Rob woke up with a simper. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a motorcycle helmet and a wizard's hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like dodge ball and duck duck goose. His dad was planning to make plenty of candy and egg rolls for everyone. Rob would try to blow out all nine candles on the beige and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rob would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cage! He hoped it would be a puzzling cage. His friend Monica had said she would give him a joint, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the compass she gave him last year. Rob could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his motorcycle helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the circus tent. He would have to wear a blanket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his wizard's hat.
He dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like car exhaust. His dad was standing there with a whisk in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a wink.
"Hi Daddy!" Rob replied surreptitiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra paprika. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rob replied gleefully. "Do we have the egg rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied defiantly. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Rob replied carefully. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Rob responded, as he sat down to his shrimp. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the fainting couch and the dishwasher with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father coolly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Carina Naipaul. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"I don't think so," Rob responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flutter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."