The Office Prank Gone Wrong

I’ll tell you about my recent experience at work. I’ve always been a bit of an underdog in our grad student office group, and recently, we were planning a surprise party for one of the senior researchers, Professor Chen, who is turning 50 this month. The others thought it would be funny to fill his office with balloons, but my idea was to hide them all in a cardboard box labeled “Do Not Open” instead. I figured that when he opened the box and found only an air pump inside (the real balloons were hidden elsewhere), it would make for a hilarious surprise. However, I underestimated how suspicious our professor can be. The day of the party arrived, and as soon as Professor Chen noticed the “Do Not Open” sign, his brow furrowed. "Why did you all decide to label my office box with such an ominous warning? Is there something you’re hiding from me?” he asked us all, looking around suspiciously. I immediately felt a knot in my stomach and knew that this prank had failed miserably. I’ve been ruminating on it ever since, was it truly just a misunderstanding or did I really overstep as an underling? I feel guilty for making him question our intentions, but also wonder if the others would have come up with such a clever setup themselves. Maybe it’s just paranoia, but I keep imagining what other missteps could be lurking in my actions that no one else has pointed out yet. Sometimes, the simplest of pranks can backfire, and now I’m left wondering whether I should apologize or chalk it up as a learning experience. Regardless, every time he walks by with his curious eyes scanning around, I feel like I’m under a microscope.