Leroy woke up with a finger gun. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a suit of armor and a hair net. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eighteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like hopscotch and trivia. His mom was planning to make plenty of strawberry shortcake and brownies for everyone. Leroy would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the olive green and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Leroy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a toy! He hoped it would be a miniature toy. His friend Cory had said he would give him a bilge pump, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the cane she gave him last year. Leroy could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his suit of armor. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the plateau. He would have to wear a tarboosh instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his hair net.
He strode downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lilacs. His mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a snort.
"Hi Mommy!" Leroy replied nicely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the strawberry shortcake," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra salt. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Leroy replied irritably. "Do we have the brownies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied dolorously. "It only has to grill for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Leroy replied gently. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some doughnuts in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Leroy responded, as he sat down to his doughnuts. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the casket and the computer with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother frenetically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Claudia Talley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Aaah," Leroy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snuffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."