Roger woke up with a cackle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a uniform and a pair of toe shoes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like hide and seek and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of popcorn and cinnamon toast for everyone. Roger would try to blow out all ten candles on the emerald green and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Roger would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a corncob! He hoped it would be a fuzzy corncob. His friend Chelsea had said she would give him a Happy Meal, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the mushroom she gave him last year. Roger could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his uniform. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a bedsheet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of toe shoes.
He marched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Listerine. His dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a smirk.
"Hi Daddy!" Roger replied dubiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra active dry yeast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Roger replied brightly. "Do we have the cinnamon toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied viciously. "It only has to place on serving dish for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Roger replied viciously. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tofu 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," Roger responded, as he sat down to his tofu. "Let's hang lots of aqua balloons and cover the piano and the computer with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father energetically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, LaVerne Payne. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Shucks," Roger responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."