Jamie woke up with a smack. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a diamond bracelet and a cheerleader's uniform. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and leapfrog. His mom was planning to make plenty of sushi and shrimp for everyone. Jamie would try to blow out all eleven candles on the olive green and jade cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jamie would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a biscuit! He hoped it would be an authentic biscuit. His friend Rock had said he would give him a bagpipe, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the cigarette lighter she gave him last year. Jamie could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his diamond bracelet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the pond. He would have to wear a kimono instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cheerleader's uniform.
He tore downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like vanilla. His mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Mommy!" Jamie replied strangely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra stuffed green olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jamie replied reluctantly. "Do we have the shrimp ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied suavely. "It only has to heat for eighty-five minutes."
"Okay," Jamie replied crankily. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pretzels in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Jamie responded, as he sat down to his pretzels. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the casket and the footstool with brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother zestily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Yolanda Best. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Boy howdy," Jamie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snicker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."