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(edited)

The next morning, I woke up to someone softly, but annoyingly, shaking my shoulder.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate being woken up? No? Well, I do! Desperately. Sleep is sacred. Priceless. Better than food. And if someone dares to pull me out of it, they better be prepared for war. Maybe even mild violence.

I groaned, long and loud, then grabbed the nearest pillow and flung it blindly in the direction of the offender. I rolled onto my stomach, face buried deeper into my warm, fluffy haven, tugging the duvet up to my ears like it could protect me from the awakening.

Then I heard chuckling. A second later, the warmth was ripped away. My duvet and sheets were gone, leaving me exposed to the cold air. I instinctively curled into a tight ball, shivering.

"Wake up, dormigliona! We've got plans, remember?" Vince's voice came with a teasing whisper. (Sleepyhead)

I cracked one eye open and peeked at the alarm clock. 5:30! Who the hell wakes up this early?! Not even the sun is up! This had better be good.

I groaned internally. Then again... I had school soon, didn't I? Ugh.

"Come on, Nef!" Vince coaxed. "We've got to start the pranks..."

His voice alone made it obvious, he was grinning. And, well, I couldn't help smirking back.

"Who first?" I asked, mimicking his tone, already feeling the mischief wake me up faster than coffee.

"The twins!" he replied without hesitation.

Oh no... That was definitely not going to end well. Alex was terrible with revenge, he always took it too far. And Dylan? He'd be furious. But... who cared? This was going to be amazing.

"Meet me outside Dylan's room," Vince added, raising an eyebrow and spinning on his heel to leave. "Okay, okay, I'll give you a minute to get ready."

The moment he closed the door, I laid back down and closed my eyes for just a few more seconds. Just five...

Drip.

Something cold hit my face. Water...

"Vince..." I growled.

"Wake up or I'm starting with you!" he warned, grinning, holding the dripping water bottle above my face like a threat.

My eyes shot open. "I'm up, I'm up!" I shrieked, scrambling out of bed and pushing him out the door before making a beeline for the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, I was dressed, clean, and ready for chaos. When I stepped out, I spotted Vince lurking in the hallway... with an air horn in hand.

"We're not going after Noah, right?" I whispered, eyes wide with dread. Pranking him was basically suicide.

Vince shook his head, and I let out a breath of relief. Thank God. I'm not ready to be grounded for life.

He leaned in and whispered the plan in my ear. My eyes widened.

Pigment? Speaker? Water?

Oh, this was serious! I grinned like a maniac as he handed me the tools and darted off to set things up.

Half an hour later, we crouched at the far end of the hallway, just above the stairs. Everything was in place. Now, we waited.

"You're sure you set Dylan's alarm for six?" I whispered for the fifth time.

Vince nodded, practically vibrating with excitement. "Three..." he started counting, as he was rubbing his hands together to add to the dramatic gestures "...two..." I gulped nervously. However, as much as I tried to pretend I didn't enjoy all this... I'd fail, I was loving this! "...one..."