Dyeland, the morning of March 31st

Lady JenniAnn finished braiding her hair and set a circlet of ivy atop her head.  She surveyed herself in the mirror before leaving Willowveil.  Denim bell bottoms with a green minidress as a shirt.  She supposed it was acceptable (not that it mattered anyway considering the whole of her male contact for the day would consist of her surrogate brother and some male angels) and left and jogged to Monica’s Café.

Andrew and Adam were playing pool.  Monica and Gloria were sequestered in a corner, seemingly discussing recent assignments.  Tess was crooning some ballads.  Jess and Miriam were working on the football schedule.  Jarrod and Lady Beth were going through contingency plans for their bodyguard duties.  Bunny saw JenniAnn first and waved her over to the table she was sitting at.

“Hey, JenniAnn!  How are you this morning?”

“Great.  You?” JenniAnn smiled at her co-president and waited for an answer.

“Just fine.  So… what are your plans for tomorrow?” Bunny asked with a wink.

“Tomorrow?  Oh no… is it someone’s birthday?” JenniAnn began to panic.

“No!  It’s April Fool’s Day.  You always plan a…  Uh oh, did you forget?”

JenniAnn nodded.  “I really did.  No prank planned at all.  Oh dear…  See Margherita is returning from her vacation tomorrow and I’ve been so busy planning her welcome back party it didn’t occur to me that tomorrow was also April Fool’s.”

“No prank this year?” Jarrod questioned after overhearing them.

JenniAnn shook her head, looking very glum.

“Oh but we have to do something!  Especially with Margherita coming back.  I mean she’s gotten the best of every one of us here!” Miriam added as everyone’s attention came to the table Bunny and JenniAnn sat at.

“Oh yes.  I still remember when she replaced all me coffee with decaf.  I nearly fell asleep during a particularly lengthy assignment!” Monica chimed in.  Tess rolled her eyes.

Adam spoke next.  “Then there was the time she kidnapped Ted and Tom and sent me on a scavenger hunt all through Dyeland to get them back.  It was kind of fun but…”

“She secretly recorded me singing a song about Andrew and sent it to him,” JenniAnn offered with a blush.  Andrew stifled a chuckle.  Then there was a cacophony of voices as everyone confessed to the various pranks they’d fallen for thanks to Margherita’s twisted sense of humor.

“We have to pull the best prank ever on her,” JenniAnn announced.  “But what???”

Everyone thought for a while.  Then they began to offer and shoot down suggestions.

“Clean out her entire bar and make her think it’s been ripped off?” someone suggested.

“Too mean.  Plus then we’d just have to put everything back.”

“Call in prank calls to the pub?”

“Too Bart Simpson.”

“Convince her aliens have landed and are controlling our minds?”

“Too hard to pull off although… might be fun to all pretend to be a bit ‘off.’” JenniAnn grinned.  Then her eyes grew wide.  “Let’s all pretend to be each other!  Like we switch identities and everyone plays along except her!  Make her think she’s alone in a community of crazies!”

“I think I know the feeling,” Adam whispered to Andrew who chuckled.

“How would we do that?” Bunny asked.

“Well… we could put our names in a hat and then draw.  And whomever you draw you have to pretend to be that person tomorrow.  You pretend to take on their beliefs, values, clothing style, tastes, etc.  Got it?” JenniAnn surveyed the 10 faces.


 
“Wait… so if I draw your name I have to pretend to be enamored with this guy?” Adam pointed to Andrew and grimaced though his eyes betrayed devilish humor.

“Well… I mean it’s only pretend…” JenniAnn answered. 

Adam turned to face Andrew and took on a completely anguished look.  He began to drawl “I wish I could quit y…”

“NOOOO!” JenniAnn screamed.  “I have kept this newsletter completely free of ‘Brokeback Mountain’ jokes from it’s premiere clear through Oscar season.  Everyone was doing ‘Brokeback Mountain’ jokes, it’s so cliché!  You are NOT finishing that sentence!”  Adam was laughing hysterically and she took a deep breath.  “If you draw my name, you can focus on singing songs from RENT or “Jesus Christ Superstar” and dressing like a hippie, I suppose.  That’s right up your alley… Tevye,” she winked at Adam who was beginning to subdue.  “So is it a plan?”

Everyone smiled and then nodded.  They wrote their names on torn up pieces of napkin, threw them in Monica’s hat, and passed it around.  Everyone selected a piece and smiled thoughtfully, planning their actions.  Andrew drew last.  He stared blankly.

“Okay, how am I supposed to pull this one off?” he questioned and displayed the scrap with “Lady JenniAnn” on it.

There was an outbreak of laughter. 

“I guess you’re gonna have to get in touch with your inner narcissist and dig out those bell bottoms.  C’mon, ya know you wore em once,” JenniAnn teased.  “So who did everyone else get?  I drew Lady Beth’s name.  Yay!  I get to be responsible and not crazy!” she grinned.

“Well, I’m Monica.  I guess this is an excuse to drink as much coffee as I like,” Lady Beth followed.

Monica was giggling.  “Well babies, I guess this is my chance to be like my wonderful former supervisor.”  She hugged Tess and showed the piece of paper her friend had signed.

“I suppose I’ll have to work on my passing and receiving skills.  I drew Miriam.  Could you give ol’ Tess a few pointers, baby?” the older angel requested.

“You bet.  We’ll discuss it over my favorite drink: apple juice.  Just as soon as Bunny tells me how to pretend to be her.  Bunny who did you get?” Miriam turned to the co-president.

“I drew a very special person.  And I’m sure she’ll have a *lot* to teach me.  Gloria, I picked you,” Bunny smiled at the youngest angel.

Gloria’s eyes lit up.  “Ooh!  Someone’s going to pretend to be me!  This will be the most fun I’ve ever had on April Fool’s.  Which, I suppose, isn’t saying much since it’s only my fifth.  But still, I am so very excited and I can’t wait!  Did you know the origins of April Fool’s Day go back to…”

Tess cleared her throat and shot Gloria a look.

“Oh, I’ll tell you later.  I got Andrew’s name!” she beamed at the angel of death who smiled back though he still looked a little leery. 

“Well, I, uhh, all ready said who I got.  So Adam who did you end up getting since it obviously was not JenniAnn?”

Adam chuckled again at his fellow angel of death’s predicament but then answered.  “Well, I actually got Jess’ name.  Which means I get to play football, drink ginger ale, and fish all day.  I’m quite happy about it.  Jess?”

“I drew Jarrod.  Guess that means I’m now Andrew’s bodyguard and a JABB co-founder!”

“Great!  You can work with me since I’m Lady Beth!” JenniAnn said happily, always glad for a chance to work with her friend.  “Jarrod, who did you get?”

“Well… Adam, I think you’ll have to properly introduce me to Ted and Tom cause I got your name.”

“Sure thing!  So I guess we’re set.  I think this will be very amusing and may be teach our favorite Renaissance Faire barkeep a thing or tw…”

“Hey, there you all are!”  Henry walked into the café.  “It looks like you’re all plotting something…”

Henry was quickly informed of the next day’s prank.  “Well, is there anything I can do?” he asked.

Everyone thought for a while and then Andrew spoke.  “I’m sure you can help me out somehow.  I’ve got quite a role to pull off,” he smiled and looked at JenniAnn who was staring at him and absent-mindedly twisting her ring around her finger.  She blushed when she realized he noticed and pretended to be very interested in Tess’ latest angel pin.  “Quite a role,” he repeated with a chuckle.

Everyone began to chat animatedly with the people they would be portraying the next day and discussed what Margherita’s reaction might be.
Back to April 1st

The boy was braiding his hair and being told stories…  By Henry.  Who apparently thought he was Andrew’s godfather…

Margherita was horrified.  She turned away from the disturbing display and was about to stomp off to Idlewild and forget about the whole insane lot for the day when she heard giggling.  Slowly she turned around. 

Her face broke into a wide smile.  There stood her friends, angels and humans, holding a large signing reading “Happy April Fool's!  We aren’t crazy!  Well, not all of us.  Gotcha!”

“You didn’t really think after all those pranks you’ve pulled that we wouldn’t get you back some day did you?” JenniAnn questioned with a grin, stepping towards her, now in one of her favorite flowy dresses.

“Believe me, you weren’t the only one this was difficult for,” Andrew added. 

“Oh yes… it’s so very hard to be me!” JenniAnn cried and staggered, feigning exhaustion.  She shot Andrew a smile but then faced the group again.  “Frankly, I feel most sorry for Lady Beth.  Good gosh!  How many mocha lattes did you drink?”

Lady Beth, looking extremely alert, didn’t miss a beat in answering “Just five.”

Even Monica looked surprised. 

“It was a very well executed prank, I must admit,” Margherita smiled.  “Andrew… boy, were you annoying!”  She grinned at him and then all her friends.  “He was writing a top ten I’ll have you know!  Something about singing Andrew Lloyd Webber songs.” 

Andrew turned bright red.  “Well… I mean… Lady JenniAnn writes them so…”

“This I have to see!” Adam teased and looked expectantly at his fellow angel of death.

“Ya know, I didn’t even finish it so let’s just…” Andrew tried to deflect attention from his attempt at narcissism.  But to his dismay Monica now had the little notebook!  “Hey!  How did you…”

Monica shrugged and gave a pleading, innocent smile.  “Just for fun, please Andrew?”

Andrew sighed and shook his head but smiled.  “Fine, go ahead.”

There were only four items.  He’d stopped at the #7 Margherita had seen him write.  “Top ten reasons I am so wonderful,” Monica began to recite in her lilting voice, “by Andrew.”  She continued with a wide grin.  “’Number Ten- I have truly enviable hair.’”

“That shouldn’t count.  I told him that one!” JenniAnn piped up.

Monica continued.  “’Number Nine- My clothes from the 1960s still fit me.  As well as those from the 60s, 160s, 260s…’”  Monica’s eyes scanned the long list of decades.  “I think we all get the idea.”

“That shouldn’t count either, baby.  I pointed that one out to Angel Boy yesterday when he was trying to find an outfit,” Tess added.

“Ah well then may be Number Eight.  ‘I have integrity and innocence and sincerity, tenderness, a gorgeous smile, and Jess and Miss Miriam enjoy playing football with me and Lady JenniAnn has lots of mixed CDs about me…”

“Nope, doesn’t count.  Now he’s just quoting the Keepers List,” Jess interrupted.  She peered at Andrew who was still blushing.  “Andrew, is ‘I can sing Andrew Lloyd Webber tunes really, really well.  Like I could totally be a professional singer.  I am that good.’ really all you could come up with about yourself by yourself?”  Her smile was a bit sad as she asked.

Andrew shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.  Meanwhile, the assembled Androolers all began to swoon over the angel’s humility.  That made him blush even more and the other angels began to chuckle.  Finally, he spoke.  “Okay, here’s one…  And I thought it up all by myself.  Ready?”  Andrew surveyed the interested faces around him.  They nodded eagerly.

“Okay… I am so wonderful because…” Andrew paused dramatically and then broke into a huge smile.  “I have really wonderful friends.”

At which point everyone awwwed and some swooned and JenniAnn began twisting her ring.  Lady Beth moved closer to Andrew protectively, sensing several over-enthusiastic hugs were imminent.  Jess and Miss Miriam took the football from Tess who was eager to be rid of it.  Then everyone either played football or cheered until the angels had to leave for assignments.  Then the humans remained and chatted about life and philosophy and literature.  

Naw… really they just talked about how flattering the green tunic was on Andrew and how his hair had never looked better.  ;-)

Hope you all have a wonderful April Fool’s Day! 



CREDITS:
Information for Bunny-Gloria's Kellogg's lecture taken from the company's website at http://www.kelloggs.com/us/.

"Superstar" lyrics written by Tim Rice, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Special thanks to members of the JABB YahooGroup for allowing me to use their characters despite being told only that I was going to do something really weird with them.  :-)

Thanks for reading! 

God bless,
Jenni

JABB 189

JABB TOC

(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from "Touched by an Angel" and owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions.  They are not being used to seek profit.)