It was Jake’s birthday, and he was feeling good, better than usual. He had gotten lots of presents from friends and family, and was looking forward to the party his parents had planned for him. He was especially excited about seeing his crush, Lisa, who had agreed to come. He walked into school with a smile on his face, greeting everyone he saw. He felt like the king of the world. Nothing could stop him now.
He was about to reach his locker when he saw a flash of pink in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and spotted a girl in a pink hoodie, her face hidden by the hood. She was carrying a large box wrapped in colorful paper and a bow. She looked nervous and panicked, as if she didn’t want to be seen.
She quickly placed the box on top of his locker and darted away, almost stumbling over her own feet. He caught a glimpse of her untied shoelace, dangling from her sneakers. She nearly tripped over it, revealing her bright red hair, tied in a ponytail. She paused, put the hoodie back up, and continued moving.
He was intrigued and curious. Who was she? What was in the box? Was it a gift for him? From her?
He decided to find out. He walked over to his locker and picked up the box. It was heavy and had a card attached to it. It said ‘Happy Birthday, Jake! From your secret admirer.’
He was taken aback. “Secret Admirer?”
He felt a surge of excitement and anticipation. He had a secret admirer? Who could it be? Could it be Lisa, his crush? Could it be the girl in the pink hoodie? Lisa did have red hair, so it all seemed to add up.
He couldn’t wait to open it. He ripped off the paper and lifted the lid.
He gasped in shock and horror.
Inside the box was a cake. But not just any cake. A cake that looked like a giant pile of poop. It even smelled like poop. And to add to the effect, there were small fondant flies sitting on it. The word “LOSER” was spelled out in the grossest shade of yellow icing on the market.
He dropped the box and the cake, feeling sick to his stomach. He looked around, hoping no one had seen him. But it was too late. His friends had witnessed the whole thing. They were laughing hysterically, pointing at him and the cake. They took out their phones and snapped pictures and videos, sharing them on social media.
He felt a wave of humiliation and anger wash over him. He wanted to scream and cry and run away. He wanted to find out who did this to him and make them pay. He wanted to erase this moment from his memory.
He looked at the card again, hoping to find a clue. He saw a small print at the bottom. It said ‘P.S. This is what you get for being a jerk.’
He frowned, confused and furious. What did that mean? Who was he a jerk to? He didn’t think he was a jerk to anyone. He thought he was popular and liked by everyone.
He scanned the crowd, looking for the girl in the pink hoodie. He wanted to confront her and demand an explanation. He wanted to make her regret ever messing with him.
But she was nowhere to be seen.
She had disappeared, along with his dignity and pride.
She had won this round.
But he wasn’t going to give up so easily.
He was going to find her and get his revenge.
He was going to make her pay.
The prank war was far from over.
It was only just beginning.
“ANGELINA!” he yelled, and right on cue, the girl walked into school, just as she normally would, carrying herself with elegance, as a prefect should, standing so perfectly straight it made her look very tall. She was alarmed by this, and asked around to see what was happening. Finally, she was led to Jake, looking red as a tomato, on his birthday at that.
“Jake? Is… everything okay?” she asked, looking down at the poop-cake, and then at Jake’s furious eyes.
“If you just came, who left that… abomination… on my locker?” Jake asked.
But before she could respond, “Angie!” came a third voice. A redhead in a white tee and dark blue jeans, her hoodie tied around her waist came running up to her, and gave her a high-five.
“Oh, hey Lisa. How’d it go?” she said to the girl.
That’s when Jake figured it all out. Pink hoodie, red hair, named Lisa… She was working with Angie for the prank. It all finally added up. Jake felt a surge of betrayal and disbelief. Lisa, his crush, was working with Angie, his enemy, for the prank. She had pretended to be friends with him, to agree to come to his party, to be his ‘secret admirer’. She had lied to him, tricked him, humiliated him.
He looked at her with hurt and anger in his eyes. He asked, “Why? Why did you do this to me? What did I ever do to you?”
Lisa looked at him with contempt and pity in her eyes. She said, “You really don’t get it, do you? You’re a jerk, Jake. A bully. A meanie. You’ve been making fun of my friends for years. You’ve been calling them names, spreading rumors… you’ve been making our lives miserable. And you don’t even care. You don’t even remember.”
Jake was speechless. He didn’t remember doing any of those things. He didn’t think he was that bad. He thought he was just joking around, having fun, being cool.
He tried to defend himself. He said, “I-I didn’t mean to hurt them. I-I was just kidding. I-I like you, Lisa. I really do.”
Lisa shook her head and said, “No, you don’t. You don’t like me. You don’t know me. You don’t care about me. You only care about yourself. And your popularity. And your ego.”
She turned to Angie and said, “Come on, let’s go. We’ve wasted enough time on this loser.”
She grabbed Angie’s hand and walked away, leaving Jake alone with his cake and his shame.
He watched them go, feeling crushed and defeated.
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