The April Fool 6

by RenaYumi

It's chaos, it's havoc, it's mayhem, it's...! Not happening. It's April First, and Odd's seemingly vanished. No one knows what to expect, but they all know one thing--whatever is coming, it's going to be big.

Final Author's Note: Welcome to Six- The final story in our beloved AF series. The Fool's curtain call. Thank you to all my loyal readers who have been on this journey with me since The April Fool, back when we didn't have a clue what we were starting, but we did it anyways. It's been such a ride, and such a rush. This series has made me grow as a writer over the past six years and I believe it's finally time to move on to new things. So now, we ask that you all enjoy! Revisit old pranks, watch as the characters shake in anticipation, and lose yourselves in Six.

This story was cowritten with the wonderful KittyClaw. Read her stories.

Dedication: To Snowprincessmossy for winning our contest and being amazing. Go read her stories, too. And to Kat, because I love her and feel like dedicating everything to her. I love you!

---

First Day of April:

Ulrich, 4:32 am, Blanket fort on the floor of Odd and Ulrich's room.

Dear Diary,

So far, there has been no movement from The Purple Jackas--Fool. But that doesn't mean annything. I'm sure he's hiding a few tons of pudding...somewhere. I've already checked the closet, dressers, and both of our beds, but so far nothing's turned up. And no matter how many times I ask, Kiwi isn't talking. So I've decided to stake out the room tonight, in hopes that Odd would make his move during the night. No luck there, which probably means he has an accomplice. I'm thinking Jeremie, if only because no one would see it coming.

Except me.

I'm on to you Odd.

Ulrich, 4:47 am, the blanket fort.

Diary, I see moveme—oh wait. He's just rolling over.

Never mind.

Ulrich, 5:53 am, the fort still.

Diary, we have a problem. I'm out of energy drinks. And I still haven't figured out where Yumi hid my coffee.

What should I do?

Kiwi's still not talking.

Ulrich, 6:32--wait. It's 6:33. 6:33 am. Fort.

Ugh.

Ulrich, 7:30 am. The floor of the blanket fort.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

What is that annoying...? Oh, wait. It's the alarm clock. Why does that thing always have to wake me up when I least wa--

It woke me up. The alarm clock woke me up.

I fell asleep.

This is not good.

Flinging myself from the blanket fort, I started scanning the room frantically, in search of whatever poisonous snakes or lit firecrackers Odd had left hidden about the room. Yelping, Kiwi leapt out of the way as I hopped about, certain I was going to find the end of something explosive strapped to my ankles. When nothing made its self immediately apparent, I rummaged frantically for our one cleaning device--the still wrapped broom in the corner--and used it to shove my blanket fort out of the way, certain it was concealing something dastardly.

To my surprise, it seemed that the blankets were hiding nothing.

Pfft.

Climbing carefully onto my desk, I continued searching the blankets for any sign of my roommate's mischief. A roommate who, oddly enough, was already out of the room and gone. I only took a brief moment to consider this before deciding that Odd's lack of presence was clearly a distraction, to keep me from noticing something—anything—amiss.

I would not be fooled again.

I kept searching.

Jeremie, 8:00 am, The floor of Yumi's University Dorm.

Morning sunlight streaming in through Yumi's window woke me gently from my sleep—the first gentle, non-terror filled wakeup call I had received in five years.

Five long, painful, prank filled years.

There was no slime, no lace, no loud noises, no bucket of cold water- there was not even the sound of an alarm clock signaling the beginning of what was sure to be a long, dreadful day. There was just sunlight and the light sounds of Yumi breathing. I stretched, reaching above my head for my glasses. Nothing was even on fire.

"Yumi," I whispered, glancing up at the girl tangled up in her sheets. She didn't stir. "Yumi." I tapped her shoulder lightly and she groaned.

"What?" Only it was more like 'uht' muffled against her pillow.

"It's April first."

"Uh huh."

"We're safe!"

"Go to sleep Jeremie." I frowned. Wasn't she elated? Odd wasn't here. Odd. Wasn't. Here. She should be leaping about, cheering and thanking whatever gods might be listening for this one in a million blessing.

An annoyed sound from across the room drew my attention abruptly. I could feel the grin creeping across my face.

Yumi might be impervious to this moment of brilliance, but her roommate. She would certainly understand the blessing that had been bestowed upon us. Crawling across the small space on my hands and knees—which was really more like just turning around to face the other direction—I reached up and gently tapped Yumi's roommate on the cheek.

Nina's eye popped open, looking about wildly for a moment before focusing on me.

She blinked, and for a long second, we just stared at one another. Then—

"YUMI!" Nina bellowed, flinging herself away from me. "YUMI, THERE'S SOMEONE IN OUR ROOM!"

"Hmm," Yumi mumbled sleepily.

"BOY. IN. OUR. ROOM," Nina shrieked.

"Mhmm," Yumi hummed. "This is Jeremie." She rolled over just enough to look at Nina. "I told you about Jeremie." She then rolled back over, pulling her blanket over her head as she did.

"Oh, umm," Nina glanced down at me. "Hi, Jeremie," she said, waving awkwardly. I did my best to smile politely.

"Odd's not here," I informed her. She blinked.

"Are you sure?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow, "Because this seems pretty odd to me." Yumi sighed.

"Forgive him, Nina. He's mentally unstable on April first. He's never been away from our high school before."

"Hey," I protested. "I was sharing good news! Odd is not here and I, for one, am ecstatic!" She reached a hand out from her sheets, I assume for me, and made a grabbing motion with her fingers.

"Leave Nina alone. She's never met Odd and you're scaring her."

"She would be more afraid if Odd was here," I informed her darkly. Nina shrunk back against the wall a little further.

"Odd isn't coming, too, is he Yumi?" she asked. Yumi shook her head, not lifting it from her pillow.

"Both of you sleep now." How could anyone sleep? We should be celebrating. Dancing even. This is a big fucking deal. "I'm not kidding, Jer," Yumi growled.

"Fine," I muttered, rolling over and falling back into bed. So what if I was the only one who seemed to appreciate this moment? At least someone was.

Aelita, 8:05 am, her dorm at Kadic.

I woke with a start, jolted awake by the nagging feeling that I needed to be awake for something important. Something very important. But what could that be—?

"Odd!" I shrieked as realization dawned on me. I leapt to my feet, staying on my mattress as I surveyed the room for any sign of Odd's misdeeds. Just a tiny blob of slime, a single thread of silly string, a pen lying somewhere I hadn't left it; anything could be a piece of one of the king prankster's fiendish plots.

But there was nothing. Not one molecule out of place in the entire dorm. But how could that be? He wouldn't have completely skipped over me. I mean, I do enjoy some of his more harmless plans and he knows that positively. He wouldn't let me get through my morning completely unscathed. That would just look suspicious. People would wonder if I was in on his pranks this year again.

But he's told me nothing. And Ulrich as far as he's told me. Not even a hint when usually he's bursting at the seams to share every detail of his brilliance.

And it's a known fact that when Odd doesn't share his plans with you, it's because you are the plan.

It was as well known as the fact that the longer it took for his prank to strike, the more horrible it would be.

I paused. Wow. That sounded ominous.

I glanced down at the floor one more time before carefully getting down off my bed. Maybe my prank was in the closet. I padded across the room, throwing open the doors in a dramatic fashion, bracing myself for whatever mayhem was to come. And again, there was no mayhem. Frowning, I decided to check the next most likely prank place—my desk. Creeping towards it slowly, I carefully snagged the drawer handle and, bracing for impact, jerked it open.

Again, nothing. This wasn't right. After five years, I was sure Odd had decided that his closest friends needed to be targeted early on, or else we would have time to prepare a counter attack.

Something was wrong. So very, very wrong.

And then it occurred to me—this was a rare opportunity, and I was wasting it away searching my room for traps that had yet to be laid. What I should be doing is gathering forces and mounting a counter attack before it was too late. In a frenzied rush, I dashed about my room, gathering up anything and everything within reach and cramming it into my backpack. I didn't even bother getting dressed—I could do that when I was somewhere safe.

Checking my room one last time for anything that might be rigged to my door, I deemed myself safe and, after snatching up my phone, I made a break for the hallway. I then hauled ass down the corridor, heading for the stairs that would take me one floor down, to where Ulrich was undoubtedly facing his first prank of the day.

I can only hope he is still unscathed when I get there.

Jim, 8:10 am, a janitor's closet on the third floor of the dorms.

I can see him. He's just standing there. Pretending to be innocent. But I'm on to him! I know he's up to something, but he won't catch me off guard this year. I know that it's his Senior year and he has something horrendous planned. Something huge. Something unthinkable- unthinkable. Probably involving spiders.

Yeah.

But he won't get old Jimbo this year. I'm no fool. And I've shut off my cell phone so Delmas can't find me. I'm safe. As long as the janitor doesn't come in here, I can stay hidden within this little closet all day long. And I plan to. I'll stay in here until midnight if I have to.

He won't get me this year. He won't.

Herve, 8:12 am, the stairs of the dorms.

Hmm, I should probably get working on that algebra homework...or maybe history? Or maybe some of my own work instead of Sissi's...

Wait. Wait, what is that? I think I hear someone coming. But who would be up this early in the mornin--blonde hair. Blonde hair and purple pants and I need to get out of here before he sees me! Oh gosh, he's getting closer, I can hear him coming, I need to hide! But where can I hide on a stair case? Maybe behind this wall? No, he'll see me when he comes around this corner so maybe I should just go and--

"Hey, Herve."

Shit.

"Uh, hey Odd," I mutter, turning and looking up at Odd, who is standing a few steps above me. He's looking down at me in confusion. Obviously a front, of course, to hide what he's trying to trick me with. I bet it's pudding. I bet he has a big bowl of it behind his back, and he's just waiting for me to look away. Or spiders. I bet he's got a bunch of fucking spiders in his pockets.

"So," Odd says, glancing around me. He's checking to see if there's anyone around to stop him, I know he is. "What are you up to?"

That's it. It's his trap line, I know it is. He's trying to lure me into a false sense of security with his idle chit-chat. But I'm smarter than him. I'm not going to let him get the best of me.

Not again.

"I'm on to you!" I bellow, pointing at Odd and then, without taking my eyes off of him, sprinting past him up the stairs, taking them three at a time. I keep going, even when he's long out of sight.

Sissi's homework can wait until after my life is no longer at risk.

Timothy, 8:16 am, at the door to the dorms.

You know, when I woke up this morning I was worried about today--what with it being the day that shall not be named--but so far things seem to be going pretty well. I'd gotten all the way from my dorm to the locker rooms and back without so much as a leaf falling on me. I can see the dorm building up ahead of me now, looking all safe and secure as I approach. Once I go lock myself in my room, I'll be completely safe from Odd for the rest of the day.

Hey, I can see the door opening. I wonder who else would be up at this hour. Maybe someone else from my team? I bet Ulrich left his shin guards in his locker too. What a dor--

I'm throwing myself into the bushes before I even finish the thought. Twigs scratch me and leaves catch in my hair, but I don't care, hurrying to finish hiding myself as Odd exits the building I was just heading for. I watch him carefully as he walks past, lugging, of all things, a book bag. I know for a fact there's no books in there. He's obviously taking advantage of the early morning to go and set up a prank without anyone being awake to interfere.

I watch Odd as he walks by, and I keep following him until he vanishes around the side of a building. It looks like he's heading for the...

The library? This can't be good.

Taking the time to return to my room is no longer an option. It looks like this bush is going to have to be my sanctuary for the time being.

...I hope someone with food walks by soon.

Yumi, 8:45 am, Dorm.

Jeremie won't stop opening the door and laughing. I think Nina is officially petrified of him.

"Why is he doing that?" she asked, hidden partially behind me as I brush my teeth. I leaned out of the cramped bathroom to check on the blonde genius.

"Don't pay too much attention to him. It's not his fault. You should meet my other friend." Nina looked confused.

"But your boyfriend seemed so normal."

"Jer, stop playing with the door," I yelled, banging the extra water off my tooth brush. "Show Nina how normal you can be." Jeremie sighed, looking dejectedly at the door.

"I'm sorry. It's just... the door!" He gives a week gesture back at the door.

"I know, there's no buckets of slime."

"Slime?" Nina questioned, peering out from behind me.

"Don't ask," I sighed. We shuffled around until she was in front of the sink and I was by the door. "Jeremie, are you hungry? There's cereal if you're hungry, or we could go out for breakfast." I took my phone off its charger and checked my messages.

"Breakfast?" he chirped.

"After I call Ulrich," I promised. I speed dialed him and listened to it ring while Jeremie sat down in my desk chair, trying to control his behavior.

"Hello?" There's a strange silence from Ulrich's end after his greeting.

"Hey, Ul. How's the chaos?"

"He escaped."

"You sound a little like Jer this morning."

"What? Hmm, I should probably check under the mattress…" I blinked at the phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked, Jeremie looked slightly alarmed and Nina was inching out of the bathroom, trying to go unnoticed.

"There aren't any pranks yet, Yumi. I'm scared."

"No pranks?" I echoed.

"I have to go. If I don't make it? I want you to know that I love you."

"I love you, too, Ulrich but-" He hung up on me before I could even ask what he was talking about. So much for my normal April First.

Ulrich, 8:46 am, atop his desk in his dorm.

Hanging up my phone, I shove it back in my pocket, making sure it's somewhere where it won't accidentally fall out. I don't want to lose it, in case I need to call Yumi for backup later on in the day. That, or the fire department. Whichever comes first.

Turning my focus back to the room at large, I continue knocking things around with my broom, trying to uncover every possible hiding place and trigger any hidden levers, trip wires, or hidden buckets of pudding. Kiwi is taking shelter in his drawer, letting my create chaos with the rest of the room.

I'm in the middle of trying to upend Odd's mattress with the bristled end of the broom from three feet away when I hear a knock at the door. Immediately I'm on alert. Clearly it's Odd, out to try and get me; trying to trick me into stepping down onto a trap laced floor or into opening a rigged door. So I stay where I am, waiting and listening, figuring he'll eventually go away. And I know he will, because he's not going to outlast me. I'll stay on top of this desk all day if I have to.

"Ulrich?"

Aelita?

"Ulrich, are you in there?" Aelita's whispering. I wonder why. "Ulrich, if you're in there then please open the door." I'm not sure. She could be also trying to get me. After all, it's not like this year would be the first time she's teamed up with Odd in their pranking madness.

Remaining perched on the desk, broom at the ready, I hear Aelita sigh. Everything goes quiet, and I wonder if maybe she's slunk off, gone to go and try to prank some other unsuspecting fool.

My phone vibrating in my pocket startles me so badly that I fall off of the desk completely, landing hard on the ground. "Ow," I mutter, dazed.

"...Ulrich, I hear you in there," Aelita says flatly. Groaning, and knowing I'm caught, I climb to my feet and, broom held out before me, creep over to the door. Grabbing the knob, I count silently to three in my head and then, with a deep breath, jerk the door open (almost hitting myself in the face with it in the process).

"There you are!" Aelita gasps, and then she shoves her way into my room without so much as a "good morning." This is assuring, actually. If she were trying to prank me, then she would be doing everything she could to put me off guard.

"What's wrong?" I ask, still wary. She turns towards me, and I notice she's still dressed in her pajamas.

"Something's up, I--is that a broom?" she asks, raising an eyebrow at me. I blink at her, and then turn my attention to the broom in my hand.

"Uh, yeah," I say, suddenly sheepish as I toss the cleaning instrument aside. "I'm just a little...nervous this morning. Odd left while I was sleeping, and he hasn't told me anything about what he has planned today. Do you know anything?" It's a long shot, Aelita sharing Odd's pranks with me, but it's worth a try.

"No, I don't," Aelita sighed. "I was kind of hoping you did." I frowned.

"This isn't good," I say, scratching my head. "If he hasn't told you, and he hasn't told me, then that means whatever he has planned, it's going to get us."

"And with this being his last year," Aelita adds, "we know it's going to be something big." I nod in agreement.

"What should we do?" I ask. Aelita gives me a solemn look.

"We run," she says simply. "We run and never look back."

Milly, 9:00 am, court yard.

I started working for Kadic's news when I was in the 5th grade- a trainee. A gopher. A baby. Now, as we're getting closer to the end of 11th grade, Tamiya and I run the news. We're chief editors. We pick the stories and decide if the articles are good or not. Why is this relevant? I'm sure you're wondering. Today is April First. It is our biggest news day of the year. Nothing bigger ever happens at Kadic, not even exams. Everyone knows it. This year we ran stories all week about how to get food coloring off of skin, what to do if you get trapped in a storage closet, and what the number for poison control is.

We, as Chief Editors, were preparing the student body for war.

A war that, for the past nine hours, has not existed. No smoke screens, fire alarms, flying dummies, nothing! The tip line we set up for this day has only lead to three separate Fool Sightings and we got one email that was a false alarm about the school's eggs. But no pranks.

I've had my camera in my hand for nine hours. I have prowled dark hallways and broken the lock to get onto the roof. I have gone through two pots of coffee by myself and I have had to charge my phone already from all the texts messages Tamiya has been sending me from the other side of the campus. She's at just as much of a loss as I am.

I am not a rookie journalist. I've been doing this for six years. So why is it, on the biggest news day of the year, I cannot get a single story? Not one water balloon? Not one bottle of super glue?

Kadic is as calm as a Sunday morning. It is as quiet as the middle of the summer with the students all at home. There is no chaos.

Where is my damn chaos?!

I just want some screaming. Some panic. People running for their lives and brightly colored slime raining down from the heavens. Is that so much to ask for?

Yolanda, 9:03 am, the infirmary.

This is it. Today. The day that only comes once a year. And yet, it is on this day that I see more children filing through my doors than I do the entire rest of the year. It's April First, and it's the day that brings in my yearly bonus.

Ever since the arrival of a certain Odd Della Robbia to this school, I've found this day to be the one that, not only brings in the most patients, but also the most bizarre. It had been harmless enough at first--a few children with food coloring dyed skin who were just worried about how to get it off. But now it's like having a plague hit the school, one that only lasts twenty four hours and seems incapable of effecting blonds with too much hair gel.

And so, as with every year, I open up a twenty four hour availability. I've got everything I need stock piled--tons of bandages and ice and industrial cleaners that it's ridiculous. The coffee is percolating, I've got a few back up nurses on call, and I've even made Jim help me get a few extra beds in here, just in case. All prepared for this terrible day.

At least, I think it's today.

Usually by now I've had something, be it harmless of otherwise. A girl with slime stuck in her hair, a boy who's convinced he's digested something deadly, a teacher having a nervous breakdown.

Checking my calendar, I assure myself that, yes, it is April First, that day of days. And yet, nine hours into this fateful day, and I still have no patients. Honestly, I can't decide if this is a good thing or bad. The optimist in me is saying that it means that, after five years of terror, Odd has finally quit his reign of madness.

The pessimist in me says I'm being an idiot and all this means is that, by the end of the day, a building will have burned down.

Something tells me this is going to be a long day.

Emily, 9:15 am, Spanish IV.

People are staring. I mean, you'd think I'd be used to people staring. People stare a lot. Well, not so much anymore. But after April of last year people stared a lot. Students stared. Teachers stared. Jim stared. Everyone stared. I was convinced the trees were staring at me. It was obnoxious. Yes. I was/am dating Odd Della Robbia. Shock and awe. Gasp. Dramatics.

It's not like I meant for it to happen.

But what is, is, and the population of Kadic needs to deal with it.

And they need to stop staring. I mean, yes, I played along and helped him before, but we're seniors now. We need to grow up and start acting like adults. We're going out into the world next year. We don't have time for running around pranking our classmates.

I'm his girlfriend. Not his partner in crime, anyways. It's not like I can put a shock collar on him and get him to do whatever I want-- Hey, now. That's not a terrible idea. That could be a useful study tool, too. Hmmm...

Anyways, the staring needs to stop. I don't know what he's done so far today, but I know I haven't been involved, included, informed, or targeted. So, there is no reason for Emily!staring today. Please return to your previously scheduled lesson plans. Besides that I haven't even seen Odd today. He wasn't at breakfast, so who knows what he's up to. I don't even know if he's on school grounds. Sure, Milly and Tamiya's news page online said he was spotted on campus, but who knows how accurate that is.

I just want to learn Spanish and not be stared at. Well, ok, I don't actually want to learn anymore Spanish today, but I'd settle for the latter.

Ulrich, 9:21 am, the hallway of the dorms.

Aelita and I have found a safe place to hide--the janitor's closet. Oddly enough it's the second one me and Aelita tired to get into. The first door was locked, and when I suggested that we pick the lock, something started banging around inside. We of course realized it was one of Odd's pranks, waiting for us to get the door open so we could be covered in spiders and silly string, and quickly took off running as fast as we could in the other direction.

And now, after a little more searching, we've found a suitable place to hide. After taking advantage of the total darkness to get changed, we got settled and pulled out Aelita's laptop. It took only a few clicks for Aelita to get to the school news's website (we all have it bookmarked by now, for times like this) and then we were checking out the website's main page. It had exactly what we were looking for--the yearly Odd Watch. This was where Milly and Tamiya posted all of the Odd sightings they got, not matter what they were--there was no telling where that boy would show up next, and in all honesty, no place was too extreme for Odd.

Strangely, this year, there was only one sighting posted. It was from an anonymous text, someone saying they had seen Odd heading for the library.

I take back what I previously said--no place is too extreme for Odd, except the library.

"That can't be true," Aelita mutters, echoing my thoughts.

"I agree," I tell her. "And that's the only one."

"Which means we have no idea where Odd could be," Aelita finishes for me. I nod. We both sit for a moment in silence.

"So," I drawl, glancing her way. She sighs.

"I don't know," she says with a shrug. "I was kind of hoping we could plot some kind of counter strike, but we can't do that if we don't even know where Odd is." Now it's my turn to sigh, slumping against the wall.

"Now what?" I ask. "If Milly and Tamiya can't find Odd, how are we supposed to?"

"Can't you guess?" Aelita asks me. "You're his best friend, right? Don't you have any idea where he might go?" I roll my eyes.

"I may be smart," I say, ignoring the way Aelita stifles a laugh, "but I'm not that smart. I don't think we know anyone who is." Aelita's eyes go wide, and she suddenly grins at me.

"Yes, you do," she says, now practically bouncing. "Jeremie!" Grabbing her backpack, she rumages through it, tossing random items left and right until she finally produces her cell phone. Hitting the speed dial, she shoves it to her ear, muttering impatiently as it rings. "Jeremie!" she shouts once he answers, "Jeremie, I have a question for you!...No, it's not about the math homework. Me and Ulrich have a problem. We don't know where Odd is, and we were wondering if you...Jeremie? Hello?" Pulling a face, Aelita pulls the phone away from her.

"What?" I ask, watching her stare at the phone.

"I...I think he hung up on me." We share a confused look.

"Why would he do that?"

Anthony, 10:00 am, Kadic Residence.

I know what you're thinking. I graduated last year. What possible interest could I have with Milly and Tamiya's Fool Sightings website. Don't judge me. I always got a kick out of some of Odd Della Robbia's pranks--some of them mind you. There were years, instances, where he got more than carried away. And don't even get me started on that one Halloween. I'm sure there are children still having nervous breakdowns when October rolls around.

But I digress. I just can't help myself. I want to see what's going on. Who's being targeted. Where all the chaos is. I'm a naturally curious person. Being friends with Yumi Ishiyama gave me a front row seat for the past few years at the greatest show at Kadic.

I'm actually a little sad that I had to graduate the year before Odd's grand finale.

So that's why I'm checking Fool Sightings. It would be an absolute shame to miss the show and the news girls are usually the best ones to hear it from if you can't see it firsthand. But no dice. No luck. Nothing! Not a single valid prank.

'Ping!'

...Prank?!

It seems someone has pulled the fire alarm! Finally, something good. This is what I'm talking about. There will be goo machines and children crying and chaos and--

'False Alarm'?!?

No! Odd had to have pulled that alarm. He's ... giving them false hope! Aww, come one guys. This is such a waste of an afternoon with no classes. Where's the chaos? Milly's going to have a heart attack.

Timothy, 10:26 am, the bush.

When the fire alarm goes off, at first I'm not sure what to do. I'm afraid to leave the protection of my bush, but at the same time if there really is a fire, then I can't stay hidden in something so...flammable. Luckily, I'm saved from having to decide whether I'm going to sacrifice safety from Odd over safety from burns by Mr. Delmas, the principals voice echoing over the school wide P.A. system.

"Students and Staff of Kadic," he says, "this is a false alarm. We're testing the alarm system. Please excuse the interruption."

There are groans from the younger kids who have traipsed outside as they turn back towards the buildings they had just left, and relieved sighs from the older kids who had assumed the worst (something along the lines of buckets of paint rigged up over the school grounds, I'm sure). Watching everyone slink back inside, I wonder for a moment if I should take my chance. If I slip in with a group heading for the dorms I should be able to make it safely back to my room. Safety in numbers, right?

But...what if this is a prank? One that Odd somehow got Delmas in on? I know it seems like a long shot, but it's plausible. After all, Odd's done crazier since his arrival at this school. And there's no reason that he should back down now.

No, no, I finally decide. No matter how cunning he is, Odd would never be good enough to get the principal to assist him in attacking the student body. This must be a ligit drill. My best bet would be to take advantage and get back into the building and my room.

Nodding resolutely, I gather up the shin guards I went to get from the locker room in the first place and scan through the bushes to find a clump of students to join.

There are none. While I was busy trying to decide Delmas's innocence, all of the students who had been chased out by the alarm (few in number that they were) had all returned to where ever they'd come from, leaving me once more alone.

Sighing, I slump into the bush, dropping my shin guards back to the ground.

This is going to be a long day.

Nina, 10.31 am, At Breakfast.

After Yumi convinced Jeremie that his girlfriend who called him was not actually calling to prank him, we headed off to breakfast. Well, almost lunch. Jeremie is actually pretty normal when he's not opening doors over and over and kicking bushes.

Yeah, he kicked a bush.

And then he made Yumi lick his fork because he didn't believe it was safe. The weirdest part? She actually licked it. My roommate is stranger than I ever knew.

Nicole, 10:32 am, Office.

The alarms work, and the children were able to escape the building in the quickest amount of time that we've ever been able to record. I'm impressed, and I have hope that there might be hope for today. Odd hasn't been able to get into the new alarm system and so far there aren't any signs of pranks or tampering.

At least we think. We still can't find Jim.

"Nicole?" Mr. Delmas called from his office.

"Yes, sir?"

"Anything...?" he asked, leaning over his desk. I shook my head.

"Nothing yet, Mr. Delmas." He sighed, worry all over his face.

"Thank you, Nicole." I think we both know where this day is going.

The Kadic librarian, 10:40 am, library.

It's strange--usually April First entails quite a slew of students cramming themselves between the shelves of the library, if only because they know this is the one place the prankster king will not set foot. But this year, this year it's empty. Only one student is here, someone I didn't see come in, sitting in the back of the room studying something. One of those children who live for their school work, I'm sure. Probably Herve or Nicholas doing Sissi's homework. Even April Fool's day isn't enough to scare them out of serving their mistress.

But I digress.

As I said, every year the library is the one place the student body likes to hide because it is the one place Odd Della Robbia is afraid to touch. But this year there is nothing.

Could it be that Odd has set up a prank here too? Surely he's not so stupid as to not notice where everyone goes to hide from him. Like a cat lying in wait near a pile of spilled grain, I'm certain he's simply waiting to strike at the place where everyone will feel most safe.

I think I'll be taking a long lunch break today.

Aelita, 11:00 am, the dorm building's closet.

Ulrich's stomach growls loudly, the sound echoing in the dark closet. A few seconds pass, and then mine responds in kind. This has been going on for quite some time now, and despite how hard Ulrich and I have tried to ignore it, it finally needs to be addressed.

"Ulrich," I say slowly, turning to look at him by the light of my laptop screen. Judging by his expression, he knows what's coming.

"Yes?" he asks anyway. I sigh sadly.

"I'm hungry." I say it like some kind of deep, dark and guilty admission. And really, it is, because of the part I'm not saying. 'I'm hungry, so we need to leave our safe closet.'

"Me too," he says, looking down at his stomach, which grumbles back at him. "But where can we go?" He doesn't need to say that the cafeteria isn't a safe choice. That much has been made clear from previous years.

"It's too bad we can't go off campus," I say, tapping idly at my computer keys.

"And never come back," Ulrich mutters. I laugh.

"We could go join Yumi and Jeremie."

"Lucky jerks," Ulrich says. I nod in agreement.

"Okay," I say, shutting my laptop as my stomach gives a truly spectacular growl. "We can't keep sitting here all day. We have to go get food."

"But what if there's a prank waiting for us?"

"We'll just have to be careful," I say. "Just a quick in and out, without lingering long enough to set off any traps. I'll be like going for a tower," I add. "No standing around long enough for Xana's monsters to attack us." Ulrich considers this for a moment, then nods slowly.

"We can do this," he says. I think he's trying to assure himself more than me.

"Yes, we can," I tell him as I stuff my laptop away. Standing up, I reach for the knob to the closet door and, very carefully, I turn it and inch the door open.

"How's it look?" Ulrich asks nervously. I look left and right, but I only see William a little ways down the hall, leaving the showers with a towel wrapped around his waist. He doesn't appear to be colored green, and his hands aren't glued to his hair.

"Good," I whisper, surprised. "Very...normal."

"That can't be good," Ulrich decides. I agree, but I don't say so. We can't start psyching ourselves out before we've even gotten out of the closet.

"Ready?" I ask, shouldering my bag as I give the hallway a final once over.

"Ready." I nod, and pull the door open the rest of the way.

"Let's go."

Milly, 11:30 am, News Room.

I just refreshed my email for the tenth time. Wait. 'Click' Eleventh. There's nothing. Absolutely nothing. No one can find Odd Della Robbia. No one knows where Jim is. Ulrich and Aelita have only been spotted briefly running to get food and Emily Leduc has been in classes all morning.

Even Sissi has been low key. Yes, that's right, Senior, Elizabeth Delmas has been as quiet as any other normal person today. I feel like I've fallen into an alternative reality. One where there is no chaos and absolutely no stories for a Chief Editor to write.

What good is a Chief Editor with no stories?

'Click'

Still nothing.

"Milly?" I look up from where I'm laying on my desk.

"Tamiya! Tell me you have something." She waves her camera at me, free hand waving frantically. "Oh my god! Tam, show me!" She runs over, fumbling with the buttons before turning the screen for me to see.

"Look!" she declares proudly.

"…what?" On the little display screen is a leaf. "What do I see?"

"A leaf!" she shouts.

"Yes." I confirm. "So?" She looks nervous.

"Uhm, it looked suspicious." I sigh, handing her back the camera, and put my head down on the desk.

Ulrich, 11: 12 am, the Kadic dorms.

Using the handle of a mop I kept from the closet me and Aelita were hiding in, I carefully push open the door to the dorms from a safe distance away. Aelita and I then wait, holding our breaths, to see if anything ice cold or filled with slime is going to topple down from the open door.

Five seconds pass. Ten.

Twenty.

"I…I think it's safe," Aelita whispers. I watch the door for a few more seconds before deciding that Aelita is right. Tossing down the mop, I hurry over to the door and stick my head out, glancing around for any sign of something suspicious—a dropped can of silly string, a roll of toilet paper, a misplaced piece of grass. Anything.

After double checking everything, I decide that nothing looks too out of place or too not out of place to warrant further suspicion. Waving to Aelita to follow me, I creep out of the dorm and onto campus.

There are a few students wandering about, and one teacher, but for the most part the campus is empty—makes sense, considering Aelita and I decided that going to class today would be worth getting caught skipping, since it would prevent the possibility of us being locked together in the same room as Odd (along with any accomplices) for a forty five minute stretch.

"All clear," I whisper. Aelita nods in understanding, and then we begin making our way towards the cafeteria, being sure to take the most obscure route with the largest number of possible hiding places along the way.

It's just as we're creeping along behind a well placed bench that we hear the first sign of something amiss.

The bush near us rustles.

Aelita and I both freeze, eyes wide as we stare at the bush, waiting for something loaded with paint, glitter, glue, or some combination of the three the launch out at us.

Nothing happens.

"Maybe it's the wind?" Aelita whispers, so softly I can barely hear her. I'm about to agree when the bush rustles again, louder this time.

And then, the bush talks.

"Uh, hello?" It says, "is someone there?" Aelita and I rush to silently hush one another, while at the same time scrambling to take cover underneath the bench.

"The wind?" I mouth to Aelita, who scowls at me. She then jumps, covering her mouth to muffle a yelp when the bush talks again.

"If someone's there, do you think you could, uh, help me?" It asks. "I…I think I'm, stuck."

"It's a trick!" Aelita mouths, shaking her head quickly and trying to push me away from the bush. I try to ignore her, staring hard at the talkative piece of shrubbery. It sounded a lot like my teammate from soccer.

"Timothy?" I start to ask, but before the word is out of my mouth Aelita's hand is there, stopping me from talking.

"It's a recording," she hisses, "Timothy is obviously working with Odd this year. We can't fall for it!"

For a moment I am torn. She could be right, after all, it wouldn't be below Odd to use our other friends against us on this day (he'd done it before, with the two of us). But at the same time, Timothy usually seemed to get the short end of the stick on these days. I wouldn't be surprised if he really was just stuck in that bush, waiting for someone to come and help him out.

But eventually self preservation won out over friendship, and I allowed Aelita to drag me away from the bush and towards the cafeteria, a shout of "will you at least bring me a snack!" trailing after us as we ran.

Timothy, 11:16 am, the bush.

I shout after Ulrich and Aelita as they run away, but they don't turn back, hurrying off towards the cafeteria. Tugging at my badly snagged shorts, I can't help but be completely unsurprised at my being mistaken for a prank.

It's crazy how easily April first can destroy any and all links of friendship as suddenly it's everyone for themselves in the mad battle to not be caught in one of Odd's absurd pranks.

I get the feeling I'm going to be stuck here for quite a while.

Aelita, 11: 23 am, the cafeteria.

Ulrich and I arrive at the cafeteria and, after very careful inspection of the doors, we do one last check for any lurking purple splashed blonds, and then duck inside.

We get a lot of funny looks from the younger students, and those who are recent transfers to the school. Those not so new to the dangers of April First, however, simply nod in greeting or flash us a suspicious look before going back to inhaling their food, wanting to spend the shortest amount of time possible lingering in the open.

"Good morning," Rosa greets as Ulrich and I slip into the food line. She doesn't say anything about our disheveled appearance. After six years, she knows better than to ask. We eye the pots of food warily as she dishes up our late lunch/early breakfast, which she assures us was thoroughly checked for any extra ingredients or foreign objects. Surprisingly, she tells us that even the bait soup pot, which had been left out to deflect attention from the real food, was absent any added chilies or living goldfish.

Ulrich and I thank Rosa and then quickly find seats as far from the windows but as close to the doors as possible. If suddenly there is a need for a quick getaway, we're not going to be the kids stuck at the back of the crowd.

"Hey."

Ulrich and I look up sharply, to find Sissi standing beside our table, gripping her food tray tightly.

"Hello," we both greet warily. She smiles, trying to be reassuring.

"I'm not helping him this year," she blurts, and then she takes a seat at our table. "I know you don't believe me, but it's true. He hasn't told me anything." Ulrich and I exchange looks, unsure how much we should trust her.

"I'm falling apart," she continues, dropping her tray with a clatter. "I'm checking around every door and corner, convinced he's got a bowl of baby powder or a confetti bomb waiting for me. You have to tell me if he's targeting me today so I can avoid him."

"As much as we would love to lie to you so you get ambushed by whatever pranks Odd has set," Ulrich says, scowling at Sissi, "we can't." Sissi gapes at him.

"Why?" she whines.

"We can't," I tell her. "And not because we just don't want to," I add quickly. "Odd hasn't told us anything either." Sissi looks surprised to hear this.

"Really? Wow. If he hasn't told any of us about it then—"

"He's going to get us too," Ulrich and I finish for her. "Yeah, we know. We've been trying to figure out what he's got planned all day, but so far all we know for sure is no one knows anything about where Odd is or what he's up to."

"That's scary," Sissi says. Ulrich and I nod in agreement. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"We're waiting for class to get out," Ulrich says. "Emily should be out soon, and she'll come get lunch. We're going to ask her if she knows anything."

"That's a good idea," Sissi says, just as she stuffs the last of her food into her mouth. We all were eating as fast as possible while we talked, trying to limit our time in the cafeteria as much as possible. It's a wonder we didn't all choke to death the way we were shoving food down our throats while talking. "I'm going now," she informed us as she stood, collecting her empty plate. "I'm not telling you where, of course," she added. "Hopefully we will all see one another tomorrow." Ulrich snorted, and Sissi scowled at him before marching off. I ignored her, focusing instead on Ulrich, who had just shot a bit of milk from his nose. It was then that I noticed Emily coming in through the cafeteria's far doors. I quickly pointed her out to Ulrich, and the two of us swallowed down the last of our food before leaping up from out table and hurrying over to her.

Hopefully she would know something; otherwise it was starting to look very much like we were all going to be very, very doomed.

Emily, 11:25 am, the cafeteria.

Its official, I decide as I drop by bag down in the empty chair beside me. I hate everyone at this school. Even now, as I try to enjoy a solitary school lunch, I can feel the eyes of everyone in the room flicking in my direction. It's like they all think that, at any second, I'm going to leap up and throw open my backpack to reveal that it's not Spanish books, but actually Odd inside, armed to the teeth with silly sting and itching powder.

Psh. Like I would actually let that paint spewing lunatic near my homework.

"Pst. Emily."

"Huh?" I look up from my food, causing everyone else in the cafeteria to quickly avert their gaze, and come face to face with a pair of familiar brown eyes leaning a bit too far into my personal space. "Uh, hi Ulrich," I say, leaning back a little.

"Hey," Ulrich says, sitting back into the seat across from me, Aelita appearing in the chair next to him. They're both staring at me intently.

"Can I…help you?" I try, doing my best to not look perturbed by their intense stares.

"I don't know," Ulrich says, glancing around before leaning closer again. "Can you?"

"That doesn't make any sense," I tell him. He looks thoughtful for a moment.

"Good point." I roll my eyes.

"Which brings us back to my original question."

"The answer to which is yes," Aelita says, jumping in before Ulrich can make any more ridiculous comments. "Do you know where Odd is?"

How did I not see this coming?

"Why?" I ask. They both stare at me.

"Why else?" Ulrich asks. "We need to know what he's planning, so we can avoid it." He gives me a suspicious look. "Are you working with him this year?" Now it's my turn to stare.

"Does it look like I'm working with him?" I ask, and then quickly continue when I realize both of them are about to say yes. "I'm not," I assure them. "In fact, Odd hasn't told me anything. You'd think he would," I add, "considering I am his girlfriend and all."

"This is weird," Ulrich says, shaking his head. I give him a curious look, which Aelita answers.

"No one has heard anything from Odd. Not me or Ulrich or Sissi."

"No one?" I repeat. That's surprising. Usually Odd can't help but pull at least one person into the fold. I hadn't been worried about being pranked at all this morning.

Maybe I should be.

Aelita, 12:00, Aelita's dorm.

After talking to both Sissi and Emily revealed nothing, Ulrich and I returned to my room, where we have been since glued to Milly and Tamiya's Fool Sightings page, scanning through the sightings from the previous days, hoping that they might reveal something that we've missed. However, all we've learned so far is that Odd has spent the last week pretending to do school work, and us, his friends, are all considered very suspect as well.

Figures.

And that's when it suddenly hits me—all of his friends are suspect too.

"Ulrich!" I shouted, spinning around excitedly.

"Where?" Ulrich shouts back as he dives to the ground, trying to scurry beneath my computer desk. I shake my head at him.

"Sorry Ulrich, I didn't mean to scare you," I say. "You can come out."

"Don't do that," he whines as he creeps back over to my bed, climbing up to once more sit beside me.

"Sorry," I say again, "but I just had an idea."

"Oh?" I nod.

"I think I know what Odd's up to or, at least, who he's working with." Ulrich stares at me long and hard for nearly half a minute, and then his face splits into a massive grin as he grabs me into a crushing hug.

"What?" he demands once he lets me go. "Who is it?"

"Well, I'm not sure," I admit. "I need to check with them first, I could be wrong."

"We'll call them right now," Ulrich declares, while reaching into his pocket and producing his cell phone. "Just give me a number to dial."

Yumi, 12: 03, a shopping center.

"Oh, hold on," I say to Jeremie, who is in the middle of telling me about his college plans while we wait for Nina to finish in the changing rooms. Fishing around in my purse, I pull out my cell phone. "Hey, it's Ulrich," I say, glancing at the caller ID before answering.

"Yumi?"

"Hi Ulrich," I say, a little surprised at his jumping into the conversation. Is it too much to ask for a simple hello first? "What's up?"

"I…um." There's a bit of hurried whispering on the other end of the line. "I have a question."

"Okay," I say slowly, a little confused. "Ask away."

"Don't take this the wrong way," Ulrich says, "Because I don't mean anything by it."

"Ulrich!" I hear someone hiss.

"Is that Aelita?" I ask, glancing at Jeremie, who looks as confused as I feel. And he's only heard my end of the conversation.

"Yeah, it is," Ulrich says. "And she and I were wondering if…er…"

"Oh, just give it to me!"

"No, don't—"

"Ulrich!"

"No, it's mine!"

"Yumi?" I blink.

"Hi Aelita. What's going on?"

"Are you helping Odd with his April Fool pranks this year?"

…What?

"Where did this come from?" I ask, after pulling my phone away from my ear and staring at it for a second.

"We don't know who else it could be," Aelita says, sounding a little…desperate? "He hasn't done anything yet, and we don't know anything because he hasn't said anything to us—we haven't even seen him all day—and when we asked Emily and Sissi, they both said they haven't heard anything either and Yumi, we think it's going to be a big one because he never waits this long to strike."

A stood blinking, a little dazed after Aelita's long winded sentence.

"You…you're talking about Odd, right?" I clarify slowly.

"Yes."

"And…you think I'm helping him with his pranks. All the way from college?" There's a beat of silence on the other end.

"…Good point. Thanks Yumi, sorry to bother you." There's a click, and I listen to the dial tone for a few seconds before slowly lowering my phone and hanging up.

"Was that Aelita and Ulrich?" Jeremie asks me. I nod. "What did they want?"

"They think we're working together with Odd." Jeremie cringes a little. "Apparently he still hasn't done anything." Jeremie gives me a wide eyed, worried look.

"Should we be worried?" he asks. I shrug.

"Only if we were Ulrich and Aelita."

Ms. Hertz, 12:18, the science classroom.

Glancing up from grading some homework, I look out over my students, who are working diligently on their pop quiz.

Well, I look at about a third of my students. With this being my twelfth grade physics class, it's not surprising that most of the kids decided to just avoid this particular lesson today. Not because they don't like physics, mind you, but because they're not about to risk placing themselves in prime prank targeting positions.

I don't blame them in the least. Although, I am taking advantage of their terror with a pop quiz—thirty questions that a kindergartener could answer, simply to award those brave souls—and those just too unsuspecting to know better—who decided to make the harrowing journey to class today.

A harrowing journey that, judging by the lack of paint splattered, talcum powder bathed, and egg smeared faces, was not nearly as terrible as one would have expected. Although, this might be because every single one of Odd's usual targets has made the decision to avoid my class today.

Which isn't all that bad. I'm never opposed to being saved from having to see my male students come to class in a dress.

Jim, 12:30, the closet.

That kid thinks he's so smart. But it doesn't matter, because I've outsmarted him this time. I haven't seen him since this morning, which I'm sure is a good sign. It means he's wandering the school, all lost and confused because he suddenly can't figure out where I am. In fact, I bet he's already given up by now, and is sitting in class sulking and defeated.

Ha.

It's a good feeling, realizing that Odd is no longer a threat, and all because of me and my genius hiding spot. I strike a quick pose, which upsets a carefully balanced group of mops and brooms, and then spend the next few minutes trying to get them all back arranged and upright.

Jim Morales, I think to myself once I'm done. Defeater of The Fool. It has a nice ring to it. You know, this also reminds me of the time back when I was in the army, when I defeated an entire squadron single handedly, with nothing but a rock and…

Yolanda, 12:47, the Infirmary.

I jolt awake, blinking blearily when I hear someone knocking on my door. A patient, finally! And I only had to wait…about thirteen hours for it. Mentally bracing myself, I get up and head for the door. After over half a day of delay, it looks like the pranks have finally begun.

"Hello," I greet, smiling down at the student standing before me. She's a young girl, probably seventh grade, and she's holding her finger up to me expectantly.

"I got a cut in Ms. Hertz class," she says. "She told me to get a band aid from you."

That's certainly more mild than I had expected. I hesitate at the door, trying to check the girl over for ink splatters or feathers. She frowns at me, clearly unimpressed with my lack of response time.

"Right, band aid," I say, going over to my cabinet and fishing out a box. "So, how did you cut yourself? Something fly out of your desk?"

"Uh, no," the girl says, giving me a funny look. "I dropped my beaker."

Oh.

"Oh," I say, for lack of anything else. "Well, be more careful next time. And here's your band aid."

"Thanks," she says, taking it and putting it on before I can offer to do so, and then hurrying back to class. I stare at her retreating back, almost hoping to see a bit of pudding in her hair.

Nothing. I sigh, and shuffle back inside. Where did I leave my coffee…?

Milly, 12:51, outside the Infirmary.

I spot a student leaving the infirmary (finally!) and, making sure I have my notebook and pen at the ready, I pounce.

"Hello, my name is Milly Solovieff, and I'm with the school paper," I say, holding out my hand for the girl to shake. She pulls a face, looking down at my hand and then back up at me.

"What?" she asks.

"Er," I mutter, confused by her response. She sighs, as if I've suddenly become yet another hurdle to cross in her trial filled day.

"What do you want?" she asks. "I need to get back to class."

"Just a few quick questions," I say, keeping my own annoyance in check as I open my notebook. This girl could very well be my only shot at learning what the impressively secretive Odd is up to. "Do you mind?" I ask, glancing at the girl as I ready my pen. She glowers at me, without saying anything. However, she doesn't walk away.

I'll take that as a yes.

"Were you just visiting the Infirmary?" I ask. The girl nods. I scribble quickly. "What for?"

"I cut myself," the girl says, showing me a bandaged finger.

"How?" I ask. "Did something fall on you from atop a door?" She sighs. She actually sighs at me.

"I dropped a beaker," she says slowly, "and cut myself picking up the pieces. Can I go now?"

"Um, sure," I say, feeling lost for words. Rolling her eyes, the girl circles around me and heads off to class, leaving me with my rather short page of notes.

One injury today. Only one. And it was because of a dropped beaker.

Could this day get any more disappointing?

Sissi, 1:07, the dorm building's roof.

I push the heavy door open slowly, glancing carefully around for any sign of you-know-who. All it'll take is a single empty toilet paper roll or lone bubble floating by, and I'll bolt so fast that I'll be back on the first floor before the door can finish shutting.

Luckily, nothing seems amiss. Of course, that could all just be a part of the trap, a way to get people to come up on the roof, only to be lured into a web of cotton candy or something else equally nonsensical.

"Hello?" a voice calls suddenly when the door I'm still half hidden behind creeks. I freeze, suddenly at a loss for what to do. I hear footsteps moving closer, but I'm just too terrified to move.

But I need to, if I don't want to spend the rest of the day washing peanut butter out of my hair.

"Sissi?"

I gape at Nicholas, who is peering at me from around a large air conditioning unit. After a moment another head appears, Herve peeking out from behind the same machine.

"Hey, it is Sissi," yet another voice says, followed by Theo's head popping around the corner. "Guys, it's safe, it's not Odd!"

To my surprise, what looks to be almost the entirety of Kadic's soccer team, along with Herve, Nicholas, and a few other of the school nerds, materialize out from all sorts of various hiding places. I can only blink in surprise as one of the soccer players grabs my arm and pulls me over, while another carefully shuts the roof door.

"What are you all doing up here?" I ask, looking around at the fifteen or so boys standing about looking ruffled and like they'd been up here for a while. A few of them only gave me a cursory glance before creeping back off to their hiding places.

"Hiding from Odd," Theo answers easily. "The team decided to stake out the roof all night so we could make it a safe place. The librarian says we can't all keep hiding in the library anymore," he adds at my questioning look. "Ulrich was supposed to be on Odd watch, and then call us when he knew what Odd was up to, but we haven't heard from him."

"He doesn't know anything," I say, frowning. "Him and Aelita are running all around the school, trying to find someone who does."

"Darn," Theo says although he doesn't sound all that sympathetic for his friend and teammate. "Oh well. He knows where we are if he wants to join us." He then gives me a curious look. "So, are you staying up here?" I only had to consider it for a moment before deciding.

"Yes," I declare pushing past Theo as I do "And before you ask, I'm calling the spot with the most shade."

Aelita, 1:15pm, Aelita's Dorm

School ends in an hour and fifteen minutes. Nothing. We know exactly nothing.

"Ulrich, will you pass me a water bottle?" I asked, hanging backwards off the bed. He stopped spinning in my computer chair long enough to toss one up onto the bed next to me. "Thank you." He sighed dramatically.

"Anything on the site yet?" I tilted my head back to look at my laptop as I reached for my water bottle.

"Someone thought they spotted him in Spanish, but it was just some Sophomore with blonde hair." I tried to figure out a way to drink the water without sitting up.

"Where could he be?" Ulrich groaned. "Not even Yumi knew. Yumi and Jeremie know everything."

"Not everything," I reminded him. "Well, maybe Jeremie."

"The point is no one knows where Odd is. And that is very dangerous." I finally gave up, sitting to drink my water. This is insane.

"So what do we do?" Because at this point even I was out of ideas. We had been running around campus all day trying to stay out of trouble- stay out of Odd's way. But it's like there's nothing to avoid. Nothing is happening anywhere. Not the slightest minute out of place.

Unless that's what he wants us to think.

He wants to lure us into a false sense of security. He wants us to think everything is all safe and fine. And then he'll strike without warning. We'll be doomed.

We are so doomed.

"Is the deadbolt locked?" Ulrich asked. I nodded, leaning back down, refreshing the page. "Then I say we call it a day, watch tv, and eat junk food."

Sounds like a plan to me.

Emily, 1:34 history class.

I can't focus. I just can't. Because now all I can think about is Odd lurking behind a door or under the teacher's desk, just waiting to pounce. Or me opening my backpack to find it stuffed with birds that will fly out and attack me.

Yes, I know my backpack has been with me all day, making that a stupid worry. But still. It's Odd we're talking about here.

You never know.

I'm so busy worrying about being a prank victim that I didn't notice the teacher calling my name until he came and stood right in front of my desk, looking less than amused by my lack of attention.

"Er, sorry," I mumble as the class all turns to stare at me (at least it's not because I'm Odd'sgirlfriend for once). "What was the question?" the teacher asks again, and I rattle of the answer. Satisfied, he gives me one more pointed look before turning and heading back to the board. Muted whispers follow after him, people gossiping behind their hands and looking back at me. I sigh, letting my head fall into my arms.

I think Aelita and Ulrich had the right idea in skipping classes today. I wonder where they are now.

I'm sure they wouldn't mind a little company.

Mr. Delmas, 1:40, main office

I've gotten more than twenty reports of students going missing through out the day. What would usually warrant an in school suspension, but at this rate I can hardly blame the children. It's a dangerous time of year and I'm powerless to do anything. How can I be an effective administrator if I can't even keep my students safe in their own school from their own classmates?

It's sad really, but hopefully things will go back to normal next year when Mr. Della Robbia graduates. That is, if he graduates.

And no one wants him to graduate as bad as I do, trust me.

It's like for the past six years all the staff ever talks about is prevention of his chaos. That's not how a school should be run. It's insane.

"Mr. Delmas? I'm going to take lunch if that's okay." I wave Nicole off without looking, sighing to myself. I'm simply dreading what Odd has planned for today. No one has any idea where he is, and there haven't been any reports of pranks.

Not even on the school blog. Which I am not looking at.

I'm not.

Milly really had a brilliant idea with this but, honestly. Even her team can't find Odd. I'm at a total loss.

The Kadic Librarian, 2:00, the library.

I can't believe it. I just can't believe it. The school day is almost over, and not a single Odd escapee has come to me seeking refuge. Students have come in and out of the library, of course, but every one of them has been looking for a book or using one of the computers. There was even one kid who was trying to skip class in here.

But no one, not one person, is running from the prankster. I know I told that Theo boy that he couldn't let his teammates hide in here anymore, but I hadn't actually expected all of those boys to actually listen to me.

It was a nice change, actually.

But I digress.

In my curiosity concerning the chaos that was inevitably happening outside, I asked one young girl if she'd come across any silly string cannons yet. She simply gave me a strange look and, with a shake of her head, gathered her books and left. Eventually I even went online and checked that blog that Milly girl is writing for today.

Nothing. Not a word.

Apparently Odd Della Robbia has simply vanished from the face of Kadic for the first half of April first.

Let's hope it stays that way.

Timothy, 2:13, the bush.

I'm tugging at my shirt, in the middle of considering simply chewing through it to escape, when I hear someone walking past. Spinning my head to look, and getting my hair caught in the bush's branches as I do, I spot a pair of familiar legs walking past, heading for the dorms.

"Pst!" I hiss, trying to get her attention.

Emily, 2:14, the courtyard.

I freeze, turning slowly to look at the bush beside me. Did it just…?

"Pst," the bush hisses again, causing me to jump. I stare at the clump of foliage, not exactly sure what to do.

"Odd?" I guess warily, tilting my head as I try to peer through the leaves.

"No, it's me," the bush says, as if I should just know who 'me' is. "Timothy."

Oh. I know him. I'm pretty sure he plays on Ulrich's soccer team.

"Hey," I say, kneeling down next to the bush. Reaching up, a push a few branches out of the way, revealing a very unhappy looking teenager. "What are you doing in here?"

"I jumped in here to get away from Odd," Timothy explains. "But then I got stuck on the branches, and now I can't get out."

"And no one's found you until now?" I ask, a little incredulous. Timothy frowns.

"Everyone thinks I'm one of Odd's pranks," he says. "When I try to get their attention, they all run away."

"I'm sorry," I say, since nothing else really comes to mind. "Do you want some help out of there?"

"Please," Timothy says, looked immensely relieved. We spend the next fifteen minutes trying to maneuver him out of the bush, an act that required quite a bit of creative branch breaking, cursing, and contortionism. But eventually Timothy was freed, and we stood together in the courtyard, brushing leaves and dirt from our clothes as we decided what to do next.

"So, where are you going?" Timothy asked. The look he was giving me made me think of a puppy—you know, that look they have when they watch you going out the door and want to go with you. Honestly, I couldn't really blame him. The poor kid had spent the entire day in a bush, after all.

"Actually, I'm look for Aelita and Ulrich," I say with a shrug. "I figure by now they've found shelter and are just waiting out the rest of the day in safety."

"Oh, okay," Timothy says slowly. I can tell what he's going to say next before he can even ask, so I decide to head him off.

"Do you want to come with me?" I ask. He blinks, surprised, and then nods vigorously. "Alright," I say, waving for him to follow as I continue towards the dorms. "Let's go."

Timothy looks about timidly for a moment, and then hurries after me.

Ulrich, 2:17, Aelita's Dorm.

"Can you pass the chips?" Aelita asks. I nod, not taking my eyes off of the television screen as I hand her the plastic bowl. "Thanks."

"Mhmm," I hum. I'm not paying her all that much attention really, all of my focus on the movie we're currently watching. It's a rather action-y flick, all burly men shooting guns and crashing cars, not something I would have expected Aelita to own. "Can you hand me my drink?" I ask her.

"Yep," she says, a cold can bouncing against my extended arm a few times before finding me hand. She's not looking away from the screen either. It's as I'm taking a sip of my drink, turning my head to keep the tv screen in sight, that my phone rings.

"Don't do it," Aelita advises as I start to reach for the phone. I hesitate a moment. What if it's Yumi? That thought makes me pause. If it's Yumi, she'll probably want to talk. I don't want to talk right now. I want to watch the movie. So I take Aelita's advice, ignoring the phone in favor of the man on the tv (who is currently scaling the side of a building with two large guns on his back and nothing but his bare hands for climbing equipment).

"I could do that," I quip. Aelita snorts her laughter.

"Yeah, and so can Jeremie."

Jeremie, 2:19, a recreation center.

"See Jeremie, I told you that you could do it!" I ignore Yumi's encouraging comments, in favor of clinging like a limpet to the plastic handholds at the top of the rock wall. In all honesty, I'm not sure how I got up here.

My terror only grows when Yumi demonstrates how to get back down, repelling swiftly back down to the floor. I simply continue to cling.

Maybe staying at school wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all.

Ulrich, 2:20, Aelita's Dorm.

"Jeremie would totally climb the side of a building with guns strapped to his back."

"He wouldn't," Aelita defends. "But Odd might."

"Except they wouldn't be guns. They'd be, like, massive paint cannons or something." Aelita nods her agreement, while offering me some chips. We fall into silence as we continue to munch our snacks and enjoy the movie. The hero has finally reached the building's roof, and is currently engaging the ten ninja's waiting atop it in mortal combat when Aelita speaks up.

"I don't understand why he's not using his guns," Aelita says, confused.

"He is," I say. When Aelita looks at me in confusion, I flex my arm at her. She shakes her head in disgust, and turns back to the movie.

It's just as the hero is finishing off the last of the ninja that Aelita's phone starts to ring.

"I'm not answering it," she informs me, leaving whoever is calling her to chat it up with the voicemail. We continue to watch the movie, alternately cheering on the hero when he beats another bad guy and making small talk each time the movie does something painfully unrealistic (but all things I could do if I really wanted to).

When my phone starts ringing again I glance over at Aelita. She shakes her head warningly. I frown, and reach for the phone anyway.

"I'm just checking who it is," I explain when Aelita gives me a look. Glancing at the ID, my eyebrows rise at the name flashing on my screen. "Emily?" I read, looking back at Aelita. Her brow furrows, and she grabs her own phone.

"She was the one who was calling me too," she says, surprised. Confused, I answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Are you in your dorm?" Emily asks. "Because I'm not knocking unless I know it's you who's going to answer."

"No, I'm in Aelita's dorm," I say, sharing a look with Aelita. "Do you…need something?"

"We're coming up," Emily says, ignoring my question. "We'll be there soon, so let us in when we get there." She then hung up. I blinked, listening to the dial tone for a moment before hanging up as well.

"What did she want?" Aelita asks.

"She's coming up here," I answer. "Her and…someone else. She didn't actually say who though," I say. Aelita frowns, clearly not pleased with the idea of people just inviting themselves over to her dorm.

"Why here?" she asks. I shrug.

"Safety in numbers?" I guess. Just then a knock Echos through the small room. I look at Aelita, who motions for me to go answer it, while reaching for the broom at the end of her bed, brought with us from my room for protection.

Climbing carefully to my feet, I make my way towards the door, Aelita gripping our weapon tightly behind me. "Who is it?" I call through the closed door.

"It's us!" Emily calls back. I hesitate before opening the door.

"Who's 'us'?" I ask.

"Me and Timothy," she says. Aelita and I exchange wide eyed looks.

"Emily, be careful!" Aelita shouts, "he's working with Odd!"

"What, no I'm not!" Timothy cries, sounding shocked. "Why would you say that?"

"Because Odd left a recording in the bushes," I explain. "And how else would he have gotten that without your help?" To my surprise, I hear Emily sigh.

"That wasn't a recording of Timothy," Emily says. "It was Timothy." I blink, turning to look at Aelita, who looks as shocked as I feel.

Oops.

"Er, sorry about that Timothy," I say awkwardly as I undo the room's deadbolt and open the door. "We didn't mean to abandon you."

"We really didn't," Aelita adds. "But you have to admit, a talking bush is rather suspicious on April first."

"But not any other time of the year?" Emily asks. Aelita blinks.

"Just get in here."

Sissi, 2:43, the roof.

"I'm hungry." Looking around, I waited for someone to offer me some food. For a minute, no one did anything. And then two.

And then five.

"Hey!" I shout, getting up and glaring at all of the boys with me, who have sprawled themselves around the roof. "I said, I'm hungry!"

"…And?" one of the soccer players asks. I glare at him.

"And that means that one of you needs to go and get me something to eat." I grin when I notice one of the nerds slowly climbing to his feet, but the boy is quickly stopped as another soccer player grabs his arm and pulls him back down, shaking his head.

"We're not going to go get you food," Theo says, tilting his head to look at me from where he's lying across the ground. "If you want something to eat, you can go get it yourself." I sputter angrily for a few moments, not entirely sure what to say. No one talks to me that way. No one!

"You know what?" I huff, stomping away from the boys and towards the door. "Fine. I'll get food myself." Grabbing the door, I jerk it open and march through it. "And you know what?" I added once I was safely on the other side of the door frame. "When Odd's wandering the halls looking for people to prank, don't expect me to keep your stupid hiding place a secret!" With that I slammed the door, turning and heading back for my room. I didn't need those stupid boys anyway. I could protect myself just fine without them.

Before I could reach my room, the sound of voices drew my attention. Looking over, I notice that they're coming from the door to my left. I check the room number. That's Aelita's dorm. Creeping over, I listen as a familiar voice asks a question.

Is that Emily?

Emily, 2:45, Aelita's Dorm.

"I don't get it," I sigh, watching the movie's hero as he punches a bad guy in the face. "Why doesn't he just use his guns?"

"He is using his guns," Ulrich and Timothy respond in unison. They then flex their arms and high five each other. Aelita and I sigh.

A knock at the door causes everyone to jump, Aelita immediately lunging for the broom she was wielding when Timothy and I first arrived. He and I duck down at the end of Aelita's bed, while Ulrich inches towards the door.

"Who's there?" he calls. A beat of silence follows his question.

"It's…it's Sissi." We all exchange very confused looks.

"Sissi?" Ulrich asks. There is another moment of silence, like Sissi is nodding, and then,

"Yes, Sissi," she snaps. Then, less rudely, "can I come in?"

"Uh…" Ulrich turns to look at the rest of us, who all look at one another and shrug. Frowning, Ulrich looks at Aelita, giving her the final say. It makes sense, considering this is her room.

"Sure," she says, putting down the broom. Turning back to the door, Ulrich opens it to admit Sissi, who enters a little sheepishly, looking like she wasn't entirely sure she'd made the right decision in asking to join us.

Basically ignoring her, the rest of us pile back onto Aelita's bed, and Ulrich rewinds the movie to catch the little bit we missed. Sissi continues to stand at the door, fidgeting, until Timothy offers her one of the bowls of chips circling around. She takes the offer and, after a moment of hesitation, climbs onto the bed to join us.

Sissi, 3:07, Aelita's Dorm.

"…This movie doesn't make sense," I announce, frowning at the screen.

"Why?" Aelita asks. I point to the movie's hero, who is currently punching a shark, which has a laser beam attached to its head, in the eye.

"Why doesn't he just use his guns?" I ask. It sounds like Ulrich and Timothy are going to answer, but they're cut off as Aelita and Emily punch their arms.

"It's because this movie was made by men," Aelita says flatly. Emily nods.

"By men, for men."

Yumi, 3:21, dorm at the university

Jeremie has thrown himself onto my bed after following along to my weekly work out with Nina. It's actually more of a monthly thing, seeing as how when this time of week rolls around we're both horribly ill.

Or have 'homework'.

Something along those lines. Today we couldn't find any excuse and we decided to go rock climbing. But I digress.

It's a little funny actually, Jeremie throwing himself on my bed instead of how it used to be- how it has been for the last five years or so. I used to go up to his room, after sneaking past Jim, and launch myself onto his bed and either sleep or rant about something.

Stepping out of my shoes, I wait to see if he'll do either. I think his main goal was just taking over my bed so I can't.

"Yumi, I'm going to take a shower," Nina says, pointing over her shoulder towards to the bathroom. "Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine," I assured her. Jeremie waved her off for good measure. I pushed his feet aside, sitting at the end of the bed.

"You didn't have to go, you know," I told him. He groaned in response. "Really, you could have stayed here and study or something." But I know he wouldn't have done that because he'd probably go stir crazy. Or barricade himself in my room. Something dramatic. "Want to call and check on Aelita?" He shook his head.

"She's fine. Crazy, but fine." I feel the same way about Ulrich today.

"Alright, Jer," I sighed, gathering up a fresh change of clothes from my side of the closet. "Why don't you just take a nap?" And I think he did, because I didn't hear another word from him as I headed out of the room.

Mrs. Hertz, 3:53, the teacher's lounge.

Walking into the teacher's lounge, I nodded my head in greeting to a few of the teachers while making my way over to the coffee machine. Some of the teachers muttered a quick hello before returning to what they had previously been talking about.

"I heard he's not been seen all day," one of the teachers, a woman who I think worked in the English department, was saying.

"He's not been to my class today," another English teacher says

"Mine either," a math teacher this time.

"Are you talking about Della Robbia?" I ask as I pour my drink.

"Who?" another teacher asks. Everyone turns slowly to stare at the young man sitting in one of the room's armchairs, a stack of what look like quizzes in his lap. I'm surprised at first, until I realize it's the new guy Delmas hired at the beginning of this year. This was his first (and thankfully last) year with Odd The Fool.

"A student here at Kadic," the math teacher explains as I come over and join everyone. "Every year he terrorizes the school with his pranks." The new guy looks a little incredulous.

"Terrorize seems like a harsh word," he says. "They're just pranks, how bad can they be?" I join in with the others as they stare at the young man. 'How bad can they be?' Someone scoffs.

"Bad," the English teacher who had Odd in her class assures him. The new guy still looks rather unconvinced.

"I haven't seen anything today," he says dubiously. I point to two people sitting in the corner of the room, talking in low voices over an open folder.

"See them?" I ask. The new guy nods. "They're extra counselors. We only call them in once a year."

"April first?" he asks. Everyone nods. "Haven't you noticed the lack of students in your class today?" He looks thoughtful for a moment.

"You know, I did have quite a few kids missing today." He continues quickly when we look triumphant. "But there is a bug going around school. It could easily have gotten that many kids sick. This is a boarding school after all."

"This denial isn't helping you," the math teacher says. "It's just going to make it worse when the pranks start."

"I'm sure I will," the new guy says sarcastically.

"Come on," the English teacher says. "You must have seen something that gave away that we're telling the truth." The new guy shakes his head. I sigh, setting aside my drink and getting up.

"Watch this," I tell him. Walking over to the door, I open it just in time to catch a group of girls walking down the hall. "You," I bark, getting their attention.

"Yes Mrs. Hertz?" they ask. I point down the hallway in the direction they are heading.

"I think I saw Odd heading that way a few minutes ago."

The girls do exactly what I hoped they would--actually, they do better. With a chorus of shrieks, they turn and bolt back the way they'd come. Once they're screams had faded, I turned back to the new guy.

"Satisfied?" I ask.

He just stares.

911 Call Taker, 4:01, the Kadic Police Department.

I really can't figure out what all the fuss is about.

For someone reason, all week everyone here had seemed really on edge. Whenever the phones would ring they would always look a little nervous before answering. The strangeness had hit its peak yesterday, when the police chief had walked into the call center and, after looking us all over slowly, announced that it was "that time again" and that we all needed to decide on who was getting "Kadic Duty" for April first. There had been a mad scramble of people shouting "not it" and the like, and then suddenly the room had gone quiet.

And every eye turned towards me.

"I say the new guy does it," someone announced.

"What?" I started to say, but I was cut off by the loud, agreeing cheers of everyone else.

"It's settled then," the chief said, nodding to me. "I'll explain the job to you tomorrow." And he had, looking all grave faced and a little...pitying, I guess. Apparently at the local boarding school, this day tended to breed mass chaos. Which led to numerous 911 calls, most of which were simply panicked students over reacting to a simple, harmless prank. And it would be my job for the day to sort through the calls, picking out any real emergencies from the plethora of false alarms. The chief had made the job sound incredibly difficult and taxing.

I was finding it to be quite the opposite.

Sitting at my new desk, one that was apparently assigned solely to calls from Kadic's grounds, I waited expectantly for the deluge of calls that I had been told would come my way.

Hours later, I was left rather disappointed. I had received only one call in the morning, alerting me to the fact that the school was doing a fire drill, and had gotten none since. Not a single one. This seemed to be the reason for all of the jealous and occasionally spiteful looks that kept being tossed my way. Why, I can't figure out for the life of me. After all, they were the ones who volunteered me for this position. Why were they getting mad at me for it? I sighed, slouching down in my chair and propping my feet up on the desk.

I just don't understand it at all.

Tamiya, 4:12, News Room

When I finally got back to Milly, after circling the campus a half dozen times for absolutely any sign of Odd, she was asleep. And not her usual 'worked to late on the paper that's due out tomorrow morning' kind of sleep either. Where she's all passed out on her desk. No. Milly was asleep on the floor. Curled up in a little ball with a black sweatshirt as a pillow and that ratty blue throw blanket she keeps over the back of her computer chair spread over her.

And from the looks of things she's been like this for awhile.

Her cell phone sat expectantly next to her head, just close enough that she could snatch it up if it rang and far enough away that she wouldn't roll over it in her sleep. Sighing, I stepped over her carefully, setting my camera on her desk and sat down in her desk chair. The Kadic Echos website was up, and it looked like she was ready to update the Sightings page- but there was nothing there.

I know they say no news is good news. But in the news world, no news is bad news. Because... that's what world it is. You need news. Otherwise, well, you get the point.

Milly rolled over in her sleep.

"Tam?" I looked up to see Julie, one of our journalists, peering through the half closed door. "Everything alright?" I waved her in, pointing to Milly on the floor. Julie nodded, stepping around her carefully.

"Anything?" I asked. She shook her head, turning her empty notebook around to show me.

"Not one story. There's nothing, Tamiya," she whispered quietly. "It's like Odd never existed. What are we going to do?" She asked. I shrugged. Milly must have back up stories for tomorrow. Maybe we could do an interest piece—on the pebble effect.

You know—one person changing the lives of many?

Because if there's one thing Odd Della Robbia is good at, it's messing with lives.

Aelita, 4:34, Aelita's Dorm.

Once the movie ended, the five of us spent a little bit of time stuck on what we should do next. Eventually we split off into groups by gender, with the boys re-watching the movie, explaining all the ways they would have done this or that differently if they were the hero. The girls decided to express their creativity by digging out my art kit and using it to decorate Ulrich's broom (officially dubbed "The Fool Buster").

"You know," Emily says thoughtfully as she paints an intricate swirling pattern on the broom's handle, "I think this is officially the most relaxed April Fools I've had in years."

"Me too," Sissi says. She's currently braiding glass beads into the broom's bristles. "I thought I was going to have to graduate from here before I got an April First that wasn't slime coated." She frowns. "Or talcum powdered."

"Or mayhem filled."

"Exactly."

"You know, as nice as it is," I say, gluing another rhinestone to the broom, "doesn't anyone else find it, I don't know, worrying that Odd hasn't struck yet?" Emily and Sissi shake their heads and shrug. Turning my head, I look over at the boys.

"I could do that," Ulrich is saying, eyes on the screen.

"Sure you could," Timothy says sarcastically. "I'd like to see you drive a car over a cliff and make it float down a river, even though that breaks like, every law of physics."

"Not the way I would do it, it wouldn't," Ulrich argues. "I would go in at an angle, so the car would skim along the water, like when you throw a rock." Timothy looks at Ulrich.

"You can't do that," he says.

"Yes you can," Ulrich argues. Timothy shakes his head.

"No," he says slowly. "You can't."

"How do you know?" Ulrich asks. "Have you ever tried it?"

"You know I haven't, and neither have you," Timothy says flatly. Ulrich shrugs.

"If you've never tried it, then how can you know it won't work?"

Shaking my head, I turn away, leaving the boys to their senseless argument.

"I don't get why you're so worried still, Aelita," Emily says, regaining my attention. "Should you be happy that Odd's not done anything? I mean, at this point, I bet Mr. Delmas has had the school searched for any signs of pranks. Even if Odd did have something planned for later, it would be dealt with by now."

"Besides," Sissi continues, "what does it matter if he does something? You said it yourself that you checked in here for any pranks. If Odd does go and pull something off later, we won't be affected. We're safe in here."

As much as I want to believe them, I just can't feel as assured as they do. I know Odd, I know the way he thinks, how he plans. There's no way Odd would simply waste a day to torment us with, nor would he allow for us to somehow escape being trapped in his pranks. It's just not like him. When I tell this to Emily and Sissi, however, they just wave it off.

"Aelita, you're over thinking it," Emily says. "Remember, I'm his girlfriend. I know him really well too. And in case you've forgotten, Odd's a pretty lazy kid. I doubt he's going to use what little daylight he has left to try and throw something together." I sigh, knowing that these girls aren't going to be convinced.

Yes, I know that Odd is lazy. But Emily seems to have forgotten something. Odd Della Robbia may be the laziest kid I know, but that doesn't change one single fact. He's still Odd.

And that's enough reason to worry for me.

Sam, 4:48, Sam's Bedroom.

Yes, I know I'm not a student at Kadic. But is that any reason for me to not check up on my friends now and again? Especially Odd, who I can find out about with nothing more than a convenient visit to the website of Kadic's school newspaper. I grin wickedly as I wait for the website to load. I wonder what kind of chaos Odd's causing right now? Probably all sorts of insanity. I can already picture their uptight principal red faced and screaming as feathers and gravy rain down around him. I bet that P.E. teacher of theirs is searching the school like mad, trying to find where Odd's hiding out. That is, if Odd's pranks haven't already caused him to resign.

The website appears and I move my cursor towards the "Fool Sightings" tab. However, I notice something strange that catches my attention instead.

Every year Milly and Tamiya use the site's main page as a place to write about all of Odd's most outlandish pranks and stunts, updating it constantly throughout the day along with the sightings page. I'd made a point of checking this page last night, so that I would be able to distinguish between yesterday and today's articles. Which is why I was able to tell at a glance that, when it came to new articles, there weren't any.

"What?" I muttered to myself, scrolling a few times to make sure that what I was seeing was right. Confused, I even refreshed the page.

Nope. Still just the stuff from yesterday.

"Oh wow, Odd," I whispered. This could only mean one thing. That Odd was making such a menace of himself that the Kadic news team wasn't even being given enough time to update the front page. Oh, how much I wish I could be there right now, helping Odd wreak havoc.

Grinning, I quickly hurry to the fool sightings, settling in to read all about the misfit's misadventures. I click, bouncing excitedly as the new page loads. When it comes up, I quickly scroll to the bottom to find the latest in Odd pranking news, only to gape at what I find.

There is none.

For a moment, I think that the site hasn't been updated since yesterday. This is a good sign, it means that Odd is being so crazy that there's not even time for updating about it. But then I notice that there are a few newly added reports, something about Odd being seen near the library (yeah, right) and a fire drill being legit. There is also a note at the bottom explaining that Odd has been basically nonexistent all day. It's time stamped half an hour ago.

This can't be right. I quickly check my calendar, which shows that it is, indeed, April First.

But…April First with no pranks from Odd? That's just not right.

"Odd," I muttered, slumping disappointedly in my seat. "If you're making everyone wait like this, then it had better be because you have something really good up your sleeve."

Theo, 4:52, roof

If Odd were anywhere in a mile radius of us? He would see us. I mean, there's no chance that he couldn't see us. What started as a friendly game of pass-the-ball turned into a fully fledged soccer game. The other guys that are up here, Nicolas and them, aren't very good at soccer so the soccer game kind of turned into a get-the-ball-into-the-goal-any-way-possible type of game.

And we're not quiet.

We started with being quiet. I mean, we're hiding. Were hiding. Or at least we were before the soccer game broke out. We're mostly bored, and Sissi never came back, so I guess we're going to call it safe. But none of us really wanted to go back down just yet. I could be dangerous- really.

And it's kind of turned into somewhat of a party.

"Theo?" I turned to see Brandon, our sophomore forward, holding his phone.

"Yeah?" I answered, dropping the soccer ball to the ground.

"We're going to order pizza, do you think they'll deliver to the roof." I considered this.

"Probably. They've delivered to stranger places on this campus before." He shrugged, dialing. I love Kadic- and I'm beginning to love April Fool's Day.

Hanz Klotz, 5:09, Kadic Counseling center.

Today is April First, marked in thick red pen on the calendar as the busiest day of the school year for me. Nervous break downs, terrified over reactions to pranks, raging anger and indignation—I have to deal with it all once a year, every year, from students, faculty, and staff. Every single year.

Except this one.

For the first time in five years, I've not had a line out the door of people looking for someone to talk to. In fact, I've had so few people come through my doors that I've spent more of the day alone than with any patients. The extra counselors I call in to help me hold the flood gates haven't had to step in here at all, and last I checked, they were stowed away in the teacher's lounge.

I can't decide if this unexpected turn of events is a blessing or a curse. It's nice to have a slow day, it really is, but I'm worried about what the consequences could be. Odd Della Robbia hasn't done anything mischievous today (if the school website is anything to go by), which seems to have lulled the school into a false sense of security. But past experience as taught me that Della Robbia is a very driven student who, when he has a goal he really wants to reach, will do anything to reach it. And his goal undoubtedly this year, like every April First prior, is mass chaos of a colossal kind.

I'm worried that the students, tricked into thinking he's gone inactive through his lack of action, have come to conclusion that Odd won't be doing anything today.

I fear they've decided wrong. And it is this that makes me worry for the mental health of the entire school.

It is also for this reason that today, for the first time since I began working at Kadic, I will be leaving early.

Nina, 5:46, cafeteria on campus

Yumi set her tray down across from Jeremie and I, who still looked tired as hell, and eyed my piece of cheesecake.

"Where did you get that?" she asked. I shrugged.

"Off the desert rack." It wouldn't be the first time she stole my dessert.

"I just wanted one bite. Don't make that face." I think she is a sulking a little. And she is still eyeing my cheesecake. I'm on to her games. She can't fool me. And we've better living together too long for that. Jeremie smiled at us. At least I think he was smiling us. He's been smiling a lot today, and I wonder if he's always like that, or if it's just a day. I turn my attention to Yumi instead.

"So when you and Ulrich are married..." I started.

"Don't even start with that."

"No I'm serious!" I protested. It's no laughing matter really. They're getting married. And when they do Yumi will be, against her better judgment, and no matter what she says, a housewife. And she will cook. Seriously I have their whole lives planned.

"What is she talking about?" Jeremie asked. Yumi glared at me.

"When Ulrich is here, she cooks," I explained. Yumi glared at me some more. "Your face will stick like that."

"I didn't know you cooked that much," Jeremie told her, taking a bite of his dinner.

"You're a pest Nina. I don't cook that much, Jer. She's exaggerating."

"Like a little housewife," I snickered. She kicked me under the table

Ulrich, 6:03, Aelita's Dorm.

For a while Timothy and I re-watched Aelita's action movie, but eventually the girls got tired of "listening to the two of you posturing" and put aside their arts and crafts session with my broom to instead choose another movie to watch. One and I and Timothy had no hand in picking.

"I love this movie," Emily announces, even though we're only about five minutes into it.

"You've seen it before?" Timothy asks, tilting his head back to look up at Emily, who is sitting with Sissi and Aelita on Aelita's bed, while he and I sit on the floor. Emily nods.

"At least a dozen times," she says. I frown.

"Has anyone else here seen it?" I ask. Both Aelita and Sissi raise their hands. "Then why are we watching it?"

"Because it's practically a classic," Aelita tells me. Timothy and I exchange looks with one another.

"Titanic is a classic?" we ask simultaneously. All of the girls nod, and then shush us profusely, returning their collective focus to the tv screen. Timothy looks at me and sighs, rolling his eyes at the girls. We continue to watch the movie in relative silence as the all of the overly dressed rich people and scruffy looking lower class pile onto the giant ocean liner. All of the girls squeal excitedly every time the main male character appears on screen, getting most excited when he goes scrambling up the bow of the ship and proclaims himself king of everything.

Timothy and I exchange looks.

"I could do that."

Claire, 6:28, the school garden shed.

It's a good thing that my parents never actually read the school newsletters sent home to them every month. Because if they did, then they would know that going to class and studying aren't the only activities and do at Kadic boarding school.

They would know that I also spend my time hiding in garden sheds with my classmates, skipping class all for the sake of not finding foreign objects in my shoes, hair, bed, ect.

Myself, along with all of the twelfth graders who are not on the soccer team, associates of Odd Della Robbia, or incredibly stupid, are currently hiding out within the confines of the school's usually off limits to students garden shed. Most of us trickled in here after the supposed fire "drill," because we are all convinced that it was simply a ploy to get us to lower out guards against an even more devastating assault.

And among us twelfth graders is Anne-Sophie Munier, a member of Kadic Echos, who is currently writing furiously in a notebook and snapping pictures like her life depends upon it. Which means that this gathering will be a primary focus of the next newsletter which, like I mentioned before, is thankfully something my parents will never see.

Not that we're all just loitering aimlessly, mind you. Most of us have been studying and doing other school work. In fact, for most of us, this is the most concentrated study session we've had since we came to Kadic six years ago. All thanks to the menace that is Odd Della Robbia.

I wonder if I'm the only one who appreciates the irony.

Jim, 6:40, the closet

I jerk away with a start, arms and legs flailing as I fight off the bears that are—

Wait. I'm not in the woods. I lay still for a moment, and eventually my eyes adjust to the darkness to reveal that I'm not hiding among the trees, fighting off rabid beasts, but actually sitting on the floor of the janitor's closet that I've been calling home for the duration of the day. Huh. Imagine that.

Yawning widely, my jaws give a satisfying crack as I stretch as best I can in the cramped space. Rubbing at my eyes with one hand, I use the other one to fish around in my pocket until I find my phone, which I turn on. The sudden bright light leaves me blinking for a minute as the phone powers on and goes through its little welcome song and dance.

"Finally," I mutter, once I get the phone's main screen. However, just as I go to check the time, an alert pops up.

Missed Call: Boss Man.

"Surprise, surprise," I mumble, clearing the alert to check the time. But before I can look, I get another alert.

Missed Call: Boss Man. Frowning, I clear it as well, only to have another alert appear.

Missed Call: Boss Man's Sec. He would have Nicole calling me too. I clear that one, only to get another one.

Missed Call: Boss Man.

"Don't care," I grumble, just wanting to check the time.

Missed Text: Boss Man. Wow. He was so desperate that he figured out how to text me? I'm almost tempted to read it, if only to see if it's legible. After checking the time, I decide, and I clear it away.

Missed Call: Boss Man.

"Okay, this is getting old," I grumble, clearing that alert too.

Missed Call: Rosa. Man…he even had Rosa try to call me? I clear it away.

Missed Text:

I toss the phone down without looking at the rest of the alert. Fine then, if that's how it's going to be then I just won't check the time! Settling down again, I cross my arms over my chest, prepared to just wait it out until the hallway lights dim at night.

You know, this reminds me of the one time when I lost radio contact in a fox hole with only…

Emily, 7:01, Aelita's Dorm

The boys vetoed Titanic over and over until we reminded them there were naked parts. Then they shut up. Tsh. That was the same argument I had to use to get Odd to watch it, too- only I told him there were also explosions when the boat sank.

He then accused me of 'spoiling the ending'. Boys.

"We need snacks," Timothy declared. I glanced at the clock. I haven't eaten since lunch- I don't think they even bothered to serve dinner tonight.

"I agree." Everyone else seemed to agree with this suggestion as well.

"Who wants to go get them?" Sissi asked. Clearly she was out of the running.

"Not it."

"Not it." Aelita and I never took our eyes off the movie. Ulrich and Timothy didn't look pleased.

"Aw man," Ulrich protested. "But we haven't got to the good part yet!" I glanced at him for a second.

"We'll replay it for you if you miss it."

"Which you won't if you hurry," Sissi piped in. The boys scrambled for the door and the three of us made ourselves more comfortable on the bed.

Jim, 7:06, the closet.

I hear something. It's…it's someone coming down the hallway! There's only one person who would be out at this hour, wandering the halls when there is such a high risk for being the victim of something slimy. And that's the only person who doesn't have to worry about being a victim.

Grinning to myself, a shift around until I am facing the door, crouched low and with one hand gripping the knob, waiting for just the right time to strike.

Closer and closer the footsteps come. There are voices too, two people speaking quietly to one another. So, Della Robbia has an accomplice, does he? Even better. I'll just get them both.

They're almost even with the door now. I steady myself, preparing to pounce.

For once, it's going to be Odd who doesn't see it coming.

Ulrich, 7:07, the hallway.

"I can't believe them," Timothy is saying, glowering as we compile our money. "How could they send us off to get food without even giving us any money towards it?"

"Because they're girls," I tell him knowingly. "They never—"

The closet door beside us slams open, and someone flies out of it, screaming at the top of their lungs. Timothy and I scream right back, throwing ourselves against the hall's far wall, prepared to fight for our lives if we have to against Odd's terrifying barrage of—

…Jim?

He seems to recognize us at the same time as we realize it's him, as he stops screaming and drops his raised hands to his side. Timothy and I remain in our defensive positions, eyeing the large man warily. For a long moment, we simply stare at one another.

"Er…" Jim mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh, yes, right, well done," he tells us while backing towards the closet. Stepping inside, he starts to pull the door shut. "Carry on." Then he shuts it, the click of the lock sounding a second later.

Timothy and I remain in our defensive stances for a few seconds, still not quite sure how to react. Then, slowly, we lower our raised fists, glancing at one another. Eventually, we gather our wits enough to speak.

"I could have taken him," we say in unison.

Aelita, 7:07, Dorm.

There's a scream from the hallway and we look at each other in confussion, all debating whether we should go check out what's happened. But now there's only silence.

"Should we...?" Emily starts. I shook my head. Sissi snickered.

"Not it," she copied us. Emily shrugged and turned up the volume on the tv.

Librarian, 7:10, Library.

I kicked the soccer team out when they started moving books shelves around to 'form a fortress'. I swear that's what they called it. There's still one student at the back of the library, but he hasn't really moved all day.

I can't blame him. I wouldn't want to be running around the school today, either. In fact, I'm a little bit of an envy around the Kadic staff- seeing as how I'm one of the very few who never have to see or deal with Odd Della Robbia. The library is never a subject of his pranks. It's the boy's Kryptonite.

You'd never catch him in here.

But today is so slow. Not even the usual group that hides out here. Just the soccer team and the one student who's been studying all day. Kadic is so strange. I think I'll apply for a transfer next year.

Ulrich, 7:16, Dorm Building.

Timothy and I stare at the doors, contemplating them as if they are a piece of artwork.

"You do it."

"No, you do it."

"Not it."

"What are you, twelve?"

We tilt our heads and stare at one another. Clearly, this is a fight that's going to have to be settled in the way that true men settle all their disputes. Turning so that our bodies are facing one another, we each hold out a fist, shaking it once, twice, three times.

"Paper covers rock!" Timothy shouts, holding his flat hand proudly over my still clenched fist. I scowl angrily at him.

"Best two out of three," I challenge. Timothy narrows his eyes at me.

"Don't be a sore loser," he says. "Go open to door."

"Fine," I relent, "but you have to be the look out while I get the snacks."

"Fine," he shrugs. With one more glare for good measure, I creep my way over to the door, peering out through the narrow window.

"Do you see anything?" Timothy asks. I shake my head.

"All clear." Pushing the door open, I stick my head out, checking for any traps lying in wait. I can't see anything that looks too suspicious, so I take a step outside. I hear Timothy take a deep breath behind me, holding it while he waits for something to explode. "I…I think we're good," I tell him, continuing all the way outside. He hesitates a moment, and then follows after me, not wanting to be left alone inside.

"I can't believe we have to do this," he mutters, walking so close that he keeps bumping into me.

"Would you back off?" I hiss. He grumbles under his breath, but puts a little space between us as we continue to dart across the courtyard, looking like rabbits darting nervously from bench to bush to tree trunk. Although it takes about four times as long as it normally would, we finally reach the little building with the vending machines.

"Go, go," Timothy urges, shoving me towards the machines.

"Don't rush me," I snap back. Looking around warily, I search for any kind of trip wire or sensor that will cause the building to spontaneously collapse. Figuring it looks safe, I move slowly towards the machine, giving it a thorough check for anything that might blast me with glue. Nothing seems amiss. How strange. "So, what am I supposed to get?" I ask. Timothy shrugs.

"Just get a bunch of different things," he suggests. Shrugging back, I start shoving quarters into the machine, systematically working my way along the rows of cookies and chips, letting everything pile up at the bottom of the machine for a single, efficient gathering when I'm done.

"Should we get drinks too?" I ask once I'm done, bending down and retrieving all of the munchies.

"Sure," Timothy says. "Because you know if we get back there without any, the girls will decide they're thirsty."

"Probably," I agree, handing the snack over to Timothy. He gives me a disbelieving look, which I ignore as I return to my version of hunting and gathering. Luckily, this time I know exactly what everyone will want and, once I have all the drinks in hand, Timothy and I duck and weave our way back to the dorms.

Theo, 7:36, outside the Infirmary.

That librarian is such a stick. I think she torments kids on purpose, just because she can. She didn't say anything while we were building the fort, no. But once we're finished and ready to go? Suddenly she's all over us, telling us that we need to put the books back where we found them and go take our rough housing somewhere else. It's not like we even did anything to antagonize her!

Well, if you don't count Michael spilling soda all over the place. But I don't, so I'm still allowed to be mad.

And so now, thanks to the librarian, we've all had to move again, trying to find another place where we can both hang out and be safe from Odd.

Which is why we're all standing outside the Infirmary. After staring up at the door for a few minutes, Alexander reaches up and knocks.

"Coming!" Yolanda shouts from inside. We can hear things being knocked about for a second or two, and then the door flies open. "Oh dear," Yolanda says, looking down at us. "Are you all hurt?"

"No," Michael says, while the rest of us shake our heads. "Can we come in?"

"Uh…" Yolanda says. The team takes that as their yes, and quickly filters in past the confused looking nurse. As soon as we're through the door, everyone starts claiming beds and chairs, some people heading for Yolanda's coffee maker while someone else pulls out our remaining boxes of pizza and bottles of soda.

Shoving one of my teammates over, I claim a bed that already has two bodies, who are currently passing a pizza box around. I grab a slice, while glancing over at Yolanda. I wonder what she thinks of all this.

The nurse is simply shaking her head, pushing Alexander out of the way as she goes to refill her coffee mug.

Milly, 8:20, News Room

Tamiya finally woke me up, claiming I'd never fall asleep tonight if I didn't get up. She's probably right. And I've been having weird dreams about being stuck in vats of slime all evening, too.

"So, what are we doing?" Tamiya asked me. I folded my throw blanket, putting it back over my chair.

"What do you mean?"

"For the paper. The school is expecting a report and so far we don't have anything." I sighed, bringing up a list of April Fool's related articles I've been saving up all year on my laptop.

"There's a few things we can still do I guess." Tamiya doesn't look thrilled.

"We need a story, Mils."

"I know. Maybe the rest of crew found some stuff?" I offered. She shrugged, picking up her camera.

"I'm going to go take pictures of the empty hallways. We can always go with the Kadic Ghost Town angle." I smiled, reclaiming my desk chair.

"I like the way you think, Tam."

Yolanda, 8:33, the Infirmary.

I won't lie, while having the entirety of the school soccer team (most of whom I've already met due to sports injuries) using my infirmary as their own personal club house is annoying, it's not nearly as bad as it could be.

They could be in here hanging out while covered in slime.

Ew.

Speaking of The Fool, I've asked a few of the boys about what's going on about campus, and if anyone has seen that blonde and purple haired terror. To my surprise, the resounding answer has been "no." When I expressed my disbelief, they drug me over to my computer and, sitting me down in my little computer chair, proceeded to pull up the school website.

"Look," Theo said, going to a tab labeled "Fool Sightings." Clicking it, they scroll through it, all the way to the bottom of the page, where they point out the time stamps on the short list of entries there. "Nothing," he says. "Odd's not done anything today."

Huh. Well, I'll be damned. He really hasn't. I turn, about to ask one of the boys if they have any clue as to why Odd's been so silent, but when I look back all the boys are gone, having already wandered back over to their previous hang outs.

Sighing, I narrow my eyes at one boy as he scrambles across a neatly made bed, shoes and all. I continue to remind myself that it could be worse, they could be covered in slime.

I hear something topple to the ground with a resounding crash, followed by a shouted "sorry!" by a few of the boys.

I grip my coffee tighter. It could be worse.

Aelita, 9:02, Aelita's Dorm.

A knock on my door as all the girls leaping into action. I grab a pillow for a shield, while Emily gets The Fool Buster, holding it at the ready, and Sissi…

Well, Sissi's diving for cover under my bed. But me and Emily, we're ready.

Another knock sounds, and we keep slowly towards the door. Emily and I exchange glances when we hear a shouted "it's us!" from the other side of the door. It sounds like Timothy. Motioning me ahead, Emily raises the broom over her head, ready to been anyone who comes through the door who isn't Ulrich or Timothy.

Opening the door slowly, I peer through the crack. Ulrich and Timothy stare back at me around armfuls of food and drinks.

"Can we come in?" Ulrich asks, quirking an eyebrow. I make a quick glance down both directions of the hall, and then move aside, waving for the boys to come in. Ulrich gives Emily a confused look as she lowers the broom and shrugs.

"You can never be too careful on April First."

"Well, we brought you guys snacks," Ulrich says, he and Timothy dumping all of the food onto my bed. "We weren't sure what exactly you all wanted, so we just got…stuff." There's a long pause, during which we all sort of just stare at the food.

"Oh, cookies!" Emily cries, pouncing on a bag of chocolate chip cookies. This sets off a chain reaction as the rest of us dive on the pile, wrestling madly to nab what we want before someone else does.

Eventually the chaos settles down, each of us making ourselves comfortable with our makeshift dinner.

"So, now what?" Timothy asks as he rips open a cellophane bag. There's a general shrugging of shoulders as we all look at one another, waiting for someone else to come up with something to do. It's Sissi who finally breaks the collective silence.

"Does anyone want to play Go Fish?"

Nicolas, 9:10, Infirmary

Ben was smiling at Yolanda and I think she knew we were up to something because she had her arms crossed over her chest like girls do when they're mad. Sissi does it basically all the time, so I should know by now what that looks like.

"What, Benjamin?" she demanded. Theo egged him on and a few of the other boys laughed.

"Can we play hide and go seek?" Ben asked. That seemed like a kind of dumb idea to me, but there wasn't much to do while we waited out April Fool's Day.

"Hide and go seek?" Yolanda repeated. "Aren't you boys a little old for that?" There was some groaning from some of the boys, nagging at her to let us play.

"We were going to play in the dark. To make it more challenging." Yolanda looked around the room at us, seeming to gauge whether or not she really wanted to let us trash her infirmary.

"Well… I guess." Everyone cheered, and I couldn't help but join them. "Try not to make a mess, alright?" Ben smiled, turning on his heel without promising anything.

"Yolanda! Want to play?" Theo called over the group. The woman scowled.

"No, thank you, Theo."

"Aww come on." And we started egging her on. Finally she sighed.

"You know what? Alright. It's not like there's much else to do." She stood up from her chair, straightening her shirt. "But not it."

Anne-Sophie, 9:21, the Garden Shed

I finish snapping a picture of a group of kids trying to figure out how to start working on a group poster without any of their poster supplies just as my cell phone begins to ring. Setting down my camera, I check the caller ID. It's Milly. She's probably wondering what I've got.

"Hey Milly," I say, holding the phone between my ear and shoulder while jotting down a quick summary of my newest punch of shots. "How's the chaos going?"

"It's not," she tells me. What?

"What?" I ask, trying not to sound too surprised. A few of the students sitting near me look over.

"You heard me," Milly says. "Odd's not done anything today. Not unless you've got something."

"No, I don't," I murmur, still in shock. How can this be? And April Fool's Day without Odd attacks? Not possible. "Milly," I say slowly, "if this is supposed to be a joke, it's not funny."

"I wish it was a joke, Anne," Milly says, sighing. "But we really have nothing. It seems like, for the first time ever, Odd decided not to pull any pranks on April Fool's." I get quite a few stares from the others, most of whom are now watching me as I gape foolishly at my phone.

"So…what are we supposed to do now?" I ask.

"Tamiya's got an idea that I think we can pull off," Milly explains. "Do you have anything?"

"Just pictures of most of the twelfth grade class hiding out in the garden shed," I tell her.

"Great!" Milly shouts. "We can use anything you've got. Get back to my room as fast as you can, so we can get to work."

"Okay," I say, but Milly has already hung up. "That was interesting," I mutter as I tuck my own phone away and start gathering my things. It's as I stand up to leave that I notice that every eye in the room is focused on me.

"So," one of the boys working on the poster-that-isn't says, "what's it like outside?"

"Surprisingly normal," I tell him, shrugging. "My sources tell me Odd hasn't done anything all day." The room fills with shocked gasps.

"Nothing?" another person asks. I shake my head.

"I'm heading back to the news room," tell them, using our professional sounding name for Milly and Tamiya's dorm. "I suggest you all head back to your rooms too. It's late."

With that, I weave through the gathered students, reaching the door and, after a little hesitation, pushing it open. It's dark outside. With a sigh, I head out under the moonlight, aiming for the still lit dorms.

I really hope Milly knows what she's doing, I think as I walk. Otherwise, we're all screwed.

--

Librarian, 9:53, the Library.

Glancing at the clock, I notice with surprise that it's almost time to close the library for the night. I'm surprised, usually on April Fool's I'm watching the time like a hawk, counting down the hours and minutes and seconds until I can kick the mob out. I finish organizing the books that Theo and his team failed to put away correctly, and head towards the back of the library, where I can make out a pile of books surrounding a student who is sitting at one of the back study tables.

"We close in five minutes!" I call. They waves their hand to show they've heard me. Nodding to myself, I head back up to the front desk, where I take a seat and do my final bit of tidying up for the night. Shutting down my computers, I look up just in time to see the super studier leaving through the library doors.

"It's really kind of sad," I mutter to myself as I gather my things. "Even at a school like this, no student should waste his April First studying."

Ulrich, 10:02, Aelita's Dorm.

After playing our way through Go Fish, War, Rummy, Black Jack, Spoons, and a twenty minute attempt to learn poker that never really works out; the five of us are officially sick of card games.

"What now?" Timothy asks, as Sissi sighs, flopping backwards onto Aelita's bed.

"No more cards," Emily whines, dropping her cards.

"I agree," Aelita says, gathering up the cards that we've all dropped into the circle we're sitting in. "It's late," she then announces. "I think we should all start getting back to our dorms."

"Is that a good idea?" Sissi asks. "What if Odd's got something rigged in the halls?"

"He would wait until the last possible moment," Timothy adds, "just to catch everyone off guard."

"You know, at this point, I think we're actually safe," Emily says. "There's no way Odd would keep us in anticipation this long. He just doesn't have the attention span, or the will power to do it."

"Emily's right," I agree. "Odd wouldn't wait this long. No matter how good of an idea is would be to catch us off guard. He just wouldn't be able too."

"I'm not convinced," Sissi declares.

"Then how about we travel to our rooms together?" Emily suggests. "We can drop you off first and everything." Sissi looks thoughtful.

"Okay, fine," she relents. Climbing to her feet, she and Emily head over to the door.

"Thanks for letting us hang out with you guys," Emily says as she opens the door. "It was fun."

"Yeah," Sissi adds, sounding a little reluctant. "Thanks."

"It's no problem," Aelita tells them pleasantly. Once the two girls are gone, Timothy and I get up as well.

"Come on, Tim," I say, motioning to the door with my head. "We'll do like them."

"Jim always says we should use the buddy system," Aelita chimes, grinning. I roll my eyes.

"See you tomorrow, Aelita."

"Good night Ulrich, night Timothy." We say our goodbyes, and then we too head off, taking the stairs down to the boy's floor below (very slowly, and with The Fool Buster held out threateningly before us).

"Here we are," I saw, motioning to Timothy's door once we reach it. "Night."

"Night Ulrich." Timothy warily checks his door for any pranks, and then heads inside. Once alone, I let out a heavy sigh, and start heading for my own dorm. Oddly enough, this was probably one of the nicest days I've had in quite a while. Which is weird, considering it's April the first.

I'm careful opening my own door, not entirely convinced that Odd wouldn't at least have a bucket of water waiting for me. However, nothing dumps down on my head, and when I walk into the dorm I find it in the messy state it was left in. Sighing again, I toss down the broom and, suddenly very tired, simply kick my shoes off and fall into bed. It is just as my eyes are drifting shut that the door opens again.

"Hey Ulrich," Odd says as he steps into the room, easily maneuvering around the remains of my blanket fort. "How was your day?" He's kidding, right?

"Uh," I say, tilting my head to look up at him. "Kind of…weird, actually." I narrow my eyes at him. "Are you…are those books you're carrying?"

"Yep," Odd says. He dumps his load of books, along with an overstuffed backpack, onto the ground.

"Where were you all day?" I ask.

"In the library," Odd says, kicking off his shoes and pulling his shirt over his head. "I was studying. Mrs. Hertz says she's going to let me make up all of the science tests I've failed, so I need to be ready."

"O…kay," I say, baffled. "But…but what about, you know, your pranks?"

"Pranks?' Odd asks, looking at me as he pulls on his pajamas. "Oh, right, it's April First." I gawk at him. He shrugs. "Don't you think we're a little too old for that?" he asks.

"Too…" I blink a few times, not sure what else to say. It's like being told the Easter bunny isn't real, only to then have him walk into the room and hand you some candy. Odd seems to have not noticed my distress.

"Man, I'm tired," he says, stretching and then climbing into bed. He pulls the blankets up around him. "Good night, Ulrich." I'm speechless, staring as Odd rolls over and settles down to sleep.

"Uh…" I don't know what else to say. "Uh, yeah, good night Odd."

I'm tempted to get out of bed and look out the window. Something tells me that tonight a few pigs got their wings.

Second Day of April:

Ulrich, 7:00 am, Dorm Room

There's a sound… some sort of …. Bell? Am I late? Oh my god! I'm late for class! I've got to be late-- Wait.

My eyes finally focused in the sunlight enough to catch sight of the alarm clock. It's only seven am. Seven.. Which means I'm not late for class. That sound… It's….

FIRE. It's the fire alarm!

"Get up!" I screamed at Odd, tumbling out of my bed. "Fire! Odd get out of bed there's a fire! The dorm is on fire!" I tugged on his arm and he yawned, glancing up at me.

"What are you talking….?"

"There fire alarm!" I screamed like it wasn't already obvious. I ran towards the door and my odd roommate slowly followed. I crouched down, checking for smoke under the door. When I found none, I threw it open and ran down the hall, joining the rest of the floor as they hurried out the emergency door. I lost Odd somewhere in the jumble of people as we joined the girls on the lawn of the campus.

The school was on fire. It was going to burn to the ground and they would send us all home. I would have to graduate in Germany. I would never see my friends again.

But as I looked up at the building, I saw no smoke.

"Is this a drill?" I heard someone ask. But even the staff that lives on campus was out on the lawn, and they looked just as confused.

"Ulrich!" Spinning around, I spot Aelita making her way over to me, Emily trailing behind her with Sissi, who looks half awake. I get the feeling that, if not for Emily and Aelita, she would probably still be sleeping inside.

"Are you guys okay?" I ask as they crowd around, all in their pajamas. I get all nods in response. "Do either of you—" My question is cut off by yet another person calling my name. Turning around, I spot Timothy heading towards me. It looks like he's got the entire team following after him.

"What's going on?" Timothy asks as soon as he reaches me. I shrug.

"No idea, I—"

"Ulrich, Aelita!"

I'm apparently not going to get to finish my sentences today. Turning, again, I find myself face to face with Yumi. She and Jeremie are looking at us all in confusion, while a girl I recognize as Yumi's roommate stands behind them, looking thoroughly baffled.

"What's happened?" Yumi asks, looking at the crowd of pajama clad students. "Is the school on fire?"

"I don't know," I say, "we all just got out here. I don't think anyone kn—"

"Attention Kadic!"

The crowd goes quiet at the sound of a very familiar voice, amplified as it echoes through the school wide P.A. system. Aelita and I look at each other. How did we not see this coming?

"Is that—?" Sissi starts to ask, but she's cut off when a loud Boom sounds from all around, seeming to come from above. All heads turn skyward, just in time to see a cloud of slime explode into the air. It seems to hang for a moment, as if the individual globs are each choosing a target. And then they fall, and all mayhem breaks loose.

Yumi tried to hide against my side, pushing me towards the shelter of the building, but it was useless and green goo fell from the sky—over taking the entire population of students. There were piercing screams echoing around us, along with colorful vocabulary.

There was no use running, or trying to hide. We were all caught. It was useless to even move.

"Yumi!" her roommate screamed. "What the hell is going on?" Yumi looked at me with a blank face and then back to her.

"But…" she trailed off. "Yesterday." Jeremie sat down on the ground. I think he may actually be in tears.

"This isn't happening," he muttered. I dragged my hands over my face, trying to rid myself of the green slime that had rained down on us.

I should have stayed inside and let the building burn around me. There was screeching behind us, and some jumping up and down by who I can only assume is Milly. The only one that could be happy about this. This… this is sick. It's wrong and sick and wrong. And just as I finish that thought, a second boom sounds.

This time, it's paint. Purple paint.

"I don't understand!" Yumi's roommate yells, as all around her people scramble to find at least a little cover. Sissi grabs Timothy and spins him in front of her, trying to use him as a human shield. A few other girls see this and make a mad dash at the soccer team, who is currently…dancing. They would be enjoying this.

"I can't believe him!" Aelita fumes, looking ready to scramble up the side of the building if she has to, if it means finding Odd.

"I know," I shout, "can you believe he would do this?" Aelita gives me a slightly quizzical look.

"I just can't believe he didn't tell me he had this planned!" I blink, struggling to come up with an adequate response to that statement. And then another boom sounds.

I must say, my team looks much less enthused by Odd's third act. And who wouldn't? After all, it's going to take forever, thanks to the slime and paint, to get rid of all this glitter.

Odd, 7:15, rooftop

Two days ago I was told if I pulled so much as a single prank on April Fool's Day I wouldn't be allowed to walk on graduation day with my class.

Today is not April Fool's Day. It hasn't been April Fool's Day for seven hours, and fifteen-- sixteen! minutes. Today is Friday. I am the master of Loop Holes.

And I am still the Master of Pranks.