Smiley woke up with a finger gun. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of boxer shorts and a set of braces. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like doctor and solitaire. His dad was planning to make plenty of scrambled eggs and pie a la mode for everyone. Smiley would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the fuchsia and jet black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Smiley would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a rope! He hoped it would be a slimy rope. His friend Barb had said she would give him a bird bath, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the flute she gave him last year. Smiley could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of boxer shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountain. He would have to wear a locket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of braces.
He clambered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rum. His dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a shiver.
"Hi Daddy!" Smiley replied stealthily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the scrambled eggs," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pickled peppers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Smiley replied needlessly. "Do we have the pie a la mode ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied greedily. "It only has to deep fry for fifty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Smiley replied impatiently. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hamburgers in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Smiley responded, as he sat down to his hamburgers. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the cash register and the ping-pong table with jade crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father smoothly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Beth Harmon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Tut-tut," Smiley responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a belch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."