Running Bear woke up with a grimace. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bow tie and a dolphin costume. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like charades and Monopoly. His mom was planning to make plenty of roast beef and lobster for everyone. Running Bear would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the amber and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Running Bear would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an ingot of plutonium! He hoped it would be a gigantic ingot of plutonium. His friend Gino had said he would give him an orange, and his main squeeze always gave him cool stuff like the plaque she gave him last year. Running Bear could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his bow tie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a romper instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his dolphin costume.
He trekked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like ammonia. His mom was standing there with a turkey baster in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a wrinkled nose.
"Hi Mommy!" Running Bear replied daintily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast beef," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra baking soda. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Running Bear replied zestily. "Do we have the lobster ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied positively. "It only has to microwave for thirty-four minutes."
"Okay," Running Bear replied smoothly. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cookies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Running Bear responded, as he sat down to his cookies. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the stool and the credenza with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother immediately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Joan Jude. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Holy minerva," Running Bear responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."