This is a weekly installment of Suzette Andujar’s column series, “As I was Saying.”

Flashback to when I was in middle school, sitting in science class. The teacher left for a few minutes and the class was told to be silent. Of course to us, the latin translation of “silence” was “to talk.” I wasn’t always a big talker in school but that day the comical corniness that’s usually customary at home, came out. I cracked those corny jokes left and right. What do you call a snobbish criminal going down the stairs? A condescending con descending! *cue solo laugh* I think I’m drawing a pretty good picture of what my humor is like. Well, I decided to have a little fun with my classmates and tell them the “truth” about my past.

I was adopted. I was a princess in a tribe and was kidnapped. I can’t tell you where the tribe was located, but it wasn’t in this country. Being a child, I don’t remember the specifics, but I know that my family is out there somewhere. *tears* *like, real tears* *no, really, I cried in front of everybody* I know I will be reunited with them some day, but for now, I’m here…in Camden, New Jersey. Yes, after being kidnapped by an unnamed source from an exotic land I was placed with an adopted family in America’s most “dangerous city.” The End.

The story made absolutely no sense, but everyone believed me (except my best friend Maria, she knew me too well). I guess the tears didn’t help my joke, but still, it was supposed to be for laughs. Instead, I got sympathetic looks. The teacher came back in the class before I could get any questions and no one ever mentioned it to me again.

Time went by and in the 11th grade, I moved away to a different school. It was a scary transition, that’s a story within itself, but it was sad not to graduate with all of the friends i’d had since elementary school. I reunited with Maria a few months after graduation and she told me something very interesting. Apparently some people wondered if I was ever reunited with my tribal family after I transferred out. I asked her what she was talking about. She laughed (at least someone did), and reminded me of when I told a very convincing story about being a princess. I was shocked. First of all, I had no idea that people still remembered and secondly, they believed it!

Would some call this the ultimate prank or a laugh gone very wrong? It’s likely a mixture of both. I innocently pranked my classmates into thinking that I was royalty from some unnamed tribe from a far away land. Now in my defense, I was only 13 years old. I wouldn’t do that again. Yet one thing, however, has never changed…my corniness. As a matter of fact, I walked out of a building yesterday and a clown held the door open for me. I thought it was a nice jester.

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