April Fool's Day

April 1st was a morning with no time to mess around. Curly's back was really bothering him, so I had to get both Mini-me and Flower to school. So when Flower came into the kitchen in her pjs, my reaction was less than thrilled.

"Flower!" I said. "Why are you in your pjs? Go get dressed. Now." She looked at me, shrugged her shoulders, and then broke out in a huge smile.

"April Fool!" she cried, unzipping her pjs to reveal her clothes underneath. I laughed. Hard.

We decided this would be an excellent prank to play on her teacher. It followed all her teacher's guidelines for April Fool's Day: it wasn't mean, it didn't destroy property, and it didn't break school rules. I then told her funny stories of Uncle Jon and his pranks. I could see the wheels in her head turning when I told of his 6th grade prank.

"Do you think I could do that?" she asked. "It would be so funny!"

I told her it would be hilarious, and that she better call me when school was out to tell me how it went. I dropped her off at school in her pjs, took her picture, and went home.

My phone rang at 12:30, which was shortly after school was let out. I was a little nervous to answer. What if her pranks had backfired? What if this was her mom calling to chew me out? I took a deep breath and answered.

"Jana! It worked! It was so funny!" Flower was giddy on the phone. There is nothing like a well-played April Fool's joke, and this one was a doozy.

After she had April Fooled her teacher with her wardrobe, Flower asked for some help in pranking her mom. Like a good co-conspirator, Mrs. Sheets helped Flower develop her plan for some believability. They went to the school secretary, and then to Pastor Wyand, who each helped.

When The Ex went to pick up Flower, the kids in the hall were buzzing with the news of Flower's suspension. At first, The Ex did not believe it. Flower? Suspended? For fighting? No way. Then Flower handed her an official school form, typed by the secretary and signed by Pastor Wyand. It appeared to be true. Flower had indeed lost her temper on the playground and kicked a boy in the shin. BCA is a no-tolerance school where fighting is involved, and so Flower was suspended.

While The Ex read the paper, Flower employed her acting skills and went to a corner crying. Mrs. Sheets confirmed that this indeed had been "quite a day." Nearly 5 minutes after first hearing the news, The Ex looked over at Flower who was no longer distraught, but laughing hysterically. She had been fooled.

"It was awesome!" And the tale was done. I can't wait to see what she does next year.