• Snow gracefully fell to the ground like a bird gliding from its nest. The silent town sat quietly in the falling snow, creating a disturbing silence of premonition. The wind, although not strong, could be heard traveling through the streets.
    On top of a rooftop, Steve sat hunched over, waiting patiently with a black cloak tied around him. His choice of wearing a black and grey court jester suit did not seem the slightest bit normal in the town. His face was concealed by a white mask which had an obscure face drawn on it. As poorly as it was made, it served him well for so long.
    A door opened behind him. He didn’t bother to look away, too busy watching the streets.
    “Steve, you up here?” a voice called out, “Are you busy?”
    That was Marco, the baker and landlord of the apartment Steve lived in. It was also the apartment Steve was currently perched up on.
    “No come on up,” Steve called.
    Marco stepped up onto the roof from the hatch in the ground. As he opened the hatch and climbed up, the smell of sweets being cooked on the bottom floor filled the air; Steve tried his best to not become caught in a trance and lose his sense of thought. But he quickly came to his senses. Marco set down a metal tray in front of Steve, who turned his attention towards his friend for a moment.
    Marco was a short man, roughly five foot. He wore glasses, small and round, that always, literally, were falling off his face. His hair was short and grey, as was his small puffy moustache. He also wore an apron that was covered with tan dough splatters and red sauce stains.
    Steve looked down at the tray. Pizza bagels, his favorite! He quickly snatched one and slid it under his mask, quickly devouring it like a hyena on a carcass. If Marco were to reach out for one, Steve would growl like a savage beast and snatch the tray away. He continued to shove pizza bagels under his mask, eating away.
    Marco let out a sigh. “It’s always easier to eat if you take your mask off first,” he told Steve, for what seemed like the hundredth time.
    “I’ve told you before, Marco,” Steve said downing a pizza bagel, “I never take this mask off, even I’m in the shower or at gunpoint.”
    Marco sighed once again. His eye then caught something next to Steve. “Is that a water balloon?”
    Steve looked next to his leg. Resting next to his thigh was the water balloon he had made. “It’s red like a water balloon, it’s rubbery like a water balloon,” Steve said holding it up, “So it must be a water balloon. What else could it be?”
    “Who are you going to use it on?”
    “I’m sure you know…”
    “That’ll only make his grudge against you worse.”
    “He’ll have a good laugh!”
    “Soaking him with a water balloon will only get him angry, y’know? It’ll only freeze him in this freezing weather!”
    “Whoever said I was going to drench him?”
    “Huh?” Marco raised an eyebrow.
    “Are you actually thinking that I would resort to this juvenile prank?” Steve asked, holding up the balloon, “This is only part of the prank, a tool in the grand scheme, and the bullet in a sniper’s rifle. My prank is not complete without this ammunition,” With that, he ate another pizza bagel, letting out a satisfying chuckle.
    Marco smirked. “The heights you’ll go to for a prank, Steve, are just incredible,” He complimented, patting Steve on the shoulder, “Come on down once you’re done.”
    Just as Marco turned around, the hatch to the apartments burst open. Out ran Jamie, wearing a green dress, high heels, and a pearl necklace. At first glance, it would appear that Jamie was a woman. Truth was that nobody knew anything about Jamie except that Jamie was once an actor. Sex, hair color, eye color, and other traits were all unknown to anyone. On Jamie’s face now was white face powder and blood red lipstick.
    “Steve!” Jamie shrieked in a high falsetto.
    “What’s up, Jamie?” Steve asked, sliding another pizza bagel under his mask.
    “Givoni is coming down the street!”
    Steve quickly grabbed the water balloon and crouched down on the roof. He put his eyes above the roof’s edge to see a moving shape down the street.
    “There he is…” Steve sneered, “Marco, Jamie, get ready to witness the prank that will have your mayor bested!”
    “What? Did I become part of your little plan?” Jamie squawked in an angry, mislead tone.
    “Yup,” Steve said not caring about Jamie’s feelings and only waiting for the figure to become visible, “And you did a good job, so now have yourself a pizza bagel.” He was so focused on the character on the street that he would even himself into slavery for everyone to shut up.
    Even in the falling snow, Steve could clearly see Givoni walking down the street, bundled up in his coat and hot chocolate in his hands. Steve was in luck to see his adversary on his side of the street.
    Steve lightly gripped the water balloon, ready to launch it downward to the sidewalk. As Givoni neared the sidewalk, in front of his current location, Steve spiked the water balloon to the ground. Everything was going perfectly right now, and Steve let out a slight, satisfying chuckle under his white mask.
    That was, until Givoni caught the balloon.
    Steve’s eyes almost burst through his mask. “WHAT?” he roared, his voice echoing throughout the town.
    Givoni looked up, his face clearly visible. His piercing blue eyes met Steve’s through the mask with strong tension built in mid air. His nose was long and hooked resembling a hawk. His jet-black hair was combed back in a formal fashion.
    “Another failed attempt Stephen,” Givoni called in his stuck up, rich and snotty voice.
    Steve never understood why he called him “Stephen”. It didn’t make him sound any more mature or impressive. In fact, it did the exact opposite. Steve was just speechless and frustrated with his failure of a prank.
    Givoni crushed the water balloon with his hand. As the water sunk through the snow and into the sidewalk, a cardboard cut-out of a clown popped up. In the clown’s hands was a sign that read “SUCKA!” in big, bolded letters.
    Marco folded his arms and shook his head. “So close, Steve, so close…” He said, slightly disappointed.
    Steve held his face down, his mask hitting the concrete edge of the roof. Givoni still stood on the sidewalk bellow, watching his foe. Steve remained silent, not knowing what he would do now. His ideas were running thin.
    “Why do you even bother, Stephen?” Givoni called, “Your so-called ‘pranks’ are juvenile and I am not slightly humored by them. Most of the town may be, but I out rule them.”
    Steve picked his head up. “It’s what I love to do!” He yelled out, his anger breaking out of his body, “And if you had the slightest sense of humor, you’d realize that they’re just for laughs!”
    “I only laugh at you!”
    “And I laugh when you can’t even chuckle at what I do!”
    “You’re a juvenile man, Stephen, you-”
    Steve stopped him. “Why do you even bother calling me that? You’re the only person who calls me that! My name is ‘Steve’! That’s S-T-E-V-E. I was born with that name, and that’s all I’ve been called!”
    Givoni let out a long, deep sigh. “You’re just lost, aren’t you? You’re chained to this town and have nothing out there in the world. If I had you exiled, you would die. And I can’t go on knowing that I killed someone.” He turned around and started walking down the sidewalk again, around the cardboard cut out, taking a sip out of his hot coco that was still in his hands, then called “But I suggest you mature and give yourself a better image, Stephen. If I am forced to banish you, and you do happen to end up somewhere else, then you had better know how to act properly or else you’ll die in the world.” With that, he left and disappeared into the snow.

    “I can’t believe how ignorant and stuck up he is!” Steve roared, slamming his fist down on Marco’s kitchen table. The cups of coffee shook and almost tipped over. Marco sat across from Steve. Jamie sat in between the two, dressed like a sailor from the 50s with a blue and white striped shirt with a red bandana around the neck. On top was a white hat, gently resting like a sleeping animal. One eye was covered with an eye-patch. The three sat in the empty bakery on the ground floor that was filled with wooden tables and chairs. Two large glass windows were impossible to see out of because of the amount of snow outside.
    Steve held his mask in his hands, aggravated, irritated and gathering his thoughts. They were scattered in his head, unable to be caught and domesticated like wild animals.
    Marco could easily see how troubled Steve was. “Steve, relax for a moment,” He said across the table, “If you relax for a moment, then you can get your thoughts together!”
    “I can’t!” Steve cried, “He’s pushing me to the edge! I’m better off just killing him so he can just go away! Why can’t he just understand that pranks are what I do best?”
    “Avast!” Jamie cried in a pirate accent, “Bilge be what ye speak! Begad, that landlubber Givoni be aft yer dogs an’ buckos. Here is what ye do, matey: Ye give ‘em a nice flogging! I suggest ye have the blaggard fool kiss the gunner’s daughter! What ye think of that, ye seadog? “
    Steve and Marco stared in confusion in a blatantly awkward silence. “Jamie,” Steve said after the long pause, “What is God’s name did you just say?”
    “Arrr!” Jamie cried, “Ye be no seadog!”
    “I think I hear the men in white coming, Jamie,” Steve said, leaning back in his chair.
    There was a knock at the door.
    Jamie quickly jumped up from the chair, running for the stairs to the apartments upstairs. “Those tea-sipping, scurvy-infested lubbers shall never take me away! Never, I say!” Following this little scene, Steve’s pirate friend ran up the stairs.
    “What do you think he’s going to do up there now?” Steve asked.
    “Hide in the ‘head’, as he would call it,” Marco responded. They both chuckled.
    There was another knock at the door.
    Marco stood up and answered it. Two police officers stood there, bundled up in the snow. One was a man, whose head was covered by a hood, and a woman, who was around the height of Steve’s shoulder and had red hair sticking out of the sides of her hood. Steve knew these two: Rick and Kia, whom he was good friends with. In Rick’s arms was the cardboard clown cutout that Steve had left on the sidewalk.
    “Is there a problem, officers?” Marco asked.
    Kia spoke up first: “We found this on the sidewalk,” she said, tapping, the cardboard cut out, “You happen to know who owns it?” She let out a soft chuckle.
    Steve raised his hand in the back of the bakery. “Right here,” He called out.
    “Obviously…” Rick said, knowing it was Steve’s, “Up to fooling around with Givoni again?”
    “Yup,” Steve called back.
    “Another failure, I’m guessing?”
    “Yup…” Steve leaned back in his chair, letting out a soft groan.
    Marco welcomed the two officers in. “Please, come in, I’ll get you two a drink.”
    Rick and Kia sat down with Steve at the table. Rick handed Steve the clown. “What exactly were you doing with that?” He asked Steve.
    “I was actually trying to make Givoni jump while walking down the street,” Steve said, “I rigged the sidewalk to pop this bad boy up when water made contact with the concrete. I guess it was a bad idea to do that here…”
    Kia and Rick chuckled. “I still like the prank you pulled on the commissioner back on 4th of July when you switched the hotdog with a plastic one!” Rick said, reminding Steve of the hilarious prank.
    “I didn’t expect him to actually swallow the thing,” Steve said, laughing slightly, “Seriously, does he eat everything?”
    “Apparently,” Kia responded, “But anyway, you and Givoni are still at it?”
    Steve nodded.
    Rick sighed. “Do you even care if he just accepts that it’s all fun anymore? The lengths you’ve been going to recently make it seem like you just want to prank him now so you can humiliate him.”
    Steve shrugged. “I’m not sure, Rick. Part of me just wants respect and the other wants him to prank him to the highest degree.”
    “Steve, I think that’s your problem,” Kia said, “You just don’t seem to know when to stop.”
    “But I’m not causing anyone, other than Givoni, to be angry, am I?” Steve asked.
    “No, but there is a time where you have to take a break and relax for once. You can’t do something your entire life, because you’ll get sick of it. And since this is done to people, they’ll get tired of it soon. We may not be tired of your pranks right now, but we may one day.”
    Steve remained silent.
    Marco came out with two cups of coffee for the officers, who took a sip out of them instantly.
    “Have you ever tried fear, though?” Rick asked Steve.
    Steve attempted to recollect any pranks that he scared someone with. “I don’t think that’s my kind of prank to pull,” He admitted.
    “Well, give it a shot,” Rick said with an eager tone in his voice, “I hear Givoni has arachnophobia. If you can do something involving spiders, then it’s all good!”
    Steve thought for a second. “That would be a good prank… While I may not get him to realize that pranks are fun, I will be able to prank him!”
    “I think you should just try and not scare him,” Kia suggested, “He’ll just hate you more.”
    “Well, Kia, the thing is,” Steve said, taking a deep breath, “I don’t think I really care anymore.”
    Kia stood up, coffee still in hand. “Well good luck, then,” she said tugging on Rick, “We should get going now.”
    Rick stood up and headed out the door with Kia, still drinking his coffee.
    “Are you going to listen to Rick or Kia?” Marco asked once the officers left.
    Steve remained silent.
    “I’m not taking a side,” Marco confirmed, “But I do know someone who can help you with the spiders.”
    That seemed to catch Steve’s attention.
    “Hyde upstairs was working on some robotic stuff, like he usually does. You should talk to him to see if he can make you or lend you anything that can help you.” Following that, Marco departed into the back of the bakery, leaving Steve to decide which path to take.
    He was at a crossroad right now. One road led him to a prank that could end in an unfavorable way. Steve didn’t really care about the outcome though. At least Givoni would have had a prank pulled on him. The other road was much longer and tedious. Steve would have to continue to try and prove to Givoni that he meant no harm. But in that time, their grudge would possibly grow strong and it would be even harder to convince Givoni.
    Steve stood up from the chair. He let out a loud, annoyed groan and started up the stairs. He got onto the second floor with the doors, his room amongst them to his right. He could just head there and relax. Down the hallway to his left was Hyde’s room. There was the sound of welding and sparks coming from behind his door.
    Steve took a deep breath and a step of faith. He took a step towards Hyde’s room.
    As he was walking towards Hyde’s room, a door burst open and Jamie jumped out, clad in a knight’s suit of iron armor.
    “Hail ye, good sir knight! I am on a quest to discover what thy are up to! Care to share what ye are doing?” Jamie called out in a mighty and triumphant voice.
    Steve pushed Jamie back by the helm and back into the room, shutting the door in the process. He continued down towards Hyde’s room. He came to his door, which was covered with marks and burn marks. It was damaged and barely able to withstand all the commotion inside. As Steve knocked on the door, all noise stopped on the other side.
    The door quickly swung open. Hyde stood, wearing a black jumpsuit, goggles on his face, his hair blown back (which was dancing with electricity) and a soot-covered face.
    “Steve?” He asked, pulling him goggles open and showing his tan skin and green eyes.
    “Hey Hyde,” Steve greeted, “I got a question for you.”
    Hyde coughed up a black cloud of smoke. “Yeah, sure,” he wheezed, reaching back in his room and taking out a bottle of water, “What is it?”
    “Marco told me you were working on robotic stuff,” Steve said, “Is that true?”
    “Yup,” Hyde said, taking a sip from his bottle, “I was actually doing animals. Small ones, though. They’re easier and it looks stupid to make a small robot elephant. I stuck with insects and stuff.”
    “What about spiders?”
    “Oh yeah, come on in, I’ll show ya,” Hyde stepped aside and let Steve in. Hyde’s apartment was a living factory crammed into a small amount of space. His work table was occupied with some robot body, being worked on currently. All around the room was pieces of metal and several completed bodies that were motionless. It was pretty much a junkyard by the looks of it.
    Hyde reached into a pile of scraps and pulled out a spider. He hit a switch on the side of its leg and it started to squirm in the air. Hyde let down and started to scurry about around the apartment.
    “Crazy little things, aren’t they?” Hyde asked.
    Steve was impressed. Just as the spider disappeared from sight, a robot squirrel scurried across his feet. Steve was even more impressed as two more followed.
    “Those are just prototypes,” Hyde said moving towards the table, “I’m working on a chimpanzee right now. I’m planning on making a human one someday, and I hope that one will start a revolution! Heck, I’d like to auction these babies off one day! Maybe I’d get out of this apartment and into a house with a big basement to work with all this stuff!”
    Steve chuckled. “This is awesome,” He said, lost in what seemed like a new world.
    “Why were you wondering, anyway Steve?” Hyde asked, “It’s odd that you’re suddenly interested in what I’m doing with my work.”
    Steve sighed. “I need to borrow the robot spider,” He said.
    “Is this for Givoni?” Hyde asked.
    “Yup.”
    “Heh, alright then; I’m not fond of Givoni, so I can give you all you need,” He moved over to a rack with two spiders hanging up, “I’ll give you these two and the one that’s running around right now. I just need them back and undamaged. You can also tell these vermin to go find someone. But make it specific so they can find them. They’re not as smart as you and me. We good?”
    Steve nodded.
    Hyde put the two disabled spiders into a sack. The grapefruit-sized robots made a soft clunk as they fell down together in the sack. The one that was running around the floor quickly ran into Hyde, who quickly flipped its switch and threw it into the sack as well. He then handed it to Steve, who eagerly took it.
    “If you do happen to settle this little grudge you have,” Hyde said as Steve received the sack, “Just make the best of it and don’t go looking for trouble. I can tell you’re up to no good right now, but do what you want. Just don’t blame me for anything.”
    Steve nodded. “I’ll make sure I won’t,” He said, signing an invisible contract, “I won’t have to anyway. Thanks again!” With that, he left Hyde’s room.

    When night fell, the snow started to fall lightly. The street lights came on and everything seemed graceful with the snow fallen on the street and still pilling up. Steve left for Givoni’s in the dead of night, the spiders in his bag. Before he left, Steve took a roll of sticky string. He had an idea that would help him with his prank.
    As he came to Givoni’s mansion in the town, he took a deep breath. The cold air chilled his body and he inhaled and exhaled it through his throat. The mansion was massive and towered over Steve as he stood in front of the gate. The windows seemed like massive eyes from Steve’s position: as watchful as a watchtower and eerie as cat’s eyes. Steve didn’t know what room Givoni was in. So would he have to climb the sides of the house to find what room he was in? No, that was too risky. If Steve fell, it would most likely kill him or cause him to break a bone. He couldn’t deal with that right now.
    Perhaps the door was unlocked. If not, he could try and pick it. Steve quickly hopped the fence to Givoni’s mansion, being discreet with every step. As he got to the door, he tried to move the handle. Locked. Steve didn’t have anything to use to pick the lock now. He began to search himself down, trying to find something that could be of use.
    Then Steve remembered what he had in his bag. Spiders with tiny and narrow legs! He quickly pulled out one of the limp metal creatures and put one of the legs into the keyhole. It was only a matter of moments before the door clicked open and Steve stood in Givoni’s house. Upon entering, it was exactly as Steve imagined: valuable furniture, paintings, a fireplace, and rugs that would sell for a pretty penny at an auction. Nothing Steve was truly impressed by, though.
    Steve pulled out the rest of the spiders and delicately set them down on the ground. For the moment, they were lifeless scraps of metal. Then, with a flick of a switch, they sprung up, legs keeping them held up and in a ready position.
    Steve kneeled down to their level. “Listen here,” He told them (Which he felt odd doing), “There is a man in this house who is asleep. His name is Givoni. I want you three to find him and chase him out of this house. Do that and I’ll be happy. Okay?”
    Once Steve stopped, one spider made a soft clicking noise. The three then scattered off into the house, on the hunt for Givoni. Steve then turned back to the open door and took out the sticky string. He then started to draw the string from the sides of the doorway, weaving a web. This would play an important part in his prank. He stepped outside and applied the finishing touches. It looked like a real spider web now. He reached through the web and closed the door, leaving just enough room so it wasn’t touching the web.
    Just as Steve closed the door, a yell echoed from inside the house. The window above Steve’s head crashed open. One of the spiders flew out and landed on the yard. Steve thought it was broken at first, but the spider stood back up and stood motionless. Steve quickly ran to the spider and switched it off, throwing it into the sack.
    As he looked up at the window, he didn’t know if Givoni was still up there. He was sure that Givoni was on the move once he heard another yell come from the other side of the house. No window was smashed. Steve could hear someone running across the second floor of the house. The stomping footsteps then seemed to descend onto the ground floor. There was another yell and the footsteps, pounding even louder, ran across the house.
    Steve let out a soft, malicious laugh.
    The door swung open and Givoni sprinted out, running face first into the sticky string. He thrashed about, unable to leave in his night dress and sleeping cap. Joy seemed to fill joy. Not joy that he would feel for getting a present. It was a sick and twisted joy that left a strong taste in his mouth. He walked over to Givoni, arms crossed, and staring him in the eye. “So Givoni, how does it feel to have a prank pulled on you?” Steve asked, now in a state of domination.
    Givoni stared at him wide-eyed. “You… you twisted monster!” He rasped, “I can’t believe you! How could you be so… so…”
    Givoni ranted on. Steve just savored the moment. It was golden. He stared into Givoni’s eyes, seeing the fear and anger built inside of him. It was one of the best feelings Steve had ever felt.
    As he stared deeper into his eyes as Givoni ranted, Steve saw something he didn’t plan on seeing. It was a small, faint tear that rested on the edge on Givoni’s eye. All the feeling of pride and victory went away. This wasn’t how Steve was going to pull pranks. This was wrong. Fear can’t be used to toy with people, and Steve used it in the worst way. The taste in his mouth may have been sweet, but it quickly turned sour.
    Steve held up his hand, telling Givoni to stop. “This is wrong,” he said realizing his mistake, “I shouldn’t have done this…”
    Givoni’s face shifted to confusion. “What are you saying?”
    “I’m saying,” Steve said taking out the disabled spider, “That this is wrong. I may be determined to prank you, but this isn’t a prank. This is just torture. I never intended to do this and was blinded by my desire to prove to you that my pranks are all fun and games. This… this isn’t fun and it isn’t a game. It’s cruel and I treated it like a war.” Steve used the spider’s legs to cut Givoni down, setting him free.
    The two remaining spiders in the house scurried out, having done their job. Steve quickly hit their switches and piled them into the bag. He then threw the sack over his shoulder and started to leave Givoni’s yard.
    “So is that it?” Givoni asked, “You scare me half to death and you’re just going to leave?”
    Steve looked over his shoulder through the tiny slits in his mask. “Yeah,” he called back, “I made a mistake and I’m sorry for it. So now I’m going to get some sleep.” He left, leaving Givoni confused and unable to confirm what just happened. As Steve returned to the bakery, he went up the stairs and left the sack of spiders outside of Hyde’s room.

    “So, that’s it?” Marco asked in the morning downstairs in the bakery.
    “Yup,” Steve said cramming a pizza bagel under his mask, “I don’t think I can change his opinion on what I do. But I proved to him that I am civil and know my limits. That was just wrong of me to do and I will never do it again.”
    Marco nodded. “Good,” He said, “Does this mean your grudge has ended?”
    “Mine has against him,” Steve said, “But I could care less about what he thinks. Not everyone has to like me, so now I just got to deal with that fact and move on.”
    “You’ll still be pulling pranks?”
    “Obviously,” Steve shouted, “That’s what I live for! Don’t think one little mistake is going to stop me!”
    Marco chuckled. “Good, I’d actually have to kick you out if you decided to stop!”
    They both laughed. Their laughter stopped as Jamie came downstairs, dressed as a Viking, covered up with an exotic animal’s fur.
    “I shall be going out into the town today!” Jamie shouted out in a barely understandable voice.
    Steve and Marco didn’t say anything as their walked out of the bakery into the snow. It stopped snowing and the sun actually came out. The snow still came up to Jamie’s knees.
    Steve held up a pizza bagel. “Here’s to a nice day!” He said in a triumphant voice.
    “Yup,” Marco said holding up a cup of tea.
    “…A day of pranks, that is!” Steve said with a chuckle hidden under his mask.
    Hyde came downstairs, clean and not covered in black and, surprisingly, not working on something. “Morning,” he said, sitting down at the table, “I hear that your little prank last night didn’t go well.”
    Steve shrugged. “It happens. I was blinded and it got the better of me.”
    Hyde sighed and patted Steve on the shoulder, “Well, I just came down to see how you were doing,” he stood up, “I’m off to work on those spiders, but first I’m going to run out and buy some new parts to use.”
    Steve patted him on the back. “Thanks, much appreciated,” He said.
    Hyde turned around and started heading out the door. Steve and Marco laughed as he started walking away. Hyde looked over his shoulder back at them. “What?” He asked.
    “Oh, nothing,” Steve said shooing Hyde away, “Go do what you need to do.”
    Hyde shrugged. “Alright, see ya later.”
    On Hyde’s back was a “KICK ME” sign.