April 1

Jake and his brothers got together to pull an April Fool's Day prank on me this morning. It was pretty funny, and not nearly as bad as it could have been!

I should have known something was going on when they offered to give me a ride to school, but I didn't. We got there early, and almost no one was in the halls. It was kind of echo-y and quiet, but not at all creepy until I saw the note taped to the door of my locker.

In big letters, it said:

"APRIL FOOL! Follow this string!"

A piece of red yarn was taped to the note, and it went under my locker door. I'd have to work my combination and open the locker to see what was inside, but first I read the small lettering.

"Clue: The citizens of Venice woke on the morning of April Fool's Day to find piles of horse manure dropped in hundreds of spots throughout the Piazza San Marco, as if a huge procession of horses had gone through. This was extremely weird, since the Piazza is surrounded by canals and not easily accessible to horses..."

About that time, I was thinking oh no, he wouldn't put horse manure in my locker, would he?

I looked over both shoulders. I was still alone in the hall, so I hurried to read the rest of the clue.

"The manure turned out to be the work of a notorious practical joker named Horace de Vere Cole. He had transported a load of manure over from the mainland the night before with the help of a gondolier and had then placed it throughout the Piazza.

"In honor of that historic occasion,

HAPPY APRIL, Brat!"

I have to admit I was sniffing like crazy, but didn't smell anything like horse manure while I rushed through my locker combination. When it swung open, I followed the red yarn.

It was tied to the stem of the biggest, reddest apple I've ever seen, and there was another note.

"Not a road apple from a horse, but an apple FOR a horse. For Ace, with all my love, Witch."