April Fools!

Daniel squinted suspiciously at the cherubic faces of his twins. His daughter had caramel smeared across her forehead, her hands, and the tray of apples she presented to him. His son had his own tray, filled with cake pops. Flour was sprinkled through his red hair.

“They’re playing a trick on us,” he murmured to his wife.

“Well, duh,” Nancy whispered back. “It’s April Fools. Now play along. They’ve worked hard for this.”

Emily was bouncing on the balls of her feet. If the caramel apples hadn’t been so sticky, they would have bounced off the tray and rolled onto the carpet. Daniel’s fingers nervously twitched as he grabbed a gooey stick.

“Well, what do we have here?” His comment made his daughter giggle. He swallowed nervously and took a big bite. As he expected, Emily had switched the apples out for white onions. He brought a hand to his throat and pretended to gag.

“This isn’t an apple!” he moaned and collapsed to the floor.

“Your turn.” Daniel winked from the floor before sticking his tongue out and pretended to be dead. From slitted eyes he watched her take a cake pop from Robbie. She licked at the frosting.

“Boooo!” Daniel grunted from the floor. “Eat it.”

Emily and Robbie began chanting together, “Eat it! Eat it!”

With a shrug, Nancy tossed the cake into her mouth. Daniel chuckled as her face turned green.

“Oh. It’s not cake at all. This is—”

“Brussel sprouts!” the children sang out.

“I’m doomed!” Nancy pressed the back of her hand dramatically against her forehead and crashed down next to Daniel.

“Did we trick you?” Emily squealed in glee. “Did we?”

“Sure did,” Daniel grinned, pulling Robbie down and ruffling his hair. “But we’ll get you back next year! Just you wait!”


Tricksy ▼

299 words
Written for: Daily Flash Fiction
Prompt: They're playing a trick on us.