april fool’s day at the office

5:30 pm Tuesday March 31: It’s done. I’ve set up my April Fool’s Day office joke and I managed to do so without being detected. Sweet. Now I just need to pack up my things and head home for today. If it didn’t look weird, I’d pat myself on the back for being so clever. My joke is simple, effective and to the point. I rock.

5:45pm Tuesday, March 31: A sudden feeling of nervousness is creeping up on me. What if they don’t think it’s funny? Well, that in itself wouldn’t be bad. Plenty of folks don’t get my sense of humor. But – that’s not what’s making me nervous. What if they think it’s offensive? What if someone thinks I’ve singled them out specifically, and complains to management? Hell, I’m not even an employee at this office. I’m a hired gun. A contractor. Technically, I hold less rank than the mail room guy. Oh, no. What was I thinking? I shouldn’t have done it. I’m not part of the team. I’m an outsider. An interloper. I’m going to tarnish the image of my firm. There’s going to be repercussions. I could be reprimanded. I could be fired. I could be drawn and quartered at dawn! Ahhh ,well…too late now.
6:30 pm Tuesday, March 31: On the ride home from the Marta station, I explain my prank to the beau. He laughs. “That’s a good one.” Whew. Okay, well if he finds it funny, I should be okay. I mean, he’s a good natured wholesome kinda guy – If it doesn’t offend his sensibilities…. Though there was that one Katt Williams joke he laughed at uproariously…. Maybe he can’t be trusted.

Oh, how did I get myself into this?

9:30am Tuesday, March 31: I’m sitting in a room the size of a large storage closet, having a discussion with one of my coworkers. A trio of people are peering in through the glass door to the room smiling broadly. One of them opens the door. “See, look at the transformation!” The others oooh and ahhh. They’re apparently oblivious to the fact that my colleague and I were attempting to have a private discussion. After a few moments, they close the door and walk away. Their excitement is due to the fact that today, someone decided to arrange the chairs and tables (the same ones that have always been in the room) into café-style configuration. They’ve even placed white paper napkins on the table and a printed sign on the door that reads, “Café Tres” (we’re on the 3rd floor). Since we 3rd floor dwellers haven’t had anywhere before now to eat our lunch other than our desks, I too can appreciate the subtle changes, but “C’mon people,” I think. “It’s the same room, the same chairs. Now there’s just napkins and a sign. Seriously?” Just then, another group peers in smiling and repeats the ooh and ahh session of the previous group. Seriously.

A few moments later, I’m chit-chatting with two other coworkers over coffee. I decide to hip them to the new ‘café’. “Oh, have you guys heard about the new restaurant in the building?” I’m hamming it up. They’re eating it up. “It’s called Café Tres! The décor is simply sublime! I hear the wait list is as long as your arm. But don’t worry. I know a guy who owes me a favor. I can get us in.” They laugh hysterically. I’m high off the feeling of making them laugh hysterically. Then it hits me: I’ve got the perfect April Fool’s Day joke!

9:00am Wednesday, April 1: I slide into my cube and set my things down. Something looks awry. Was my monitor angled that way last night? Uh-oh. Maybe they’ve found me out and pranked me back. Or maybe they were searching my computer for evidence of the crime. That’s ridiculous I tell myself. Just play it cool. I go about preparing my morning coffee and decide to query one of my team members that arrives earlier than I do. When I run into her in the hallway, I ask “So…uh, anything interesting or exciting happen this morning?” She squints suspiciously. I drop the coy routine. “You know, like anything about the…uh, café…?” Her eyes widen. “That was you!?” In the next second I contemplate either running from the building or pleading for leniency. Then, she starts laughing uncontrollably. “Oh my god, that was hilarious. We were wondering who did that. It took us forever to figure out it was a joke!”

“So, nobody was offended, right?”

“Offended? Noooo….” she says, still laughing. “It was hilarious. You should have seen our faces. I gotta go tell Nancy! She’s gonna get a kick out of this!”

So like I was saying…. I wasn’t worried. I knew it would work all along.

cheers,

k

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