A Borrower's Anthology

Pranks

Nicholas had grown tolerable of spring. Out of the four seasons, it definitely wasn't his least favorite, but he wasn't really able to say he held it in that high of a regard either, or that he had any favorite. It was better than winter by a longshot, and fell somewhere next to fall and summer. He teetered back and forth with summer considering the amount of other little critters that decidedly claimed ownership of the house. Spring brought them too, but they weren't an army when the new leaves were still sprouting on the trees.

Actually, on second thought, maybe fall was his favorite season after all.

Nonetheless, Michelle didn't share his sentiments on the seasons. In fact, spring was clearly her favorite and for one reason alone. Not for the colorful air or the pollen that floated by like soft little, fuzzy stars; not for the warming temperatures or the quiet rain; not even for the vacation the Henderson's took every year, leaving the house completely vacant of their eyes. She liked spring for one reason and one reason alone, and it was all thanks to the Henderson brothers.

April Fool's Day. Nick didn't particularly care for it.

He wasn't sure what humans' fixation was on finding the best possible way to annoy each other. It was probably a sibling thing, and with Michelle as the only one he'd compare to a sister, even she wasn't that bad in terms of annoying him. Sure, they pulled pranks on one another every now and then, but nothing of the caliber that Philip, Elizabeth and Darius insisted. It was havoc wrought when those three prepared for the first of the April month. And this year, the only sprout Nicholas felt bloom was the dread in his stomach.

"Darius had a great idea," Michelle said to him two days before the supposed 'holiday'. "He said that he left some things to use and, in his words not mine, go crazy."

Nicholas had thought she might have already gone insane with the way her eyes had been gleaming, the grin split so wide across her face it was practically touching her ears. Alas, she was completely put-together as she plotted out the details with him. That had been the one precursor he'd had toward knowing he'd be roped into her mischief. Whatever seed Darius had planted in Michelle's head was evidently well-tended and flourishing, and now Nicholas did little more than wait for the first to come.

Unluckily for Nicholas but luckily for Michelle, the national prank day fell on a work and school day. Mr. and Mrs. Henderson had left by ten in the morning. Darius and Elizabeth had been out since seven and Philip had only just exited the house after eleven. From now until four or five, they had to work diligently. With a passing comment made toward their parents, Nicholas and Michelle set off for Darius' room where their supplies awaited them.

In retrospect, spring had brought one new comfort to Nicholas: the security he felt in not having to hide from Darius and Philip any longer. They'd had the elder siblings as an allied duo for months now, and although Elizabeth had not yet been made privy to the secret of the borrowers, they'd all done well in keeping out of the Henderson parents' eye. It was nice having an extra set of human hands that may have been able to cover up tracks the borrowers had left and somehow been unaware of. Not to mention less time spent worrying about hiding from five humans instead of just three. There had been plans to tell Elizabeth soon, but none such had come to fruition yet.

It was still a little weird to call Darius and Philip his 'friends', but overtime, Nick had grown used to being included as part of their daily repertoire. He just had to thank his family and Michelle's for not calling it quits the moment the secret had been out between all of them. He liked to think the elder borrowers had finally grown to see the merit of having two humans in their corner.

Michelle opened up the wall-slot closing off Darius' room. The room wasn't as much of a mess as it was before. Philip still picked up some erroneous articles of clothing or papers every once in a while, but Nicholas had been doing most of what he was able to lift or tug aside. He'd never felt comfortable being only 'company' for Darius when they played guitar, especially when Darius sometimes had to un-invite his friends over for Nicholas' sake. Picking up scraps was the most he could do.