Running Bear woke up with a snuffle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a body shirt and a blazer. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and cribbage. His dad was planning to make plenty of dirty rice and strawberry shortcake for everyone. Running Bear would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the pink and chocolate brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Running Bear would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a peace pipe! He hoped it would be a crude peace pipe. His friend Jeanette had said she would give him a snail, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the pair of dice she gave him last year. Running Bear could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his body shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the island. He would have to wear a pair of contact lenses instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his blazer.
He dashed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like perfume. His dad was standing there with a paring knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a finger gun.
"Hi Daddy!" Running Bear replied doubtfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dirty rice," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra watercress. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Running Bear replied coldly. "Do we have the strawberry shortcake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied caustically. "It only has to spoon into container for thirty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Running Bear replied ignobly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some strawberry shortcake 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Running Bear responded, as he sat down to his strawberry shortcake. "Let's hang lots of beige balloons and cover the cash register and the bath mat with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father uselessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Ursula Ivanov. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Okay," Running Bear responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snort. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."