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My One and Only April Fool's Prank

I've never been much of a prankster. Being too shy and not wanting to call undue attention to myself, I was content to sit back and watch. Admittedly, I was a little envious of their bravery, but not enough to actually try pulling a prank on someone. Until that fateful year when I decided to get my boss.

It helps if you've ever worked in Accounting, or are familiar with the time-constraints and stress involved in the month-end process, or understand how seriously managers take their jobs during a close. In a nutshell, this was the set-up conveniently in place:

1.No one in Accounting took the 1st off that was when we closed the books;
a) Only your own death was considered an acceptable excuse and that was totally dependent upon how important you were to the close;
2.I was the senior cash receipts clerk, single-handedly responsible for finalizing all cash-related processes;
a) We had a new clerk who had never worked a close before;
3.My mother-in-law, 2,000 miles away, was terminally ill;
a) I had already warned my boss that my husband and I might have to leave suddenly, if her condition got worse.

Even fate conspired with me that morning. I got to work before Paula* which almost never happened and the die was cast. Without considering the ramifications, I set to work.

First problem: My cubicle was just inside the main door to the suite, visible to everyone who entered. So, I couldn't call from my desk; I had to enlist the Denise*, the new cash clerk, in my prank and use her phone.

Second problem: In order for this to work, the message I left for my boss had to appear to come from outside the company. A quick call to the operator, my second co-conspirator, got me a transfer from the main number to my boss's extension.

Flying by the seat of my pants, I took a deep breath, shushed my partner-in-crime, and plunged into my story:

"Hey, boss. It's Julie. I'm so sorry, but I have some really bad news. We got a call last night from Washington and had to catch the first flight out. Mom's not expected to last long and we're going to have stay for a while to help settle her affairs. Unfortunately, I don't know when I'll be back. It could be a few days or several weeks.

"I left Denise a message, telling her what she needs to do to close cash. She should be fine, I'm sure. If I can, I'll call you in a few days to see how things are going. Again, I am so sorry, but I know you guys'll be just fine."

Now I was committed to the joke and there was nothing to do but wait for my boss to get in and check her messages. Once we heard Paula come in, I crept back into my cubicle and waited.

It wasn't long before I heard her, practically running through the office toward my desk. Feigning calm, I leaned back in my chair and, when she came flying around the corner in a blind panic, yelled "April Fools!"

The "You bitch!" whispered through gritted teeth told me I'd gotten her good. But the grin on her face told me that she wasn't going to fire me, this time.

All in all, it was great fun, although she did make me promise on penalty of death to never, ever do it again. And I never did.

(*) Not their real names.

Learn more about this author, Julie G. Hughes.
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