Royce woke up with a smirk. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a vest and a gladiator helmet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like poker and battleship. His dad was planning to make plenty of pancakes and country glazed ham for everyone. Royce would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the fuchsia and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Royce would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an iPhone! He hoped it would be a fancy iPhone. His friend Iggy had said she would give him a viol, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the roll of duct tape she gave him last year. Royce could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his vest. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the wasteland. He would have to wear a blanket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gladiator helmet.
He rolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like beer. His dad was standing there with a chopstick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a curtsey.
"Hi Daddy!" Royce replied jokingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pancakes," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frankfurters. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Royce replied ferociously. "Do we have the country glazed ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied perkily. "It only has to mix gingerly for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Royce replied carelessly. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some corn on the cob in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Royce responded, as he sat down to his corn on the cob. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the display case and the footstool with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father swiftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Bianca Thomas. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Mother of peanut butter," Royce responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."