The Joke

The two friends make plans to play a prank on the history teacher to get revenge for some of the pranks he has played on them..

They will pretend to kidnap him and ask for a ransom and if he does not pay it they will tell him they will kill him..

They have the advantage that they are big, since they belong to the basketball team, while the educator is barely over five feet tall and of normal build.

He is in the habit of staying at the institute until late at night when he corrects a test, since, according to his own words, he has long since decided not to take any work home..

The right moment arrives and when the man is about to open his car, they arrive in a van used for deliveries, lent to his uncle, without telling him what they need it for, both wearing masks that cover their faces..

As if they were trained soldiers, they immobilize him and place a chloroformed handkerchief on him to make him lose consciousness..

They tie him to a chair and take him to a cabin in the surrounding forest owned by an uncle of one of them..

It is alone, since they use it to spend some weekends..

When the man wakes up, he finds himself not only strapped to the chair, but also with a blindfold covering his eyes.

He hears a voice that says in a threatening tone.

- You are kidnapped, we will ask for ransom to free you..

With a confused voice he replies.

- I don't have any money, I think they have the wrong person..

The other, also in an imperative voice, replies.

- We'll call your wife and see.

They put a gag in his mouth and walk out.

They will leave it overnight at the site.

Everyone goes home and the next morning they return to the hut to release it..

With surprise they get the empty chair and the ropes on one side..

He has undoubtedly managed to escape.

- You put those ropes too loose - reproaches one of them to the other..

- I'm sure they weren't, I was afraid they were too tight..

They go to the institute sure that they would get the teacher there but to their surprise the worried faces of their classmates indicate that something is wrong..

- The history teacher is missing. His car is in the parking lot and his wife is at the address. - One of the colleagues commented

They looked at each other strangely; they were sure that he had managed to free himself from the restraints..

The local police detectives interview everyone, they, in agreement, both maintain the certainty that they have not seen him..

- Someone stated that a van similar to his uncle's kidnapped him. -says one of the detectives

His adrenaline is pumping and his brain is racing with doubts..

- I haven't seen my uncle for a week.

- However, other detectives are already there and will verify that.

He leaves the interview with his legs like jelly, drags his friend and outside the institute tells him what he has been told.

-What shall we do?

- We will have to tell the truth.

-What truth? That we kidnapped him and we don't know where he is? They won't believe us?

The director, with a disheveled face, comes out and when he passes by them, he says.

- History teacher found dead in the forest.

Panic invades them, it will only be a matter of time before they are associated with it..

They go to the house of one of them to calm down and study their options..

There are not many, if they confess that it was a joke that went wrong they will blame them for the death..

They should get a lawyer and tell them what happened..

Knocking on the door startles them.

They hear voices talking to the mother and then some policemen burst into the room..

- They are being held in connection with the kidnapping and murder of the professor..

They are placed in handcuffs and, to the astonished gaze of their mother, they are placed in the back of the police car..

They are locked in the police station lockup and an hour later they receive an unexpected visit..

It is the history teacher who laughs and tells them.

- I found out about the prank before and agreed with some friends to give it back to them. He who laughs last laughs best.

Inspired by idea number 18 of 50 Story Ideas. You can find them in this Link: https://hive.blog/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-fiction-prompt-6-50-story-ideas