netbook prank

The minimized IM window blinked. It was my employer. They could not get their new netbook display to work. Our IT guy had upgraded the memory, and we thought that it was not correctly installed. We called our Tech Support department, and they fixed it within minutes though.

However, most of you reading this know that I would have to take advantage of this opportunity to pull a prank. I typed back to my employer, “Can I play a joke on the IT guy?”

Boss: “Yeah, definitely. I can’t though – he’s such a nice guy, but he teases you all the time. Go to it!”

Giggling to myself, I pressed ‘Send’ and forced my voice to take on a serious, calm tone, “Hey [IT guy], how was your day off?”

I walked to our employer’s office, and turned on the speakerphone feature to the highest volume, so they could listen in.

He responded, “Alright, what’s up? Still at work?”

Me: “Yeah, unfortunately the boss’s netbook isn’t working. The Tech office couldn’t fix it. They said the way you installed the memory was wrong, which would have been fine, but somehow it burnt up the system. The computer is dead, man. Boss is pissed.”

Boss, whispering, “Hahaha, you’re so bad! He’s going to…”

Him: “Are you serious?! Oh God! I’m going to be killed for this…how about the warranty?!”

Me: “Remember you advised against the extended warranty? Well, we called up the customer service line, and now the factory warranty is also void because we purchased outside memory and tampered with the hardware. It’s not looking too good. I thought I’d give you the heads up for Monday.”

*Boss clasps a hand over their mouth to muffle laughter*

Him: “Great. This is going to be hanging over my head all weekend, but thanks for the info.”

A poignant pause ensued, and he softly grumbled, “Maybe I’ll come in to work anyway, and see if I can fix it.”

Me: “Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea. It might be best to let the boss cool down, y’know, give it the weekend to air out. I’m sure you won’t be in trouble. It was just a mistake.”

At this point, the boss and I made eye contact. Laughter erupted, but I managed to press ‘mute’ in time.

Me, coughing: “Yeah, sorry about that; allergies are acting up. Well, don’t worry about it. These things happen. Hey, listen. I’m going to get going, but you hang tight, okay? You try to enjoy the weekend and breathe easy. It’ll be alright.”

Boss: “Okay, give him a few more minutes for that to sink in, then call him back.”

Me: “Sorry about that, I just had to call you back.”

Him: “It’s okay. Is the boss really angry with me? Are you still there? Should I come by?”

Me and Boss: “Hahahahahahahhahaha!”

Me: “The netbook is fine. It works.”

Boss: “That’s what you get for calling out on our Happy Hour day!”

Me: “And forgetting to pencil us in your office calendar!”

Him: “Ughhh, Chi, it’s done. Just wait until you see what trick I pull to get you back.”

Me: “Sure. I don’t mess around with anyone’s laptop, so you try to do something just as epic and evil.”

Him: “Okay, okay, I got punked. Definitely. You got me. Hahaha, pretty awesome job, actually.”

Who else out there wants a netbook besides me?