APRIL FOOLS ≠ calum hood

t h u r s d a y , a p r i l 1 s t

THE REVEAL
IRIS

"So this is really the end."

Calum breaks the silence as we stared off toward the school, just sitting in his parked car.

He had picked me up, as usual, and neither of us said a word. It was completely silent, even the radio was turned off and the birds seemed nowhere to be found. And we sat in his parked car for five minutes in silence before he said something.

"I guess so," I sigh. "It feels weird, right? I know it's only been a month but it feels like so much longer. It's gonna be weird once it's over,"

He nods at me in agreement, letting a small chuckle pass through his lips.

"So, tell me, Iris," he starts, a smirk rapidly growing on his face. "How was the past month? I told you it would be the best of your like, but did it live up to that? Maybe even surpass it?"

"It was pretty cool, dork. Now let's go act like a couple for a few more hours." I roll my eyes at him, hop out of his car, and begin walking toward the school.

Since it's April fools, and the prank contest is happening, everyone is on the edge. But Calum and I just hold hands and smile as we walk up the steps to see his friends. They're all looking around, waiting for the first prank of the day to happen anxiously. April fools was a scary day at our school.

Luckily I had never been the butt of somebody's joke, and I was hoping it would stay that way. Now that more people knew who I was, I wasn't so certain.

Before, I could slip by things unnoticed, unscathed. But since Calum and I started "dating", more people have realized I exist. That was probably the one thing I wished I could change about this.

Nevertheless, I was hoping that people would stop caring after today.

As we're just talking to his friends, having a nice conversation, Luke gasps and let's out a chuckle. When I turn around to see what he sees, I'm impressed. Someone set up a petting zoo in front of the school, with some baby animals.

Students rush over, and ignore the bell when it rings. Who can resist cute baby animals? My personal favorite is the two baby goats. They're just so small and cute, I wanna kidnap one.

"Hey, Cal!" I grin, picking up a piglet. "It looks just like you!" He rolls his eyes at me, but coos at the small animal.

April fools day is simultaneously the best and worst day at our school. It's the best because everyone gets a laugh, and sometimes there are great things like this petting zoo on the schools front lawn. And it was the worst for reasons I mentioned earlier, like being the butt of somebody's joke and having people prank you. Despite the cool moments, practically everyone lived in fear for the rest of them.

Eventually a teacher comes outside and forces everyone to go to homeroom, but no one gets in trouble because, really, they cannot punish everyone. Plus, unless you do something incredibly stupid, you don't really get in trouble around here on April fools.

The beginning of my day happens to go by seamlessly, I don't even get to witness any pranks. Calum and I are just sitting in our literature class, talking, and the fire alarm goes off.

Our teacher looks panicked and so do the others, which causes students to panic, and we basically ignore everything they've ever told us during drills.

We're all standing outside, worried, when the principal grabs a megaphone.

"This was not a planned drill, but we've been informed there is no fire inside. We're going to look at the security cameras and see who pulled the fire alarm. This is the kind of prank that our school will not tolerate, and there will be major repercussions for whoever did this. We thought it was clear pulling a fire alarm was against school rules. April fools does not suddenly make that okay."