Edited August 2024. You know that feeling when you've finished a project, only to realise that you actually missed a crucial element? Yep. I screwed this up and it's been bugging me ever since. This edit fixes that.
Thanks for opening up this April Fools 2024 story, and thanks to @Rookie1255 for putting up the idea in the forum.
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"Come on Gordon, no. It's got to stop."
"Why? The kids love it!"
"No they don't. They put up with your practical jokes, but they haven't loved them since they were ten. Booger sandwiches and fart cushions just aren't funny."
"I respectfully disagree."
"Gordon..."
"Oh, all right, killjoy. Is it ok if I give Olivia her traditional birthday joke? She only turns eighteen once, then I promise to tone down my japery. Except for special occasions, like April Fools Day, birthdays, random public holidays..."
"Gordon..." Sarah sighed and shook her head, "Fine. Just this one last time, but I'm not having anything to do with it, and don't rope Jacob in on it either. And make sure it's pretty obvious it's a joke. I don't want a repeat of when you said you were taking Jake to see Hogwarts, and you went to a pig farm."
"In my defence they were hogs, and some of them may have had warts."
"Seriously, why did I marry you?"
"You thought I was funny."
===
"Gotta be good. Something unexpected. Something that she won't immediately see as a prank." Gordon drummed his fingers on the desk and scrolled through a myriad of online options. He loved practical jokes, and always thought he should have been a clown instead of a chiropodist. He had wanted to become a heart surgeon at medical school, but got cold feet instead. "And no one around to hear my... hello, you look interesting."
A particular website caught his eye, so he clicked through to check out the details of their offering. It was good. Believable at first glance, but sprinkled with enough hints for the careful observer to pick up the joke.
"That'll work. It fits, and if I give it to her on April Fool's Day, there's no way she'll think it's serious," he chuckled as he clicked 'Buy Now!'
===
"Olivia, can you come in here, please?"
"Sure Dad, what's up?" Olivia stepped into the kitchen and looked at her parents sitting at the table. Her dad was looking down and tapping his fingers on a large faded yellow envelope, but her mum was sitting back, a completely blank look on her face. "Umm, is everything ok?"
"Have a seat, Poppy. There's something we need to share with you."
"Ok," she said and slowly sat, "Sounds serious."
Gordon nodded. "It is. You've probably wondered why you are the only redhead in the family. We've always said it's because you're super special, which is very true. Remember, we love you very much, but now that you're eighteen, you deserve to know the truth." He slid the envelope across the table. "There's a lot to take in here. Take it back to your bedroom, read it all very carefully, and we'll talk later. If you want."
Olivia picked up the official looking envelope. Her dad just smiled at her and shrugged, but her mum was staring daggers at him. Whatever was in the envelope, she suspected her mum didn't want her to see it. Frowning at the odd sight, she headed back to her room.
"What's in it?" Sarah asked her husband when their daughter had left.
"My little birthday joke let loose on the best day of the year."
"Gordon. What was in the envelope?"
"Just some fake adoption papers. Nothing serious."
Sarah pursed her lips and exhaled slowly. "This is not going to end well. No. More. Jokes."
===
Olivia sat on her bed and carefully placed the envelope down. Her dad was right. She had wondered why she was so different from the rest of the family. From what she could recall from her biology classes, the odds of two dark haired parents giving birth to a redhead was extremely low, even when the historic gene pool was considered. She knew her mum's mum was Irish, but she wasn't sure of her hair colour as Nana had died many years ago, and there were no colour photos of her. Her dad's parents were definitely all dark haired.
She pushed the envelope around, not wanting to see inside but curiosity eventually won.
"Oh God, I knew it!" she gasped as the first paper half slid out, headed 'Notice of Adoption'. Olivia threw the envelope to the end of her bed, drew her knees up under her chin, and started sobbing. Her world was a lie. Her family was a lie. Everything she thought was true and loving was a fraud. She fell back and stared at the roof of the room where she had existed for the last eighteen years. Suddenly, it didn't feel like hers anymore, and she needed to get out. She stood and trudged to her bro... no, friend's room. Hopefully, Jake would still be her friend once he knew the truth.
"Jake, can we... umm, just hang."
He looked up from his textbook. "Geez Liv, you look terrible. What's up?"
"Nothing. Just..." She sat on the bed beside him and let her head fall on his shoulder. "I'm a nobody. I don't belong here."
"Where'd this come from? You were fine at dinner."
"I didn't know I was adopted then."
"What?"
"I'm adopted. Dad, no, Gordon gave me the papers just now. Said I should know now I'm eighteen."
"Fuck. What did mum say?"
"Nothing. She looked at... him like she was trying to kill him with laser eyes or something. Shit," she spat out, and burst into tears. "Who the fuck am I?"
Jake put his arm around his sister. His sister... Was she his sister? Did it really matter if she was or wasn't? She had been a part of his life since he was two, and he had no memories from then to know how she came to be with them. "Does it matter? You're still the pain in my arse that steals my chips at every opportunity."
She shook her head vigorously and shrugged. "Doesn't make any difference."
"Yeah, I guess so," he said and glanced down at his sister. "Uh, Liv... You may want to adjust your top."
As she had shifted, the neckline of her tank top pushed forward, and Jake stared at a perfect rose pink nipple, surrounded by a halo of lighter pink.
"Don't care. Look all you want. You're just another random guy who wants to see my boobs."
"Hey, that's unfair. I was just letting you know you were exposing yourself. Anyway, getting back to this adoption thing. Are you sure it's not just a dad joke? It is April one."
Olivia slid down so her head was resting on his thigh. "I'm sure. The envelope is old and has an official stamp on it, and the papers I saw looked real. Plus, Mum - Sarah was furious. She couldn't have faked that."
"Oh. Well, in that case, if I'm not your brother, can I see your tits again? They're awesome. Tiny, but still awesome."
"Jake!" Olivia sat up and hit him with his pillow. "They're perfectly proportioned, and do you go around asking all your female friends that?"
"Only the ones that offered me to look all I want." He reached under her top and tickled her sides. "Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!"
She giggled and squirmed away. "You prick, you know I'm ticklish there."
"Years of experience, Liv. I know all your tickley spots."