I’m sitting under a tree, reading Little Women, and it’s March. To be specific, March 31st. To you, that date might not mean much, but for me and my brother, that date is sacred. It’s the day before April Fools’.

“Yeah?” I roll my eyes. “You can’t possibly be dumb enough to play a prank on me today, it’s only March 31st.”

“No, it’s not.”

“What?” I ask him, in shock. This can’t be a prank. It’s March!

“Look,” he holds up his phone–since when did he have a phone? “It’s April 1st, 2:18 PM.”

Huh?

“This is a contract that says that we won’t play pranks on each other, but instead, team up and play pranks on other people . . . especially the annoying kids across the street!”

I nod. “Agreed. So . . . do you have a pen?”

“Yup,” Jayden nods. He files through his pockets. He takes out a pencil, crumpled scraps of paper, lint balls, balled-up, tangled string, bits of sticky tape, an eraser, more lint, and a half-dying packet.

I, Jayden Green, hereby promise to take an oath to not play pranks on you, and so does she, Marla Green. Thus, we shall together play pranks on humanity that are not related to us, such as the boiled-potbellied kids across the street that look annoying!

Sign: ______________ Sign: _________________
    
Wow. I sense so much ChatGPT.

He hands me the pen. “You sign first.” This is a trick. When I try to put the pen to paper, a stream of jet-black ink sprays onto my face. “Har!” he crows. “It’s March 31st! You got pranked! The agreement is for April!”

Thankfully, I have tricks up my sleeve. “Okay--You win. Just, go away.” I point to the left.

“You admit it!” he half sings. “I win!” As he walks away, he doesn’t look where he’s going because he’s busy gloating, which means he doesn’t see . . .

“I beat you! Stink bombs, exploding—augh!”

He gets slung up into a net, the trap of mine. “Help!” he flails. “Marla, you’re an alien kidnapper?!”

“No, dummy!”

“Let me out!”

“April Fools’.”