Jackson woke up with a pucker. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a ski mask and a watch. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like chess and follow the leader. His dad was planning to make plenty of pizza and hash for everyone. Jackson would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the pink and lime-green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jackson would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cowbell! He hoped it would be a striped cowbell. His friend Jasmine had said she would give him a peanut, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the hot potato she gave him last year. Jackson could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his ski mask. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the meadow. He would have to wear a miniskirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his watch.
He sidled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smoke. His dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a pout.
"Hi Daddy!" Jackson replied timidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pizza," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen peas. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jackson replied daintily. "Do we have the hash ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied nicely. "It only has to smoke for ten minutes."
"Okay," Jackson replied languidly. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Jackson responded, as he sat down to his Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the file cabinet and the wardrobe with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father admiringly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Sharon Castro. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Boy oh boy," Jackson 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."