The Prankster's Fitting End

Just a wall away, I could hear Shirley Hunt's voice lift with excitement. "Prank number 96 is a success!"

Marvin Chambers's tone held a sharp, unfamiliar sarcasm. "Did you enjoy it?"

One of Marvin's buddies chimed in, laughing. "Marvin's so sweet to get back at Serena for you, Shirley. But she brought it on herself for stealing your national scholarship and that game design competition trophy.

"Once he hits 100 pranks, he's going public with you!"

My whole body froze.

"I've got to hand it to Marvin—pretending to have amnesia just to mess with Serena is a genius move.

"Remember the first prank, where he made her search in the rain for that bracelet, just to hand it off to Shirley? You should've seen her face..."

My nails dug into my palm.

That emerald bracelet had been a gift from my mother on her deathbed. Marvin said he lost it during the move.

I spent seven hours looking for it in a storm that day. I had a 104-degree fever by the end.

Another friend laughed. "The best one was on the day she did her thesis defense! Marvin told her he was drunk and had been beaten up at a bar.

"After she found out there wasn't a fight, she ran back to the professor in tears, begging for another chance. I even got it on video."

I bit down hard on my lower lip.

I'd skipped the presentation I'd spent six months preparing just to find him. In the end, I had to postpone my graduation.

Shirley chuckled lightly. "I remember the time we folded the game design drafts she'd spent three sleepless nights on into paper airplanes. She spent the whole night picking them up with red eyes. She looked like a lost puppy."

Right on cue, Marvin laughed. "So what should the next prank be?"

"Let's tell her you're in the hospital. She'll rush over to look for you, while we'll throw a party. Perfect, right?"

My phone buzzed immediately. It was a message from Marvin.

[I'm in the local hospital ER. Come now.]

Worried they might catch on, I left in a hurry.

But two minutes later, Marvin deleted the message—like he regretted lying to me.

I pretended I never saw it and didn't reply.

The truth was, I'd already guessed something wasn't right.

Once, while Marvin was in the shower, I accidentally found an encrypted folder on his phone titled "Game Progress".

There were exactly 96 videos.

The same number as the pranks I'd endured.

The password? Shirley's birthday—1224.

He'd told me it was the day we first met.

Last year on that exact day, I waited for him in the snow for three hours.

Meanwhile, he was at the Hunts' villa, placing a birthday crown on Shirley's head. He didn't show up until late that night.

He'd wrapped a scarf gently around my neck, like he genuinely cared about me.

Feeling a dull ache in my chest, I opened his WhatsApp.

In the pinned chat at the top, I saw he updated Shirley every day with prank progress.

[I told her I had to work overtime the day I took you to Disneyland. She waited until 3:00 AM.

[I lied to her about the time of the competition. She showed up two hours late in her pajamas. It was the funniest thing ever.]

The last message stopped on the day of the class reunion.

That day, when Shirley "accidentally" spilled hot coffee on me, Marvin instinctively shielded me.

But the chat read, [I felt disgusted just touching her. I even disinfected my hands thrice.]