Jokes Are Half Meant Novels & Stories

The joke's on me. It didn't work.

I snapped, my voice slicing through the haze of smoke hanging between us. They both stared at me as I took another long drag from the joint then crushed the roach into the ashtray until it was nothing but pulp and ash. The glass cracked again under the pressure, a thin spiderweb spreading from the center like the fractures in my fucking life. “I’m not serious,” I repeated, quieter this time. “It was a joke. A very funny one, so I’m a bit disappointed that you guys didn’t find it amusing.” Lex opened his mouth, closed it, then rubbed his jaw instead while Ellis just stared at the floor, rolling the beer bottle between his palms like he was trying to grind the awkwardness out of the moment.

"Rude! I’m a model citizen. I only commit crimes against humor. Not that I’d ever need to rob a bank!" "Crimes against humor," I chuckled. "That’s one way to put it. Your dad jokes are a whole different category." "Hey!" he said, pretending to be offended. "My dad jokes are basically an art form." He pointed at me like a teacher about to drop knowledge. "Why did the scarecrow get promoted?" I shot him a wary look. "Frank—" "Because he was outstanding in his field," he declared, laughter bubbling up as he reveled in his own joke.

Her hands trembling, she sent a message to the group chat. "Holly, find out where Caleb is. His grandmother died. I'm scared he might do something to himself." "Wait, seriously? That was actually him?" "Come on. The video's obviously AI. He's not above faking his own grandmother's death for attention. What are the odds that the second you leave for my race, his grandma conveniently drops dead? "It's just a stunt to get your attention. A grown man dragging doctors into his little performance is pathetic." Spencer fired off message after message in the group chat.

I couldn't help but laugh with what I heard. "I think that was the funniest joke I heard from you. You're still the same Geoff. You could still find a way to make me laugh. If I don't know you well, I would think you are really serious." I said. Actually, I don't find it funny, I just couldn't think of any reply. Half of me feels happy and excited and it made my heart skipped a beat, but the other half says it's a big lie.

A childhood visual of the old witch from the library Hansel and Gretel book pops into my head and only increases the giggles I exude. “I hope not, I’m barely grown, and she might add me to tonight’s menu. I’m too big for an oven!” I point out between snorts of stupid laughter and Meadow caves and starts giggling too, lightening our whole mood. I guess the tension and the heavy weight of this journey has us strung out enough, that even a lame joke like this has enough power to break the strings and have us erupt. It’s needed, between us, this bonding over awful jokes.

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.

he said “Fine.” “You do not run ahead.” “I know how walking works.” “This is not the time for jokes.” “This is exactly the time for jokes. Otherwise I may scream.” Jace flashed a crooked smile my way. “Honesty? That’s one thing it’s got going.”

He lifts his shirt showing his happy trail and his abs. I hesitantly raise my voice, "Hey! That's a joke." I begin to sweat here a little because of his abs making me drool all over. He begins to move while showing it to me, my chest becomes heavier, and I immediately reach my water and gulp it down. He put down his shirt and move closer to me after he is an inch closer. He levels his face to mine and says, "Do you know that some jokes are sometimes half mean." His eyes move below, and he suddenly kisses me. "Eat your breakfast, and we will go somewhere else today." My nose wrinkles after hearing that from him.

Perhaps because there was something taut beneath the brightness now, something that did not feel like one of her usual fascinations. “What sort of story are we talking about?” I asked. Jenny hesitated just long enough to make the pause deliberate. “The kind people laugh at until they can’t.” I frowned. “That sounds even worse!” “It sounds fun.” “It sounds like trouble.” She grinned. “Those are often the same thing.”