To fake a stomach ache, tell your parents that you may have eaten something bad at school. To fake a cold, say that your throat has been feeling a little scratchy. [1] X Research source Get started the night before by waking up and telling your parents that you’re feeling sick. Either mimic your symptoms from before, or just say, “I feel like I’m getting sick. "

Don’t eat too much breakfast. Sick people often lose their appetites, so this will help with the illusion. [2] X Research source If you’re faking cold/flu symptoms, cough and sneeze and say you’re feeling dizzy. If you’ve been faking stomach symptoms, rub your stomach and moan that it hurts.

Soak a towel in hot water, wring it out, then place it against your forehead for 1 minute. This will heat up your head and body and make your fever more believable. Boil some water in a kettle, then pour it into a bowl. Lean over the bowl until your skin feels flushed, then step away. This will make you feel clammy. Rub a thermometer between your hands until it reaches 99–101 °F (37–38 °C). Don’t go higher, however, or you might risk a trip to the hospital. [3] X Research source

Think about it for a minute or two and say something like, “But I want to go to PE. " Then tell them, “On second thought, I’m not sure I can make it all day at school. " If you make it seem outright like you don’t want to go because you hate school, your illness won’t seem believable.

Even though you have a day to yourself, you’ll still have to pretend to be sick all day long, at least while your parents are still around. If you suddenly get better the next day, your parents may catch onto your lie and get mad. They may not fall for it the next time.

Read up on your school’s rules before your bunk off day, and be ready for the consequences if you get caught.

Leaving at the very beginning of the day will probably get you noticed, since most kids are going into the school and not away from it. Go to your first class so you can at least be seen, then slip away in between classes. You can also do this between afternoon classes, or around lunchtime.

Give yourself enough time to change back into your school clothes (if you’ve changed out of them) and be back on school grounds by the time the last bell rings. Show up on time for the bus or for when your parents pick you up. This will make it seem as though you were at school all day. If someone sees you and asks where you’ve been, say that you’ve been in the bathroom sick or at an appointment. Make sure your parents don’t hear from a teacher that you weren’t in class.

This won’t work with every parent. Some parents will send you to school so that you can learn a valuable lesson about finishing your work on time.

Find some place hide so that you don’t get caught by your parents, or head home and tell your parents that you missed your bus. If your parents are strict, you might want to wait until they’ve left for work before heading home; otherwise, they may drive you to school! Know your risks! If your neighbour sees that you missed the bus, they may tell your parents.

For example, if the alarm is supposed to go off at 6am, change it to go off at 7 or 8am. If one parent sets the alarm, you’ll only have to change one alarm. However, if there are multiple alarms, you’ll have to change them all. Do this at your own risk. Be considerate of your parent’s work. If you make them extremely late, they could get in trouble.

You can choose any excuse that sounds real, like you had to go to a funeral, had a dentist appointment, or that a pet died. Type the note instead of writing it by hand. Your handwriting probably doesn’t look like an adult’s handwriting to a teacher, so it won’t be convincing. Typing the note is safer, and it will also look more official.

Say things about how sad it was to see so many crying people at a funeral, or how long and annoying it was to wait at the dentist before you got seen to.

To make it even more believable, act like you really want to do the work, even if you don’t.