“Gruff! HAPPY SEVENTEENTH!” Gruff woke suddenly from the sound of Jonah yelling. He jumped out of bed with fists held high when the alarm went off again. 

“Gruff! HAPPY SEVENTEENTH!” Gruff smacked the alarm clock, turning it off.

It had been seven days since Jonah’s promise and, so far, he stayed true to his word not to pull any new pranks. However, if Ma’s hypothesis was correct, he would likely pull off another big prank by the end of the day.

“Where’s Jonah?” Gruff asked as calmly as he could.

“He is setting up an elaborate birthday contraption to prank you.” Ma folded her arms behind her back as she walked to the kitchen whistling.

Gruff followed. “Did he tell you what the prank was?”

“No, he knew I would rat him out. He only told me he was preparing one. He must be pretty confident about it.”

“I guess he would be. He is the self-proclaimed prank master, after all.”

Ma and Gruff laughed at the title Jonah had given himself when he was fifteen.

“I will admit that his pranks have gotten better, but the stuff he pulls does not measure up to Marcia’s pranks,” Ma said.

“Where is Marcia?” Gruff sat at the kitchen table.

“She went to the village. I forgot to add something to the list yesterday, so she offered to go back for it. She should be home within the hour.”

Gruff grimaced. “Are we still taking this mission? Isn’t that man still around?”

“I think he is, but we don’t have much choice either way. We are the only battle-ready Guardians in the area, and our mission is for the village's safety.”

“They can die for all I care.”

Ma raised her eyebrows. “You know how I feel about you talking like that.”

“Well, it’s true.”

“I’m back!” Marcia walked into the house. “I got the supplies for the safehouse you asked for. Getting it at this hour was a hassle. That village is like a ghost town from dusk till dawn. It’s like no one lives there at all.”

“They have lost more than a few people to the monsters in the forest,” Ma pointed out. “That is why this mission is so important.”

Gruff rolled his eyes.

Pop!

Everyone rushed to the back door to find it blown open by a gross, gooey Jonah. The poor guy tried to scrape the goo from his arms and legs as Ma, Marcia, and Gruff burst into laughter.

“Dang it! It wasn’t supposed to go off yet.”

“It’s about time we get going.” Ma cackled. “Go get your stuff.”

“At least let me clean up first,” Jonah complained.

“You should have thought of that before planning such a messy prank.”

“But I wasn’t the one who was supposed to get messy.” 

“That’s what you get for playing pranks on Gruffy.”

“Ma!”

“Fine, but clean up quickly. I don’t want to camp in the mountains tonight.”