Katie marched through the lobby with anger burning in her veins at her big brother and his friends. Did they really think she couldn't handle a prank war? She was for sure smarter than James and Carlos combined, and she knew that while Logan was smart, but when it came to pranks on his own, he wouldn't be much of a threat, she could so take them. Big Brother was her only real competition and she was ready to play, but she had to convince them, or at least convince Kendall as the reigning king and she knew just how to do that. Thankfully she quickly found just who she was looking for.
"Jo!" She called out.
"Oh hey Katie, what's up?" Jo was sitting with Camille, and they were both going over scripts but looked up when they heard Katie's voice.
"I need your help. Kendall and the rest of the guys aren't letting me join their prank war."
"OK, how are we supposed to help with that?" Jo asked.
"So see they hold the Day of Pranks every year and Kendall is the current king, which means his word is law. So I need you," Katie looked pointedly at Jo, "to convince him to let me join."
"Why do you think we'd be able to convince Kendall?" Camille asked.
"Because Jo can get him to do anything. He even watched ice dancing with Jo and all four of them have a best friends pact against ever doing anything related to figure skating or ice dancing ever."
"Really?" Jo asked, "Kendall said it wasn't his thing, but he never said anything about a pact."
"Look can you just glare at him for a few seconds until he breaks? He always panics whenever he thinks you're mad at him." Katie asked.
"Sure I guess, but what's his argument so I have good reasons to convince him," Jo asked with a bit of a laugh.
"He says girls aren't good at pranks and he doesn't want me to get hurt," Katie said sarcastically.
"What? He said that?" Jo asked, with real annoyance in her voice, which Katie took as a good sign. "I'm great at pranking, I know he's devious but I'm just as good at pranking as he is."
"I know, I am too." Katie agreed.
"Don't worry Katie, we'll get you into that prank war, in fact, I'm joining too!" Jo declared.
"I'm in," Camille agreed as well. "And then we'll take them all down."
"So how do we convince them?" Katie asked.
"Well we'll use your plan to make an opening, I'm already annoyed at Kendall so that will help, but also… we use the one thing no boy can resist."
"Jo, what are you talking about?" Camille asked nervously.
"Simple, a challenge." Jo smiled deviously and filled in the other two on her plan.
Today was the most important day of the year. It was the Day of Pranks and Kendall was ready to maintain his winning streak as Sir High King Lord of Pranks for another year. He already knew there was a 90% of Logan pranking himself, so all he had to worry about was James and Carlos. Or so he thought.
The three of them walked back into the lobby together after they had gathered their supplies, but were stopped by Katie, Camille, and Jo.
"What's this about girls not being good at pranks?" Jo and Camille asked with matching glares, while Katie just waved happily at them.
"I never said that, I just said it can get ugly and girls could get hurt." Kendall corrected himself.
"So you're saying girls aren't as tough as guys?" The Jennifers walked up and joined the conversation, and Jo nodded along with them.
"Um, have you seen the bear standing next to me?" James motioned to Carlos who was already in a bear suit. "This competition gets scary."
"ROOARR!" Carlos roared and waved his claws.
"Sounds like you guys are scared you'll get your butts beat by a bunch of girls." Camille challenged them and a few more girls joined their group.
And it seemed everyone else in the lobby heard Camille's challenge because the guys quickly got some back up too until it was ten on ten, guys vs girls. Although Kendall would have much preferred Jett stayed out of this. But as he thought it over for a moment, he thought this could be fun, he'd get to prove to everyone just why he was the reigning king.
"So be it. As reigning Sir High King Lord of Pranks I declare this day a Mega-Prankatition!"
"Woo!" Everyone clapped and cheered, including Jo who gave Kendall a smile in gratitude, but also a challenge sparking in her own eyes.
Just then the clock in the lobby struck noon. "Noon means the competition is on! So everyone bug out!" Kendall shouted and both groups started running from the lobby, but Kendall, Carlos, and James paused when three of the guys on their team fell flat on their faces as they tried to run away.
"Laces tied together, classic." Katie gloated and shared high-fives with Jo and Camille.
"So that's three boys down…" Camille counted off.
"And three to go." Jo finished, and Kendall definitely recognized the devious glint in her eyes, normally he loved it because it usually meant they were working together, but he never would have asked to see that look directed at him. And he also realized Jo plus Katie working together could be a major threat. He already knew Jo was just as much of a schemer as he was, and Katie was also a schemer and also completely ruthless, whether it was in business or any competition.
"Boo!" The girls all yelled and the three guys ran back up to their apartment. They slammed the door closed behind them just to make sure they weren't followed.
"OK, new plan. We lay off each other until we prank all the girls." Kendall suggested as the guys caught their breath.
"Yes! An alliance!" James agreed.
"So it's agreed, we eliminate the girls, and then the other guys, until it's just the four of us." Carlos counted off.
Kendall's gaze scanned the apartment, and he couldn't help but notice what looked like a mess of exploded smoothie all over the kitchen counter and floor. "Make that three, looks like Logan pranked himself again this year."
"But dude why did you agree to this in the first place?" James asked.
"Well, for one they were about to call us chickens if we didn't agree. And we never let anyone do that. And two did you see the way Jo was looking at me? Do I want to prank her? Not particularly but now I have to prove to her that I'm the king of pranks even more now. In fact now…I'm going to be the one to take her out. Kendall's head started filling with new plans as he thought over all his new targets.
"OK, so does anyone have a plan? Because I think we're going to need one." Carlos asked.
"I know, Katie's ruthless, Jo's devious, and Camille's talented at trickery so we're going to have to tread very carefully here." Kendall agreed. "Brainstorming go!"
About fifteen minutes later, the guys left the safety of 2J, very carefully watching their every move, looking for any tripwires, banana peels, glue traps, anything else that could be a prank, but they made it down to the pool without incident and after Carlos expertly took out the Jennifers with super glue lip gloss they moved on, but now they were also on the lookout for Mr. Bitters making sure he didn't catch them doing anything either.
As they made their way through the halls, they heard some of the girls talking up ahead, so Kendall took off the hockey stick strapped to his back that had a mirror taped on the end so he could scout out the scene.
"The pie-apult," Katie was explaining to Jo and Camille. "The guys get off the elevator to rush to the apartment for shelter…"
"They'll trip on the wire and get a face full of creamy defeat." Jo smiled and shared a high-five with Katie.
"Boys are stupid," Camille added with a laugh, and the other two laughed along with her.
"The pie-apult." Kendall whispered. "That is stupid."
"It's brilliant." James corrected them.
"I know." Kendall sighed, "if we weren't locked in battle right now I'd be impressed."
"OK, but now we turn the tables on them, and the prankers become the prankees," Carlos suggested.
"Oh yeah. Let's go." Kendall agreed and they quietly ran around the corner through the hallways. Carefully creeping up on the girls from the opposite direction.
"Now all we have to do is hide and watch the show," Katie said smugly.
When suddenly the three guys all jumped out from around the corner, shouting "boo!" Both Katie and Jo flinched away from them in fear and surprise.
But Camille wasn't so fortunate, she screamed and backed into the tripwire, launching the pie right into her face at point-blank range.
"Wooh! Yeah! Ha ha!" The guys all cheered and congratulated themselves.
But then Camille, who was completely coated in whipped cream started sobbing and ran away down the halls. Making them quit their celebration.
Jo and Katie looked at them with matching looks of disappointment, and Kendall couldn't look either of them in the eyes.
"Hey, we told you that pranking was dangerous." Carlos reminded them.
"Well does your Lord Prankerton allow you to go see if someone's ok?" Jo asked with a glare on her face.
"No, he does. It's called the Logan Amendment." James admitted.
"Let's go," Kendall said, he really hated both of his favorite girls looking at him like that, as they ran off, he failed to notice Jo and Katie slowly following behind them, or the devilish grins breaking through their faces.
They followed the trail of whipped cream out to the park until they found Camille still sobbing on a bench.
"Camille…are you ok?" Kendall asked.
Camille continued sobbing for a few seconds more but when she looked up she had a terrifying grin on her face and the three of them realized she was actually laughing.
"She's stopped crying," James whispered, and all three of them backed away slowly as she stepped towards them.
"It was my idea to sacrifice one of us, so we could take out all of you." Camille pointed at them, and Jo and Katie both walked up to them with pies in their hands. And even worse, the rest of the girls' team hopped up out of nowhere so they were completely surrounded.
"Yep. We're doomed." Carlos sighed, grabbing hold of James as the three of them circled up instinctively to protect their backs as Kendall's mind spun for a way to escape.
"Aww, you look so cute when all hope is lost." Jo smiled at him.
And you look so cute getting your payback. Kendall thought to himself, but why does it have to be on me?
"Ready?" Katie called out, and she was staring daggers into the three of them without a hint of mercy in her eyes. "Aim!"
Kendall knew they had lost, but right in the nick of time, Gustavo appeared, said something about being Kelly today, and that they needed to go to the studio. But Kendall had another idea, and he could tell James and Carlos were thinking the exact same thing. "HUMAN SHIELD!" They yelled and grabbed onto Gustavo, hiding behind him to block Jo and Katie's pies, and then turning him around in the circle to block all the other pies before they made their escape once everyone was out of ammunition. Leaving Gustavo dazed and covered in whipped cream, and the girls angry that their master plan had failed right when they had the three of them dead to rights.
Once they were safe for the moment, the three guys decided to split up so they were less of a target but still agreeing not to finish each other off until the end.
And once he was on his own, Kendall was quick to strike back at the others, taking out Lydia and Lauren with a doorway covered in plastic wrap, and then Dana and Emma with a feathering in the elevator. He wasn't the reigning Sir High Lord King of Pranks for nothing. So now it was only him, James, Carlos, Jett, Jo, and Katie.
"That's two down and two to go." Kendall was admiring his handiwork, watching Emma and Dana trudge off in defeat and a trail of feathers, when Jo walked in from behind the corner, holding a super soaker pointed point blank at his chest.
"Looking for me?" Jo asked with a smile, and Kendall was distracted for a moment. Wow, she looks so good with a bandanna, and when she wants to take me out. But he quickly regained his composure.
"If the prank battle lasts beyond 6 pm…" Kendall quoted from the book.
"Any device capable of directly applying mess, slop, or pain counts as a prank." Jo finished for him.
"The Carlos Clause, he refused to skip dinner to play," Kendall grumbled.
"And you have been caught empty-handed," Jo smirked at him.
"What can I say?" Kendall slowly lifted his hands in the air, but then quickly reached over his shoulder to grab his own super soaker he had taped to his back. So now it was his turn to smirk at Jo's surprised expression. "It's rotten milk."
"Me too." Jo cringed. "It's kind of grossing me out." She admitted.
"I told you this battle would get nasty. This isn't personal Babe, it's what I have to do."
"Don't worry, this isn't personal either Babe." Jo replied, "All's fair in love and prank wars."
"That it is. But how about whoever wins this duel buys dinner for the loser tomorrow?"
"It's a date. That I will be more than happy to pay for." Jo smirked.
They froze staring each other down. Both of them looked down the barrel aiming at their significant other but without any mercy in their eyes.
But then Kendall heard the ding of the elevator opening behind him, and he risked a glance back. And he was glad he did because it was Mr. Bitters suited up for a prank war. He was holding a jar of strawberry jam in one hand and in the other, a spoon that was already cocked and loaded, ready to let loose.
"Noo!" Kendall yelled and ducked down to avoid the incoming missile.
But Jo wasn't so lucky, she didn't have enough time to even see what was happening before she was hit by a red sticky glob in the middle of her stomach, she fell down to the ground in surprise and defeat.
"If the only way I can end this prank war is by pranking all of you out, so be it." Mr. Bitters quickly reloaded his spoon for his next shot. "What's the matter, Kendall? Looks like you're in…a jam. Ha ha."
Kendall stood back up with a look of fear on his face, and he watched Mr. Bitters' every movement like a hawk as he tossed jam missile after jam missile his way, Kendall expertly avoiding every shot like it was nothing until he was out of ammunition. After which Mr. Bitters scurried away before Kendall had a chance to take him out while he was defenseless.
Kendall then turned to Jo and grabbed her hand to pull her up in a sitting position. He looked down at her in concern. "Jo, are you OK?"
"Is it bad?" Jo gasped out like she had been shot on the battlefield.
Kendall scanned her messy shirt for a moment. "Yeah, it's going to leave a nasty stain."
"Ugh," Jo groaned and they both stood up. "If I don't pretreat this I'll never get it out." Jo sighed. "Good luck." She then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek for a moment.
"Thank you, milady." Kendall smiled at her. "Are we still on for dinner tomorrow night?"
"Sure thing, as long as you're paying." Jo smiled at him.
"I promise I'll avenge you if it's my last act as king," Kendall promised her, Kendall leaned over to gently kiss her hand.
"I look forward to seeing that. Take Bitters down, and I hope either you or Katie win."
Kendall then grabbed both his and Jo's super soakers they had abandoned on the floor. Now that he was double armed no one else was going to stand a chance. As he ran through the halls he saw Jett walking out to the pool, and even though Katie was still in, Kendall couldn't help himself.
"Hey, Jett!" Kendall yelled, and Jett turned to face him, just in time to get a face full of spoiled milk.
"Agh. What is that? I'm already out! And way better looking than you!" Jett yelled as he tried to wipe his face off.
"Whoops, my bad." Kendall shrugged his shoulders but couldn't hide his grin. OK, maybe that shot wasn't just for the prank war, but it was so worth it. As he walked deeper into the lobby, he saw everyone else sitting together, including James and Carlos covered in silly string.
"Who got you?"
"Who do you think?" Carlos and James said sarcastically, just in time for Katie to jump out from around the corner, holding a bottle of seltzer water, and Kendall pointed his super soakers at his baby sister.
"Still think I can't handle ye day of pranks, Big Brother?"
"Lord Prankerton would be very proud of you, Baby Sister." Kendall smiled at her with a tinge of pride in his voice. "But this battle isn't over."
"Yes, it is!" Mr. Bitters popped up from behind his desk. "Because if either of you make another mess, I will pull off the ultimate prank. Closing the pool for TWO WEEKS! The war is over. Put down your weapons and once again, I win and you are all LOSERS!"
Kendall and Katie both lowered their weapons in defeat, but while Mr. Bitters continued gloating at his victory, Kendall shared a knowing look with Katie, and she seemed to have the same idea because she nodded along with him.
They simultaneously turned towards Bitters and let loose with their seltzer water and spoiled milk. Not letting up until Mr. Bitters stumbled into his office to escape, and they were both out of ammo. All the other kids in the lobby cheered them on as they shared a fist bump with each other.
"Wait a minute, who wins?" Carlos asked.
"What do you say Baby Sister? Truce? I think we've both earned our titles as Lord of the Pranks today." Kendall laid down his weapons and offered his hand out to her.
Katie shrugged her shoulders but smiled at him. "If it was anyone else Big Brother, I would destroy you, but I suppose I can share the crown with you…until next year that is." Katie set down her now empty bottle and shook his hand.
"So what happens now?" Camille asked.
"Well, we always have a special coronation ceremony, but we need to wait for all combatants to be present and clean," Kendall said. "I think Jo's still doing laundry and Logan's who knows where."
"He's at the doctor's office." About half the kids reported.
"Well, that's totally fine, because now we need time to make some adjustments to Lord Prankerton's royal crown." Kendall declared.
So the next day, after everyone had plenty of time to get cleaned up, and recovered, as well as Logan borrowed Doc Hollywood's surgical saw to cut the crown in two. Everything was ready. And Kendall came up with one more brilliant idea to truly commemorate the first-ever Palm Woods Day of Pranks with some Hollywood flair.
Everyone was standing in an excited crowd by the pool in two groups. With the crowns sitting on a table in between them.
Jo, at Kendall's insistence, was dressed up in a white shirt and pants and had her hair put up in two buns on the side of her head, a la Princess Leia.
Kendall and Katie were standing before her, Katie in a dark gold-colored jacket reminiscent of Luke Skywalker, and Kendall had on a tan long-sleeved shirt with a black leather vest, looking like the great Han Solo himself.
As Kendall walked up to Jo he was smiling for multiple reasons, not just that he had held onto his winning streak, but also because of how cute Jo looked. He congratulated himself for coming up with this final brilliant plan.
Jo smiled at both of them and placed a crown on each of their heads. Katie and Kendall both bowed with their hands placed on their noses in the official Prankerton salute.
They then turned around and took in the round of applause from all their friends. And then walked down the line sharing high fives with everyone. Kendall knew his bros were happy for him, but he could easily hear their promise to each other that they'll get him next year. Kendall though would love to see them try, especially since two Knights now held the crowns.
After Katie and Kendall finished their victory lap down the line they both paused at the edge of the pool. "As reigning Sir High Lord Kings of Pranks…" Kendall began.
"We accept our crowns and titles as signs of the greatest honor a prank master can hold, and promise to always uphold the ideals of Lord Prankerton." Katie joined in.
"And we will protect the sacred rules with our lives." Kendall promised, "And also on this celebratory day, we are making an official proclamation to a change in the rules, which has been approved by the four founding members of our Pranking Order. The Katie Amendment, which reads as such: Recognizing that girls are just as skilled as boys when it comes to the ancient pranking tradition, and in some cases, even more so. Which is why from this day forward, girls will be allowed to join in the Day of Pranks and compete for the Title of Sir Lord High King of Pranks should they wish." Kendall turned at smiled at Katie.
"And now as Sir Lord High King of Pranks, I declare that the next Day of Pranks shall be exactly 364 days from now, beginning at High Noon November 18, 2011!" Katie declared.
"Wooh!" Everyone cheered one more time. They all hung out celebrating for a while, even though the typical pool atmosphere was subdued since just like Bitters had threatened them with, the pool was indeed closed for two weeks, but everyone agreed it was a small price to pay for all the fun they had had yesterday.
It wasn't until nearly an hour later when people started heading back to their apartments that Kendall finally made it to Jo to talk to her.
"Congratulations, my king." Jo smiled and kissed his cheek fondly.
"Thank you, Princess." Kendall smiled back at her, "But I owe you a date, so what do you say we fly out of here?"
"Fly out of here? And just where are we going?" Jo asked with laughter.
"Well, I don't think we can get to Cloud City, the Falcon's hyperdrive's on the fritz." Kendall joked, "But I was thinking grabbing some ice cream would be fun."
"Yes, it would be." Jo beamed at him, "Let me go get changed and then I'll meet you in the lobby."
Kendall reached out to grab her arm to stop her, "Oh don't do that Princess. You're already dressed to perfection."
"Really? Kendall, I'm dressed like Princess Leia." Jo reminded him.
"Exactly, did I ever tell you how cute you look right now?"
"No, you didn't… Mr. Solo… so how cute am I?"
"Hmmm, I'd say 30,000 credits."
Jo smirked, "My you are a Star Wars nerd, aren't you? I have no idea whether I should be flattered or insulted."
"Oh trust me, that's a compliment." Kendall smiled at her.
"You know, I'm starting to wonder how long you've had this planned now, Mr. Solo." Jo smiled as they started walking out together. "And you better not expect me in a gold bikini anytime soon."
"Too bad the pool's closed." Kendall joked.
"Kendall!" Jo shouted, slightly embarrassed.
"Don't worry I'm kidding. But you do make a great princess."
"And you make a very handsome smuggler. Right? I've seen them, but clearly, I'm not an expert like you."
"Don't worry, you've got that right."
"So is this date the reason you argued with Katie over who was Luke and who was Han?"
"Well, yeah. I have nothing against Luke Skywalker, but with you playing Leia's role amazingly, I can't be Luke."
"And why is that?" Jo smirked.
"Because if I was Luke I couldn't do this." Kendall leaned closer and kissed Jo softly on the lips for a long moment.
"OK. Jo blushed, but wait, didn't he?"
"Yes, and it was bad enough that he did it once. But Han and Leia have nothing stopping them from being all cute together."
"Alright, now let's get out of here before I change my mind." Jo smiled as they walked out the doors towards the nearest ice cream shop.