Lee: The Original Prankster

The year would have been around 2003, when I was in year 11 at high school. Lee and I were walking home as we did most days, and out of nowhere Lee challenged me to challenge him to do something stupid. There was no gain in it for him if the self-proposed challenge was not carried through; it was for my pure enjoyment only.

I can't remember exactly the foreplay to the dare (and I'm sure I'm telling this story leaving out some details), however the scheme that Lee proposed to me was so absurd it was beautiful. The plan that Lee put forward was this: Every time that I coughed in a suggestive manner Lee had to stop what he was doing and proceed to strut around in small circles clucking like a chicken.

We both had a good laugh at the very thought of being amongst our friends and Lee placing himself at the centre of sure-fire ridicule (his plight of high school?). So the next day, we were standing at lunch next to the main oval (not in Koala Park but the wooden seats next to the portables), and Lee looked at me almost as if to say - "DO IT, DO IT", and so I coughed. Sure enough, Lee turned into a chicken for a good 8-10 seconds and it was hilarious.

But this was not enough; we had to go further...

Cut to later that day or the next day, and we were in drama class. It was the period after recess/lunch, and Miss Fielen had the class lying on our backs performing a breathing exercise to loosen our muscles and clear our minds (what an awesome teacher...). My close proximity to Lee was perfect in setting up one of my funniest moments in high school. The room was silent, not a mouse stirred, the moment was perfect - "*cough*, *cough*" - "brrrrreek brek brek brek brek brrrrrreekk", Lee bellowed as he pranced around the dazed and confused class. "Lee!!, outside now!!", screamed the teach.

One of the funniest things about that moment was that no-one knew what the hell was going on, especially not the bewildered teacher. Lee is the original prankster, no-one else I know would dare themselves to do something so embarrassing, and then when I performed the pre-agreed trigger to actually go through with it - to display such self-deprecation is inspiring; and a great quality to have.

- Russell