Conner woke up with a chuckle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of tights and a gown. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like tennis and leapfrog. His dad was planning to make plenty of Froot Loops and crab rangoon for everyone. Conner would try to blow out all eight candles on the rose and yellow cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Conner would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Rubik's cube! He hoped it would be a colossal Rubik's cube. His friend Kathryn had said she would give him a chain, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the button she gave him last year. Conner could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of tights. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the hayfield. He would have to wear a watch instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gown.
He zoomed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like freshly cut grass. His dad was standing there with a meat thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a finger gun.
"Hi Daddy!" Conner replied languidly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Froot Loops," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn chips. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Conner replied ferociously. "Do we have the crab rangoon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied intensely. "It only has to freeze for eighty-five minutes."
"Okay," Conner replied dubiously. "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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Conner responded, as he sat down to his cookies. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the chair and the coffee table with pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father blankly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bella Hook. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Bah," Conner responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a gasp. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."