HIGH LIFE: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Mischief-Makers Have a Field Day on April 1

By the time you read this page this morning, you may already have been victimized in one of the choicest rituals in the teen-ager’s repertoire: April Fool’s Day. (And if you were the prankster, don’t think for a moment that you’re immune to retaliation.)

High Life asks: “What is the best April Fool’s joke you’ve ever pulled on anyone?”

“One of my brother’s friends was trying to find our house, but I had asked five neighbors to each direct him to a different house.”

Jeff Nauck, 16,

sophomore, Kennedy

“I put 20 scoops of coffee in the coffee that I made for my parents.”

Regine Torres, 14,

freshman, Rosary

“I put a bouillon cube in the shower head, so that the person takes a shower in chicken soup.”

Alex Troy, 17,

junior, Los Alamitos

“Kool-Aid in the swimming pool.”

Dan Chavira, 17,

senior, Servite

“Salt in the sugar bowl.”

Nat Pence, 18,

junior, Newport Harbor

“Saran Wrap over the toilet seat.”

Caitlyn Carroll, 14,

freshman, Rosary

“I told my mom I needed a job because I got a girl pregnant.”

Mike Morton, 15,

freshman, Sonora

“I put my best friend’s underwear up the school flag pole with her phone number underneath.”

Sierra Pierce, 14,

freshman, Los Alamitos

“I showed up for my first game in a softball league with a fake cast on my leg. My coach almost had a stroke!”

Liz Gaez, 17,

junior, Southern California Christian

“My sister and I told my dad that my mom had her baby. He ran to the car to drive to see her. Then we said, ‘April Fools!’ ”

Michelle Jaquez, 16,

junior, Sonora

“I glued my grandpa’s dentures together and said he had lockjaw.”

Dale Bryson, 15,

sophomore, Villa Park

“I called my boyfriend and told him that I hated him and wanted to break up. He got so mad about the joke that he broke up with me.”

Stacy Alcantar, 18,

senior, Connelly

“I poured orange juice in my father’s coffee, but by the time I finally said, ‘April Fools!’ he was throwing up all over the place. I guess it wasn’t so funny after all.”

Jordan Kushner, 16,

junior, Ocean View

“The best joke was on me. My friends stole my car keys out of my backpack and moved my car to another parking lot. When I went to go home, I thought my car was stolen.”

Renee Santelli, 17,

senior, Southern California Christian

“The whole class left the room and hid behind the building, and the teacher couldn’t find us.”

Jennifer Mazaway, 14,

freshman, Rosary

“When I was about 8, I told a friend that my mom was pregnant with an alien child, and she actually believed me. I think she’d been watching too much TV.”

Jaime Saul, 15,

sophomore, Villa Park

“I set all the clocks in my house back two hours, so everybody but me went to work and school early.”

Molly Robinson, 18,

senior, Connelly

“I told my mom I was pregnant.”

Carolyn Weil, 15,

freshman, Los Alamitos

“This is one that happened to me. My mom put salt on all of our toothbrushes so our toothpaste would taste sick. To her dismay, none of us brushed our teeth that day.”

Emilips Hansen, 18,

senior, Ocean View

“I told my dad I sold his rare coin collection to buy some CDs.”

Thanh Vu Quach, 14,

freshman, Bolsa Grande

“My friends and I told this guy that there’s a girl across the P.E. field that likes him. When he looked over there, we pulled down his pants from the back. But we pulled down his boxers as well.”

Kasey Nam, 17,

junior, Fullerton Union

“I’ve never pulled an April Fool’s joke. My parents don’t allow that sort of thing in our household.”

Helen Berger, 16,

junior, Connelly

“In my sophomore world history class, everyone just got out of their seats and walked out of the room in the middle of the period. Our teacher was dumbfounded, and came outside to find us waiting outside the door.”

Kristin Ruzzi, 16,

junior, Fullerton Union

“A group of my friends created an imaginary character named John Smock, to be a secret admirer of a friend of mine. We would create love letters and leave them in her locker.”

Shelley Han, 17,

senior, Kennedy

“I took my friend’s car keys and hid his car.”

Chad Hovelsen, 17,

senior, Servite

Next Week’s Hot Topic:

If the ‘60s were known as the “Peace and Love” generation, the ‘70s the “Me” generation and the ‘80s the “Materialistic” generation, what will the generation of the ‘90s be called?

Responses were gathered by Brian Singer (Fullerton Union), Abby Fung (Kennedy), Lara Lagos (Rosary), Rosalind Blames (Southern California Christian), Susanna Lee (Ocean View), Darice Liu (Villa Park), Henry York (Servite), Heather Cox (Connelly), Dan Eastmond (Newport Harbor), Trisha Ginsberg (Los Alamitos) and Kelly Maakestad (Bolsa Grande).