Hi! Sorry, Ponchy and I completely forgot about this. Anyway, we both hope you enjoy this! :D The glory goes to God! Oh, and the disclaimer's in the second chapter.
~la-hija-de-Dios :D
On April 1, 1979, Lieutenant Bates cautiously walked up to the CHP building. He had heard rumors that April Fool's Day was always a day for which he needed to be careful and watch out for what the officers may have in store for him. This being his first April Fool's Day, he expected them to go easy on him, but he had heard from Getraer that Ponch loved to prank the new officers that were there on April Fool's Day. Reportedly, he would only do it if he knew they could handle it. When Bates walked in, he was surprised that he had not already been hit with something or had something fall on him. He vigilantly walked towards his office, looking over his shoulder every few steps.
Jon walked by and found this hilarious. "Hey, if you're worried about Ponch, don't be. He called in sick," Jon said still holding back laughter.
Bates nodded his head, saying, "Ok, thanks. Is he all right? I mean, is it really that bad?"
"I don't know, but I trust him. If it were bad enough to skip work, he'd call. If not, he'd be here." Jon replied. Bates was somewhat thankful for this, but at the same time was feeling bad for Ponch. Jon walked off after that small chat.
Bates sat in his office staring at a picture of the entire group of CHP officers that worked this shift. He then looked at just one in particular and muttered, "Frank Poncherello, I wonder what you would've done to me today…" he said quietly. Then the phone began to ring. He answered it. "Hello….." Before he could say anything more the person cut in.
"Hi, can you help me?! PLEASE! It's really important!"
"Sir, calm down! What's going on?"
"I-I-I . . . I don't know how to cook pizza rolls!"
"Doesn't it say on the box?"
"I accidentally ripped that part off."
"Um, have you never done this before?"
"No, my mommy always did it for me…." The man started.
Bates rolled his eyes. "You realize this is the CHP. You are not supposed to just call us for stuff like this. . ." Bates started to say.
"But, aren't you there to help the public, and keep us safe?"
"Yes. . ."
"I won't be safe if I cook the pizza rolls too long. I might start a fire. I could get sick if they are not cooked all the way. . ."
"You sound like you should be talking to someone else with a better sense of humor."
"Aww. Come on, Lieutenant Bates! You've got good humor, too!"
"P-P-Poncherello?"
"It took you that long to figure it out?"
Bates set the phone down and began looking around. Ponch figured Bates would've done that, so he just got up and went to the lieutenant's office. He stood there in the doorway. "Sorry, I just realized I don't have any pizza rolls to cook." Ponch said sadly.
Bates nearly jumped out of his skin because Ponch had scared him so bad. He turned to see him leaning against the door frame in the doorway. "I thought you were. . ."
"At home, sick?" Ponch asked.
"Y-Y-Yeah."
Ponch laughs. "April Fool's! I've been here the whole time. Jon told you I was sick, so that when I called . . . I think you get it." Ponch replied.
Bates stared at the young Puerto Rican officer in front of him. "How'd you get so good at this?" was all he could say.
"Practice," Ponch replied. Then he smiled. "Maybe someday you'll be good at it too if you want to," he added.
Bates just stood there, still thinking about what just happened. It was funny to think about after he got over being embarrassed.
"I told you to watch out for Poncherello," Getraer said with a smile as he came into the room. Bates rolled his eyes as Ponch smiled at Getraer. After a few seconds, they were all laughing about it.
