Cory woke up with an evil eye. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bulletproof vest and a mask. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like trivia and ring around the rosie. His mom was planning to make plenty of mashed potatoes and ham for everyone. Cory would try to blow out all four candles on the ivory and blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cory would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a barbell! He hoped it would be a hideous barbell. His friend Beauford had said he would give him a pumpkin, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the dollhouse she gave him last year. Cory could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bulletproof vest. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cave. He would have to wear a bustier instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his mask.
He strode downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like success. His mom was standing there with a turkey baster in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a gurgle.
"Hi Mommy!" Cory replied firmly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mashed potatoes," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra vinegar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cory replied crankily. "Do we have the ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied lightly. "It only has to braise for eighteen minutes."
"Okay," Cory replied boisterously. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried chicken 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Cory responded, as he sat down to his fried chicken. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the crib and the settee with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother sourly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Jennessa Shepard. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Freaky," Cory responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."