Bub woke up with a growl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a trench coat and a class ring. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like jacks and jacks. His mom was planning to make plenty of fried chicken and lasagna for everyone. Bub would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the maroon and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bub would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flash drive! He hoped it would be a decrepit flash drive. His friend T.J. had said he would give him a basketball, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the stick she gave him last year. Bub 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 trench coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the dump. He would have to wear a beret instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his class ring.
He struggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Cartier. His mom was standing there with a corkscrew in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a finger gun.
"Hi Mommy!" Bub replied warily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried chicken," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra parmesan cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bub replied frenetically. "Do we have the lasagna ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied majestically. "It only has to heat for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Bub replied stealthily. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ice cream 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," Bub responded, as he sat down to his ice cream. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the piano and the dining table with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother pitifully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Delores Dipko. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Aha," Bub responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a finger gun. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."