William woke up with a pucker. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a lab coat and a straitjacket. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like poker and backgammon. His mom was planning to make plenty of enchiladas and beans for everyone. William would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the metallic red and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, William would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fish bowl! He hoped it would be a smooth fish bowl. His friend Bill had said he would give him a box, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the iPhone she gave him last year. William could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his lab coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cesspool. He would have to wear a ring instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his straitjacket.
He padded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cheap cologne. His mom was standing there with a dish cloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a frown.
"Hi Mommy!" William replied gleefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the enchiladas," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped celery. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," William replied deftly. "Do we have the beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied strangely. "It only has to fry for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," William replied awkwardly. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some spaghetti in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," William responded, as he sat down to his spaghetti. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the armoire and the cupboard with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother positively. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Denise Downer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"What in tarnation," William responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."