APRIL FOOL: Funny Joke That May Prove Costly.

We have ventured safely into the month of April. A month renowned for a good number of reasons, including the Easter celebrations for Christians, and the popularly known and widely practised “APRIL FOOL” prank.

Personally, the April Fool prank stirs mixed feelings in me. Feelings of joy and pain. I don't know if I should still refer to it as mixed feelings given that I remember the pains more vividly than the joy.

Some time ago, the timetable for our semester exams was released by the school's registrar; it was that time of the year again. Considering the huge workload and the voluminous coursework to cover in the curriculum, I had to compromise my night-rest to study at night.

I resided in the school hostel which was quite overpopulated, disturbing noises and raucously loud music were the order of the day.

I needed to concentrate, and I definitely couldn't achieve concentration in the noisy hostel. I gathered my books and other accessories and put them in my bag. I picked up a blanket too, it was necessary in case of any weather changes. I locked up my belongings and left for class.

I hurried to the class so that I could secure a comfortable space for myself. When I got to the class, I carved out a niche for myself and placed my properties there.

For a minute, I sat quietly and surveyed the class. There were some persons in class who were obviously there for the same reason as mine, and there were others, whose purposes for being there I couldn't fathom.

A few minutes to 9pm, I brought out my books and began reading, trying to cover as much as possible before I could be overcome by Mother Nature's spell of sleep.

I read for three hours, taking fifteen-minute breaks between the hours. My tired eyes began to droop. I resisted for some time before finally deciding to give in. I packed up my belongings, placed them on the desk, close to where I laid my head and slept off.

It was 2am in the morning, when I woke up to shouts of ”They are coming”. I looked around to see people running in various directions. Without asking questions, I immediately joined the fleeing students to run from the speculated persons that were coming, leaving behind my bag and other accessories.

I was still running at high speed, trying to find my bearing with my groggy eyes when echoes of "April Fool" reached us from the direction of the class. I froze, and together with others, began to move towards the class. We had been deceived.

On getting there, I found my bag open. I was a bit puzzled because I could remember locking the bag before sleeping off. I checked the bag, to confirm if my belongings were still intact, only to discover that my mobile phone was no longer there.

I turned and asked the person sitting beside me if he had seen anybody search my bag; he gave me a reply that broke my heart, saying that he had also run out in the midst of the pandemonium.

That was the last time I set my eyes on my mobile phone, it was stolen by the unknown "they" who had pranked us on a cool morning in the month of April and executed their evil deeds.

Indeed, "they" had made fools of us, but, it had been more than an ordinary "April Fool" prank.