Kim woke up with a grunt. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bathrobe and a feather boa. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like chess and golf. His mom was planning to make plenty of candy and sushi for everyone. Kim would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the red and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kim would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a church key! He hoped it would be a smelly church key. His friend Mark had said he would give him a paper towel, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the iPod she gave him last year. Kim could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bathrobe. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a dog collar instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his feather boa.
He traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like greasepaint. His mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a squint.
"Hi Mommy!" Kim replied firmly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg yolks. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kim replied quickly. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied woodenly. "It only has to fry clumsily in smelly skillet for five minutes."
"Okay," Kim replied threateningly. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Kim responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the dining table and the file cabinet with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother fearlessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Polly Gotti. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"Yo ho ho," Kim responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a face palm. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."