Cornelius woke up with a finger gun. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a vest and a ski mask. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like crazy eights and checkers. His mom was planning to make plenty of lasagna and pizza for everyone. Cornelius would try to blow out all thirty candles on the purple and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cornelius would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a handkerchief! He hoped it would be a big handkerchief. His friend Pops had said he would give him a flash drive, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the pain pill she gave him last year. Cornelius could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm 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 briar patch. He would have to wear a pair of briefs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ski mask.
He breezed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Chinese food. His mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a crow.
"Hi Mommy!" Cornelius replied angrily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lasagna," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pickled peppers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cornelius replied blindly. "Do we have the pizza ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied carefully. "It only has to braise for eighteen minutes."
"Okay," Cornelius replied defiantly. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cornbread in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Cornelius responded, as he sat down to his cornbread. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the hamper and the chest of drawers with yellow crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother angrily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Celia Peters. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"You're kidding," Cornelius responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a giggle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."