English Humorous Stories Novels & Stories

"Especially men." "Amen to that," a cousin says, lifting her glass high. I watch Lina from the corner of my eye. Her smile dims slightly. Carlos still isn’t looking at me. Dinner is going to be dramatic. I can feel it. Uncle Ben is telling stories that make everyone laugh. I haven’t laughed like this in ages. He’s on his third story about his botched attempt at horseback riding during his youth. He speaks with dramatic gestures. “Emily, I swear to God, the horse winks at me before it takes off,” Uncle Ben says. “I see my life flash before my eyes—and it’s just me, alone, yelling at my own reflection.”

Their laughter blended easily with the background hum of the restaurant, and for a moment Layla almost forgot this was all pretend. By the time their food arrived, their conversation had drifted into lighter, sillier territory. Layla had found herself leaning forward, laughing at Ethan’s ridiculous office stories—like how one of his coworkers swore his stapler was haunted because it kept disappearing, only to be found in the fridge. “You’re making that up,” she said, cutting into her food. “I swear I’m not,” Ethan said, grinning. “And I was the unlucky guy who found it next to someone’s yogurt cup. Still don’t know how it got there.”

"Ms. Sampson's villa isn't home for the homeless. They're your parents, aren't they, Felix? Figures. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Ugh, I can still smell the mud on them." Rage flared within my heart, but I held it back and quickly wiped the water off my in-laws. Diane had a short fuse. She would not stand for this insult, so she snapped, "And who are you supposed to be, you uneducated swine? How dare you call Felix a homeless man!" Zack did not hold back. Instead, he pressed on the attack. He picked up a ceramic ornament and hurled it at Diane. I deflected it with my hand, and the ornament grazed me.

While the teacher read my essay to the class they laughed out loud pointing fingers at me . The laughter intensified when the teacher read the part about me sipping hot cocoa and talking to my golden retriever . Some called me stupid while others said I needed to see a doctor to check if everything was alright in my head . At this point the teacher could not control the class . She gave up and they continued throwing words at me . I was at the brick of tears that was until a guy from behind my chair moved forward and held my hand , he consoled me . He was the first person to do that after Louisiana had left . For the first time I felt someone other than my parents and Louisiana cared . He we

He told stories. Good ones, the kind that had been refined through repetition into their best version — funny and specific, the details exactly right, the kind of story that made you feel you had been in the room when it happened. My mother laughed. Dominic made the compressed thing, the almost-smile, more than once. I laughed too. Genuinely. The unmanaged kind, the laugh that arrived before you’d decided to have it. Marcus noticed.

And so, on and on ,like the osscilation of a pendulum, the disheartening piece of my bio churned while the sands of time dripped slowly and slowly as it watched my narration irks the soul of the spectators. That I thought, but it appeared to be nothing but a blunt lie. It was a revolving piece of gags and laughs. A piece of funny cake, a chunk of interesting cheese, a loaf of an adventurous bread and a real ginger to the spirits of the audience. They applauded.

I managed to ask. "I saw you at the club on the day of the party, I noticed you didn't want a dance with him. I'm in love with you Jasmine." I burst out laughing, in fact, I was angry with him. "You can attempt better jokes, I want to laugh out my intestines, go on." "I beg your pardon?" "You know, these fables are now very common and the good thing is, I have learned not to fall for them," I smiled at him to hurt him.

I managed to come up with something, laughing nervously and silently hoping Marcus would buy my lie. "We get that a lot. He looks like our grandfather while I look like our dad." Marcus replied and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding as he bought the lie I just told. "It's nice to finally meet you, Julian. I have heard a lot about you." I smiled, holding my hand out for him for a shake. "Likewise. I do hope they are all nice things though." He smirked as he took my hand. “Of course.” I breathed out.

The first woman to draw a prompt burst out laughing as she read it. “Tell us about the most embarrassing thing your mate has ever done.” The entire circle erupted in laughter. Soon stories began pouring out. One woman described how her husband had once fallen asleep during a council meeting and nearly tipped his chair over. Another confessed that her mate had tried to impress her by cooking dinner and ended up burning the stew so badly that the entire house smelled like smoke for days. The laughter was loud and genuine. Even the elders were chuckling. The basket eventually made its way to me.

That’s just how we are. The laughter dies down gradually, and the table falls into an easy rhythm, voices overlapping as the guys trade more stories, some just ridiculous enough to be true. Rich launches into another one, probably exaggerated, but it’s hard to tell with him. He gestures wildly, sending his fork clattering onto his plate, and the way he tells it is funny enough that even Dante, who usually has a razor-sharp comeback, ends up laughing too hard to speak.