"Only a Joke"

     It wasn't supposed to happen like this. It was all supposed to be a joke, but it went horribly wrong.
    The day started like any other. I went to school to see my friend, Jared. He and I had been best friends since the seventh grade. Which was about two years ago, but it felt like we'd known each other a lifetime.
    Today was April 1st and it was time for our pranks we'd been setting up for a while to begin. He shared some cookies with me at lunch and I bit into them, thinking they were regular Oreos, but the shock hit me when I tasted something sour. Something that wasn't exactly edible. I spit it out instantly. The taste in my mouth lingered and almost burned a bit. I chugged some water to try and get rid of the rancid taste.
    Glancing over, Jared's face was red as he was trying to hold back laughter. But as my head turned more toward him, the laughter broke through like a dam. There were literal tears welling in his eyes from laughing so hard. But I wasn't laughing. I just kind of glared at him.
    "What did you put in the cookies?" I asked.
    "Oh, come on man," he said, his hand on my shoulder. "It was just some shaving cream."
    I stared at him in shock. "Shaving cream? Isn't that stuff toxic?" I demanded.
    That made him chuckle a bit. "I don't know, maybe," he responded. "But you spit it out, so we're good."
    "Dude, that could have killed me!" I said.
    "Calm down, dude," he shot back. "It was a joke. Besides, it wouldn't kill you. It might make you a little sick, but that's it."
    I was still disgusted by his joke. But it was fine. I mean, he was right, I did spit it out.

***

    Jared and I walked home and he hung out at my place for a bit. We played some video games and had some snacks. He brought over some BBQ flavored chips and I grabbed some sodas from the fridge. This was what we needed after a long and boring day at school.
    After a while, Jared had to use the bathroom. He brought his backpack with him, which I thought was weird, but I didn't question it. I mean, I kind of suspected that he might try another April Fools joke on me.
    That joke from earlier still stuck out in my head. I mean, had I not known any better, I could be in the hospital right now. Whatever his jokes were this year, they were kind of twisted.
    Soon enough, he returned, carrying his bag with him. He had a smug look on his face.
    "I had to hurry out of there," he said as he sat his bag down and took a seat next to me. "She's gotta take a shower or something."
    Why was he giggling so much? Was this another one of his jokes?
    "What did you do?" I asked, my eyes on the screen before us.
    "Oh, you'll see," he laughed. "I did something to her shampoo."
    "What did you do, put hair dye in it or something?" I chuckled, imagining my sister coming out angrily with blue hair.
    "It's something better," he smiled.
    As if on cue, I heard a scream of terror coming from another room in the house. It was my sister. I looked back to my bedroom door and shot a glance at Jared, his face twisted into an almost evil grin. "What did you do?" I mouthed to him.
    Then I heard it again. It wasn't a scream of horror, it was a scream of pain.
    I dashed out of my room and banged on the bathroom door. "Sarah, are you okay?" I shouted at her as she screamed even more on the other side of the door.
    "OH GOD!! IT BURNS!! IT BURNS!!! I CAN'T SEE!!! I CAN'T SEE!!! OH GOD!!" Is all I could hear.
    Then, the door burst open. And what I saw... it's still burned into my mind... something so horrific that I'm almost afraid to say... Have you ever seen a person without skin?