Alex woke up with a bow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bikini and a leotard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like hopscotch and trivia. His mom was planning to make plenty of fish and chips and waffles for everyone. Alex would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the lime-green and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Alex would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an ice cream cone! He hoped it would be a weird ice cream cone. His friend Luke had said he would give him a smart phone, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the clam she gave him last year. Alex could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bikini. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plain. He would have to wear a kimono instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his leotard.
He slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like orange peel. His mom was standing there with a cookie cutter in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a bow.
"Hi Mommy!" Alex replied craftily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fish and chips," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Alex replied silently. "Do we have the waffles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied uneasily. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for twenty-five minutes."
"Okay," Alex replied urgently. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Alex responded, as he sat down to his shrimp. "Let's hang lots of metallic red balloons and cover the dining table and the buffet with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother temperamentally. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Elaine Greenwood. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Yahoo," Alex responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pucker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."