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The Prank We All Fell For

Our story takes place beneath the beautiful Athens, Greece sun. The year was 368 B.C. People were out, enjoying the day and browsing all the vendors’ goods. Plato, the Athenian philosopher, in his 60’s, is with his same-aged friend, Neptune. They have been good friends their entire life. Neptune expanded Plato’s outlook on life. He showed Plato there is more than just books. He allowed Plato to be more than just a philosopher and have fun. They both sat against a wall snickering to themselves; Plato was up to no good. “I’m almost done. Give me a second,” said Plato. Neptune was sitting eagerly waiting for Plato to finish his contraption. “Alright, done, the mission is a go,” Plato exclaimed. They quickly got to their feet and bolted through the alley.

They eventually reached a stone fence and got down behind it. Their prank is about to come to fruition. Plato pulled out some sort of contraption and showed it to his friend. Neptune asked, “Okay, so what is the plan?” Plato responded with, “I have attached a long string to this coin. The plan is to throw it over this fence and trick Alexander into thinking today is his lucky day!” Neptune, so excited, he can’t sit still, said, “Toss it over!” He then placed his hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. Plato reared back to toss it over, but stopped, in mid-motion, due to unexpected footsteps. “Hey! What are you guys up to?” said the stranger. Plato looked up and noticed a younger gentleman. He had an eager look to him. A look that someone who is ready for anything would possess. Plato responded, “A trick, my new friend. Watch and get ready to run.” Plato gave his new friend a smile and looked up to Neptune. Neptune nodded his head in approval and Plato readied up again. The coin landed with a thud on the stone porch while Plato kept ahold of the string. Neptune frantically got up to commence the second step in their plan. Neptune reached the front door and knocked; without a second thought, he runs back behind the fence. The stranger was looking around trying to piece together this puzzle when Neptune notices, pats him on the shoulder, and says, “You’ll see.”

A balding man, named Alexander, opened the house’s door. It seemed to be a reoccurring thing because he had a look of a deer in headlights. He was a monstrous man but was way out of his element. He knew a trick on his intelligence was unfolding out in front of him, but he couldn’t pinpoint it. All of a sudden, the coin catches his eye and he hesitates. He got a look of excitement but knew there was more to this. He slowly bent down to pick it up, and, in a blink of an eye, Plato jerked on the string; the coin went flying away from Alexander. “Is that you Neptune,” Alexander exclaimed. Neptune and Plato got up in a rush and couldn’t stop laughing. Neptune replied, “You bet, Alexander!” They both turned around and begun to run off. Their new friend stuttered for a moment and then followed. Alexander started to run after them, but the chase came to an end as quickly as it started. “Get out of here, Neptune,” said Alexander in one last act of anger. Plato stopped on a dime and looked back, “It’s Neptune AND Plato, you fool!”

Everyone turned the corner and sat against a wall. They were all sharing in laughter when the stranger got curious.

“Did you say your name was Plato back there,” asked the stranger. Plato replied, “Indeed, I did. What’s your name, friend?” “My name is Aristotle, sir. It’s an honor to meet you,” said Aristotle. Aristotle knew Plato from his work and truly looked up to him. He thought very highly of Plato and didn’t know if he could believe it. “Are you actually him though, sir? I don’t mean to offend, but I never knew you played tricks on people,” said Aristotle. Plato, acted as if he’s heard this one too many times, annoyingly stated, “Indeed… I am.” Quick to gather himself, Aristotle replied, “I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to annoy you. It’s just,” Plato interrupted, “I know, I know you wouldn’t expect me to be pulling pranks.” Neptune could tell Plato was getting worked up and tried his best to console his friend. “It’s okay, Plates. Don’t let his words get to you,” Neptune said while patting Plato’s back. Plato gave his old friend a smile and said, “It’s fine Neptune. I’ve grown used to ignorance.” Aristotle got very red in the face from embarrassment, “I’m so sorry, sir. I really am. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just surprised.” Plato looked Aristotle up and down and let out a sigh. “It’s okay, boy,” says Plato, “I can’t lay the blame on you. It’s been going on since before your time.” Plato took a step away from the group and watched the sunset. “Try to be kind to everyone, they are all fighting a tough battle. That is a statement that I find to be truer with every passing day,” said Plato. Aristotle replied, “What’s your battle, sir?” Plato turned with a confused look. This took him back; nobody, besides Neptune, has ever considered Plato’s feelings. “I am looked at as a scholar,” said Plato, “A man who is nothing but proper, and would not indulge in such tricks or acts of fun. I never get any credit for my tricks. All the credit goes to my friend Neptune.” Neptune used this time to take a bow. Plato continued, “I’m glad my friend here gets the credit, at least. A little recognition for myself would be tremendous though.” Aristotle, a bit confused, asked, “Isn’t that a good thing though? You won’t ever get in any trouble.” Plato goes on to describe how he, too, thought it was a good thing, but later came to the realization that he just craved the credit. He wanted to show people that he was more than just brains.

Old stories Aristotle heard began to come rushing back, he asked, “Were you the reason for those buckets?” Neptune started slapping his knee while laughing. He then nudged Plato’s side and Plato cracks a smile with a look of satisfaction, he says, “So many people thought it was just raining buckets. The Cloud Burst of Buckets I believe is what people called it. All we did was put them on top of slightly opened doors.” Neptune chimed in, “I believe one of our better ones was when we covered Alexander’s windows with black tar, and he thought the sun had left our world.” Plato and Neptune had burst out laughing and Aristotle cracked a smile. Their laughter was so infectious, Aristotle joined in with them.

Aristotle tried to gather himself, and asked, “Well, how can we get you your credit? Do you have any ideas, sir? Plato’s laughter slowed down as he began to calm down. He was impressed with Aristotle’s kindness and wanted to include him in his greatest trick yet. “Aristotle, I have learned to live with this,” said Plato, “But! It has given me the opportunity to have the greatest trick in history.” Aristotle got visibly excited and desperately wanted to help Plato in any way he could. Plato continued, “You have to promise me to keep this secret and, no matter what, you will keep this secret.” Aristotle nodded in approval. Plato carried on, “I am working on a new book and in it will have my trick. Everyone who will read it will take it as fact. Everyone really believes I don’t pull tricks, so they won’t second guess this one.” Aristotle is beyond excited to be a part of this with Plato. He was curious as to what the trick could be about, so he opened his mouth to ask. Plato saw his curiosity and interrupted, “You will see soon, my new friend.”

A few weeks passed by and Aristotle was sitting in his house. He was reading a book and taking notes at his desk when he hears a knock on the door. Instinctively, Aristotle got up to check it out. As he was walking to the door, he heard a slam against the ground outside, along with a coinciding “oof”, followed by a “Get up, Neptune! What the hell? Act as if you’ve been here before.” Aristotle sped up to see his friends. He swung open the door just to see nobody outside. He scanned around and saw nobody insight. His eyes eventually made their way down to his doorstep. There lied a book with a note atop it. The note read “Aristotle.” Aristotle picked it up and opened it.

“Here it is, my friend. I have completed the trick in my book The Timaeus. Flip to page sixty-nine.

-Plato.”

Aristotle was confused. He had no idea how his trick could be in a book. He thought for a moment that the trick could be on him. He gives a quick look to see if anything peculiar is going on around him. Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, he flipped through the book and finally reached the page. He looks at it for a moment with a blank stare trying to piece it together. Like a strike of lighting, it clicked. He let out a huge laugh and closed the book. He turned back inside still laughing. Through the laughter, he said, “The Lost City of Atlantis.”

“And that is how Plato came up with The Lost City of Atlantis,” said James. The 6th-grade students, along with the teacher, Mrs. Harris, sat there in silence. In the back, a slow clap began to start, but it stayed in the back. “Woo, yeah James,” exclaimed Mikey. “No, Mikey, no, cut that out,” went Mrs. Harris, “James, what was that?”