19 minutes
333 words
one more victim
Charlie Eppes yawned as he fumbled for his office keys. He had only had four hours of sleep when the crack of dawn prank by his boss had dragged him from his bed, and now he faced a full day of classes. He hesitated, his hand on the doorknob. Nah. Not even Mildred Finch would hit him with two April Fool's pranks.
"Charles!" Charlie jumped, nearly dropping his coffee.
"Larry?" He turned, and watched the physicist barreling down the corridor. "What's wrong?"
"Charles! She's done it!"
Charlie pushed the office door open. "Come on in and tell me who's done what to whom and why."
"Are you aware of today's date?"
Charlie turned weary eyes toward his friend. "Believe me, Larry, I am only too aware that today is April first."
"One year ago today, Mildred Finch threatened to turn our worlds upside down."
Charlie lifted his coffee cup in a mock toast. "Well, happy anniversary. She succeeded."
"Oh no! What did she do to you?"
Charlie quickly described Millie's elaborate prank and the cluster of disappointed furniture shoppers who awakened Charlie, Alan and Amita. "So, I'm sensing we are not the only ones to suffer the wrath of Millie. What did she do to you?"
Larry slumped back in his chair, rubbing his face with both hands. "She took out a full page ad in Auto Trader magazine, offering my 1931 Model A for five hundred dollars. She listed my office and cell phone numbers and gave my home and office addresses! This is the first moment's peace I've had since five o'clock this morning."
Both men jumped at the sound of a knock on the door. A student stood in the doorway. "Professor Fleinhardt? Have you sold your car yet?"
Larry shook his head, burying his face in his hands. "The car is not for sale!" he wailed. When the student left, Larry leaned forward and said, "Cancel your classes! We've got four hours to get back at Professor Mildred Finch."