AN: this is part of a personal challenge/project filling all the prompts of past Kadam weeks, and posting one every day from March 28 to May 8th, 7 prompts per year 5 previous rounds (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 last two managed by vcg73) the first week of May 2-8 will present to you the offering for the Kadam Week 2021 you can search for more on tumblr.
Welcome to Kadam Week 2021, prompts gently provided by vcg73
day 5: April Fools Day
Adam didn't mind the differences between his home country and the states that much, not on most days at least.
April first though was the exception, usually Americans' tendencies to go overboard were amusing, but he could admit that in the past few years being on this side of the pond made him look back fondly and longingly to how things were back home.
For one, back in England, the tradition of pranking lasted only till noon, which made only half of a terrible terrible day, and easier to avoid.
But here in America, the whole day was game, and Adam didn't like how easily pranks escalated.
The fact he never had fond memories of the practice didn't help much either.
It was only by a lucky chance, that the previous years, April first fell on days when it was completely ok for him to call in sick or disappear without any suspicions.
While he blessed such coincidence at the time, it was something he somehow regretted now. Because he was unsure on how to broach the subject with Kurt, nor how it would be received.
Simply disappearing for twenty four hours without a warning, was not something he could do to his boyfriend, not when he knew said boyfriend was capable of worrying over the smaller things...
He wasn't that comfortable raising the issue, but it was something they needed to tackle together.
Adam didn't want April fools traditions to be something they got upset about and potentially snap at each other over mere ignorance.
It so wasn't the kind of talk he wanted to have, but clear communication was the key and so a talk they would have.
Without knowing it yet Kurt was facing a similar dilemma.
He never had the chance to walk away from April first, so the possibility had never ever even crossed his mind, especially since in his experience it had always been one more day where it was just more of the same…
Probably with a more cruel edge to the 'pranks' done to him, since apparently the date gave permission even to the kinder people to just disregard anything he might feel...
So all in all it was just one more day in his usual life.
The main exhibit example of the escalated condoned cruelty of April fools had been their outside furniture being nailed to the roof...
Everyone simply laughed it out, while his dad had to have the roof repaid adding more expenses to the list of bills to pay...
In a way Kurt had always tried to appear unaffected and bored by the repetitiveness of the jokes and pranks sent his personal way.
The substance in question might have changed during the years and the occasion, but the prank itself had stayed the same. The over unoriginal and completely lacking any creative inventive of trowing a balloon or a container filled with one of the many possibly disgusting choices.
So nothing new compared to the daily slushie facial he got in high school.
In the lucky years when he was younger, it was just chalk powder and or dirt, then the boys hit their fascination for the disgusting and the pee balloons, the slimes and eggs appeared.
The seemingly most innocuous one had been a natural blueberries smoothie… That managed to destroy a complete outfit with stains that never came out.
But now that he was at Nyada, despite having found out how surprisingly similar college was to high school, he had slightly higher hopes for this year.
If the others students were as busy as he was, then hopefully there wouldn't be any time for the traditional pranks.
At least not on school ground, and since some of his professors had been grumpy dragons on Valentine's day, by simply seeing the exchange of flowers and chocolates in the hallways, to the point that the message that not such foolishness and disruption would be tolerated in their classrooms, became the daily mantra. Made Kurt held a tiny candle of hope that he might get through that day unscathed this year.
The only uncertainty came from Adam and the rest of their friends...
The Apples were a playful and excitable bunch on a normal day, though he was pretty sure that any kind of mischief from them would be geared more toward being funny than malicious.
And despite not having known them that long, he was sure that if he asked them to ease up, they all would make everything stop immediately.
But the whole idea of the day was still making him a little anxious, with all his bad experiences, while he was always the one neither amused nor laughing, everyone else seemed to find his situation pretty amusing...
With Blaine he basically never had to worry, his ex was always too needy of being the centre of attention that never bothered to follow any kind of traditions if it didn't benefit him...
And Adam was nothing like Blaine... Which made Kurt all the more worried he'd end up flip out and explode at his boyfriend, over something insignificantly small and harmless.
But it was also exactly the reason why in the end, Kurt shouldn't have been as surprised as he actually was, in receiving a text from Adam on that subject, simply saying 'Can we please talk about April first's expectations?'
Despite the calm 'Sure, I'll be there in half an hour unless there're troubles with the subway. See you soon xxx' Adam got from Kurt, his nerves were not as calm or collected.
Hopefully Kurt wouldn't be too disappointed. Adam knew there could be pranks not meant to hurt, but he had seen too many backfire to be comfortable with the whole principle.
His uneasiness got gladly interrupted by the doorbell announcing Kurt's arrival.
"Hellu darling" Adam greeted with a smile, he was happy to see his boyfriend even if he wasn't too thrilled about the topic they were about to discuss.
To Adam's surprise and joy Kurt hugged him and pressed a light kiss on his lips before saying "Hi there"
Adam smiled back and pointed to the kitchen where the kettle was on the stove "Tea before we talk?"
Kurt chuckled but nodded following Adam "Such a British offer, I'll take a cup of what you're having, thanks."
Adam chuckled a little himself. It was more a personal preference than a real national trait, he knew quite a few fellow Brits who couldn't even stand tea, but it was a gesture still common enough that the saying hadn't died out yet.
Once they both sat at the table with their cup in front of them, Kurt was the first to start their talk "About April fools, is there any chance we might skip the practice altogether? I'm not overly fond of pranks and if we could avoid their cruelty I'd really appreciate it."
Adam sighed relieved then smiled nodding grateful "Believe me darling, if only it was feasible I would have tackled this year's April fools like usual, namely skipping the day altogether. It is the one day a year I miss not being back in England."
Kurt tilted his head curiously and asked "How so? And by that I mean why would you miss England on that specific day?"
Adam grinned at the quick correction, apparently Kurt had already figured out to ask clearly for things he wanted to know.
He knew it was maybe a slightly petty exercise to force on his boyfriend, but it did have the advantage of promoting and teaching how to communicate better, which was a good thing for the both of them.
"It's not like the pranks were better, if that's what you're wondering, but there is the tradition that pranks should happen only until noon and if someone pranks after noon then he is the April fool... A tradition that translating in having to hide only half day instead of the whole day..."
Kurt considered it for a moment then nodded "You know, I never thought of that solution, mainly because in my experience it wouldn't matter anyway, the only real difference on April fools compared to any other day was that more people laughed when something happened..."
Adam frowned and took another sip of his cooling tea, to refrain from offering once more to burn to ashes the kind of place that would allow such things to happen on daily basis...
"I wish we could just pass through a token space, get our stamp of been there, done that, lemme be and then be free for the rest of the day. That would be a relief if only possible."
Adam's outburst was more on a joking note, however Kurt was looking pretty lost in thoughts, humming softly before asking "But what if we had such place, let's say like a table on the cafeteria with an April first menu, and at the end a pin and the request that anyone wearing a pin to be left alone..."
Adam listened interested and wondered reasoning aloud "You know, if we take this idea to the Deans we might actually get the faculty behind it and have at least the school day free of worries. It would be something… I know I'd appreciate that..."
Kurt looked up, panic evident in both his voice and eyes "Wait, you mean it isn't safe? I thought that with the majority of the faculty acting like grumpy dragons with a toothache no one would dare... Or that at least we'd all be too busy for that?"
Adam snorted and shook his head "Oh Darling, there're times I forget you're still a sweet innocent wide eyed freshie... On the contrary, the odds are beyond scary... But if we get the faculty behind that then we might make it happen… And believe me, most professors would love to wear such a pin for the day and delight in enforcing the safe space."
Kurt pouted a little at Adam's description, but in a way he knew he was, eyes were still full of wonder for the school, despite the nasty discovery about it being so similar to high school.
But he had to defend himself so he quipped playfully "So, oh wise and jaded senior, what is your take on the idea, think we can pull that off instead and get the whole school an almost prank free zone?"
Adam pondered the question a little and asked back instead "But what could we put on the menu? I can only think of a couple of tea brews that taste like something else, one like chocolate and another like coffee"
Kurt grinned getting excited "What about variations of the theme of the meatloaf cupcakes different combination of meat patty with coloured mashed potato piped on it to seem like frosting with cherry tomatoes or parmesan on top of them as decorations."
Adam hummed interested, "Talking of cheese it could be fun to have as opposed to those the sweet grilled cheese sandwiches, where you use pound cake instead of bread"
Kurt chuckled looking mischievously "Do you think we can manage to ask the cooks to also add apples' fries?"
Adam snorted and playfully pointed a finger at Kurt in a mocking scolding before tutting "Cheeky aren't we? You really want everyone to know who did it with such a signature?"
Kurt laughed carefree, almost to the point of tears "As if the gossips in our school wouldn't have passed that information through the whole theatre social circles grapevine way before lessons start on April first..."
What had started as a half joke, in front of two cups of tea, shared by a couple who didn't care for malicious and cruel pranks, was found by the faculty as an intriguing alternative, to a day of growling and shouting at college students acting like kindergartens.
On April first the students found at the front door the announcement that complementary 'Been There, Done That, Lemme Be, NYADA 12-13' pins were distributed in the cafeteria for everyone wanting a pranks free day on school grounds. Any student reported or found by the faculty, pranking someone wearing the pin would be reported to their Major's Dean for appropriate support (read additional remedial homework) for having been unable to read and understand one of the many big announcement's signs present on the front door and in the main halls all around their school...
In the cafeteria there were multiple choices on how to earn one's pin. Including, but not limited to, try out one of the alumni kindly sponsored 'surprise' food, which for safety reasons were all properly showing the list of contained ingredients.
Officially speaking the Nyada's faculty took the credit for the event and for the prank free April fools during the AY 2012-13.
The grocery bag containing apples, a pack of sugar, ground cinnamon and an unsigned card with just the words 'Thank You', found in the Auditorium 2 the next day, told Kurt and Adam that someone knew exactly who was behind it.
And from the confused faces of their Apples it was not someone from their group.