Cory woke up with a coo. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a hearing aid and a pair of shin guards. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like poker and Candy Land. His mom was planning to make plenty of blueberry pie and pecan pie for everyone. Cory would try to blow out all eight candles on the forest green and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cory would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a rag! He hoped it would be a polka-dotted rag. His friend Donnie Bob had said he would give him a bag, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the diary she gave him last year. Cory could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his hearing aid. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the steppe. He would have to wear a big grin instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of shin guards.
He flounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like freshly cut grass. His mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a pucker.
"Hi Mommy!" Cory replied cleverly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the blueberry pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lime Jell-O. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cory replied sweetly. "Do we have the pecan pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied trustingly. "It only has to heat for thirty-four minutes."
"Okay," Cory replied arrogantly. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tortillas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Cory responded, as he sat down to his tortillas. "Let's hang lots of grey balloons and cover the wine rack and the bar stool with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother grimly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ashley Katz. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Spiff," Cory responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a raised eyebrow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."