Leroy woke up with a sneeze. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in an Armani suit and a pair of pantaloons. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like seven-up and tennis. His mom was planning to make plenty of jambalaya and oatmeal for everyone. Leroy would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the teal and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Leroy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a peace pipe! He hoped it would be a bronze peace pipe. His friend Justin had said he would give him a Taser, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the Egyptian mummy she gave him last year. Leroy 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 Armani suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the glen. He would have to wear a blanket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of pantaloons.
He struggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fresh-baked bread. His mom was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Mommy!" Leroy replied unexpectedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the jambalaya," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra watercress. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Leroy replied busily. "Do we have the oatmeal ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied patiently. "It only has to slow cook for fifty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Leroy replied coldly. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some moo goo gai pan in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Leroy responded, as he sat down to his moo goo gai pan. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the safe and the desk with lavender crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother joyously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Crystal Wells. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"For Pete's sake," Leroy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a growl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."