From Very Real Pranks to Something Like Love

All of the Best People Are

Be honest, have you ever known me to go on a mission without more than one back up plan?
Honestly, you probably have, but that's exactly the point. Every time that I don't have more than three back up plans, shit flies. Therefore, I had planned for all circumstances on this particular mission, including the possibility that I became cornered. Example A: right now.

Josh had a firm grip on my upper arm, and I knew from past experience with multiple six pack holders that my tiny little body was no match, so I let out a shrill whistle, calling my minions to battle. Willow and Haley emerged from behind the curtain where they had waited for so long, causing both Chase and Josh to jump in surprise.

Twirling a lasso over her head, Willow hooked Josh easily, causing his grip to fall loose on my arm. Of course, it wasn't just my arm that he released. His grip also fell loose on his towel, and we all let out a shriek as Josh stood in the nude with a lasso hooked awkwardly over his torso. Now I'll be perfectly honest with you, I had not planned for that, and I was squat out of back up plans. I gulped and looked at Willow and Haley, who were looking anywhere but in my direction. As if things couldn't get any worse, the front door opened once again and the rest of the Carey family appeared, Mama Carey letting out a squeal at the sight of her house and her naked sun surrounded by three girls. I could only imagine what she must be thinking at this moment, so I did the only logical thing there was to do at this point.

"Run," I squeaked. Haley and Willow needed no further persuasion, and I was hot on their tails as we fled out the back door. None of us stopped running until we reached the bakery, where the rest of our team was waiting with eager expressions.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Ace laughed. I glowered at him, sitting there all comfy cozy with his girlfriend, drinking a cold glass of coke. And here I was, bent over my knees, panting, and scarred for life at the image of Josh Carey's naked ass.

"I don't wanna talk about it," I muttered angrily, squeezing in next to Ian. They continued to stare at the three of us, apparently thinking I was kidding. I opened my mouth to explain in a somewhat, not so gross way, but Willow beat me to it, and she did not hesitate to beat around the bush.

"We saw Josh's weenie."

~~~~~~~~~~

The weekend passed uneventfully after our hectic Saturday, and Monday morning came rolling in far too soon for my taste. I was already running late for school after having snoozed my alarm clock five times too many, but I was even later considering the ongoing senior prank. Actually, multiple pranks.

I was first met with a hallway full of cups of water--a classic--which I avoided by taking the adjoining hallway, which only brought me to a full on slip and slide right down the middle of the hall, with seniors having a blast as they took out unexpected victims like bowling pins. A.K.A, moi.

"Ian freaking Taylor get the hell off of me or so help me god this truce between us is moot," I seethed loudly. He chuckled and carefully got up, his glistening torso like something straight out of a Magic Mike dance scene. I exhaled and sat up, trying to ignore the fact that the seat of my jeans was thoroughly soaked.

I jumped up and stared him down, pretending I didn't notice he had a good seven inches on me, and crossed my arms, ready to say something I probably would have regretted, until something wet broke over my head and doused me in pink paint.

I hate pink. Pink is only acceptable when used to torment my enemies. Where did it even come from?! Then, I caught sight of the bucket of paint balloons sitting a mere few inches behind Ian, and I decided to take my chances.

I maintained my composure and grinned sweetly at him, which clearly caught him off guard.

"Aww, Ian sweetie. You must have remembered my love of pink!" I enthused, holding his attention as I took a small step towards the bucket of ammo. "But I haven't forgotten yours either!"

I lunged passed him and grabbed a balloon, and before he even had time to think, I slammed the balloon down on top of his head and watched with satisfaction as thick, rosy pink paint dripped down his face, neck and torso, matting his hair every so nicely. Expecting his face to scrunch up in anger and him to begin cursing at me, I crossed my arms and waited, but was left shocked when he did the complete opposite. His lips spread into a sweet smile and he watched me closely, occasionally scooping more paint away from his eyes.

"Penny, I have never lo-"

"Penny!"

I jumped and turned away from Ian, disappointed that I hadn't heard the end of his sentence. He had never what? Was he going to say love? Maybe he was going to say he didn't love me. Maybe...

"Penny," a voice repeated, demanding my attention. My eyes snapped up and I stared at Lizzie, watching her eyes search my face expectantly before giggling at the state of my apparence. Somehow, she remained untouched.

"You're prettyyyy," she cooed, lifting a pink strand of hair delicately off my shoulder. I growled and swatted her hand away, which only caused her to laugh harder. "Okay, anyways, the video is ready."

For a brief moment, I forgot all my worries. I forgot about my pink state, I forgot about what had just happened with Ian, and I most definitely forgot about my classes that I was on the brink of failing out of. And for now, I just thought of utterly embarrassing Chase and Josh.

Now, it was about to get fun.

~~~~~~~~~~

Classes were delayed due to not only the water slide in the hallway, but also a zoo that had been magically transported to our school cafeteria, yet when I walked in nearly everyone was seated as they causally conversed about their weekend. I quickly slid into my seat and laid my phone on my desk, waiting eagerly for it to light up.

Finally, the darkness was broken and my phone dinged, along with every other phone in the room.

Scratch that. Every other phone in the school.

The hilarious video flashed through clips of our successful weekend at the Carey house, causing roars of laughter to ripple through the classroom. Finally, it revealed the pranks that we hadn't had front row seats for; I watched as Josh and Chase both went to bed, only to be woken by talking dolls straight out of a nightmarish version of Toy Story. This lead to the disaster of them trying to get dressed, only to find that both of their closets contained nothing but princess costumes. I wonder what my dear friends had chosen to wear today? My eyes stayed glued to the screen as I watched both of them parade downstairs in what they must have assumed was the most masculine of their new wardrobe, and try and find breakfast: enter Penny's magical cooking skills. Not only had every single thing been replaced with my own personal recipie, but we had labeled everything with little signs reading eat me and drink me...just to egg them on a little bit.

I cackled like a maniac as the video darkened, still laughing as I closed out of the school wide email and pulled out my Biology notebook. Not minutes later, my phone dinged again...and so did everyone else's. Curiously, I opened the second school wide email in my inbox and opened the video, pressing play along with the rest of my class. Sharp whispers and uncomfortable murmurs filled the room for this video, and as the picture unfolded across my phone screen, I understood why. I bit my lip to hold back an ugly sounding sob and blinked back tears as I quietly exited the room, ignoring the stares and whispers that followed me down the aisle.

This was anything but a happily ever after.