Cory woke up with a giggle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of shorts and a pair of ear muffs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like trivia and Snakes and Ladders. His dad was planning to make plenty of scrambled eggs and egg drop soup for everyone. Cory would try to blow out all twenty candles on the lime-green and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cory would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a ball! He hoped it would be an odd ball. His friend Eleanor had said she would give him a Rubik's cube, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the hip flask she gave him last year. Cory could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the range. He would have to wear a pair of panties instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of ear muffs.
He marched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baking cookies. His dad was standing there with an ice pick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a face palm.
"Hi Daddy!" Cory replied shakily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the scrambled eggs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra red cabbage. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cory replied queerly. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied rapidly. "It only has to whirl for forty-one minutes."
"Okay," Cory replied bravely. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Cory responded, as he sat down to his cabbage rolls. "Let's hang lots of pea green balloons and cover the pedestal and the ping-pong table with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father sweetly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Morgan Alden. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Say what," Cory responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shrug. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."