Submission (#3709) Approved

Cambrian slinked carefully along the fence, watching Laira and Sluggie fall almost perfectly into his trap.

3 days ago….

Cambrian was practically buzzing with excitement, April fools was very very soon! Some may think that their pranks were just plain mean, but they really meant them as a sign of affection in their opinion. They had already made a plan to dump a gallon of water on Sluggie and Laira, then surprise them with a visit to a water park, as a little sorry and a surprise. Cambrian hadn’t decided yet whether to make the water park a prank or not, but they had already bought the tickets so it was about decided. They started sketching out a plan for how the trap would work. Would it be spring? Tripwire? TRAPDOOR?? Cambrian's mind clicked and clicked. They were a very smart terrah, even though they didn't show it much. Finally, they were able to decide on a simple tripwire mechanism, where they could do the prank now, was the real question.


The next day, Cambrian got back to work. They didn’t want to do it in public, because they didn’t want their friends to be too humiliated or embarrassed. They thought for a bit. The water wheel? No.. too crowded. The beach? Too fantastical. The park? Yes! Perfect because most of the children would be asleep or gone in the late afternoon. Now, the materials. What did they need? Tripwire, of course, but what else? They decided on a tree by their favorite park bench. They would wait until Laira and Sluggie were just below the tree, and plant the tripwire there. Yes, they decided. This was going to work.

They hauled the materials to their garage, preparing to test inside and bring the equipment to the tree the next day. They nailed the tripwire into a piece of wood and tired it around two nails on top. They tested it making sure that it worked. It let out a satisfying ‘twang’ like a violin string when Cambrian tested it with their claw. They tied another string to a plastic bucket, ( so they wouldn’t give anyone a concussion) and filled it with water daintily. They got out a ladder and prepped the bucket accordingly. Then, they stepped through the string. Cold water cascaded down onto them, making them quite soaked, but they didn’t mind. They clenched their fist. This would be the best prank they had done yet!

Cambrian skittered to the park an hour early then they had instructed Laira and Sluggie to come. They found the tree and thankfully no other terrahs were in sight. They grinned slightly and started setting up the tripwire, and hauled the bucket full of water into the tree. They didn’t have time to test it because they had forgotten to bring a spare bucket of water. So they just had to cross their fingers and hoped it would work. They finished just before Sluggie and Laira came down the path, and they zipped into the bushes. Sluggie was muttering slightly to Laira, casting glances around. Laira looked directly at the spot where Cambrian was hiding looked a bit mischievous. Had she spotted the trip wire? Before Cambrain could decide whether or not to call her over, the two walked straight through the tripwire. The water splashed directly onto them, and Laira laughed loudly. Sluggie groaned and then chuckled. Cambrian came out of the bushes, laughing hysterically. “You should have seen the look on your face Sluggie, ha ha!” They ignored the slight glare from Sluggie and pulled out the tickets from their backpack. “C’mon, I’ll make it up to y’all, let's go to the water park!” And so they did, and a marvelous time they had.


(624 words)