Sanjay woke up with a backward glance. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a coat of mail and a tutu. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like charades and jacks. His mom was planning to make plenty of sushi and tortillas for everyone. Sanjay would try to blow out all two candles on the scarlet and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sanjay would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a whoopee cushion! He hoped it would be an aromatic whoopee cushion. His friend Sanjay had said he would give him a potato, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the rubber chicken she gave him last year. Sanjay could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his coat of mail. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the country meadow. He would have to wear a stethoscope instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tutu.
He dashed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Christian Dior. His mom was standing there with a dish cloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a face palm.
"Hi Mommy!" Sanjay replied gently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn flakes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sanjay replied frantically. "Do we have the tortillas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied sagely. "It only has to refrigerate overnight for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Sanjay replied stealthily. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some apple pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Sanjay responded, as he sat down to his apple pie. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the bathtub and the umbrella stand with rose crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother charmingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bubbles Sokoloff. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Whoa baby," Sanjay responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."