Ole woke up with a belch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a class ring and a tuxedo. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like follow the leader and red rover. His mom was planning to make plenty of mashed potatoes and sushi for everyone. Ole would try to blow out all five candles on the carrot-orange and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ole would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a file folder! He hoped it would be a jagged file folder. His friend Vic had said he would give him a saw, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the muffin she gave him last year. Ole could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his class ring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the trail. He would have to wear a set of pink foam curlers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tuxedo.
He tramped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a pig. His mom was standing there with a food processor in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a cackle.
"Hi Mommy!" Ole replied frenetically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mashed potatoes," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra ham. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ole replied courteously. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied fiercely. "It only has to smoke for eighty minutes."
"Okay," Ole replied lovingly. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg rolls 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," Ole responded, as he sat down to his egg rolls. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the hamper and the bar stool with fuchsia crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother ingeniously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Deena Slade. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Land's sakes," Ole responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."