Alf woke up with a face palm. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a big smile and a gold medal. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Mother May I and trivia. His mom was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Alf would try to blow out all six candles on the amber and mauve cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Alf would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paperclip! He hoped it would be an autographed paperclip. His friend Gerald had said he would give him a cracker, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the bird feeder she gave him last year. Alf could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his big smile. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the path. He would have to wear a beehive instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gold medal.
He careened downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like toothpaste. His mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a face palm.
"Hi Mommy!" Alf replied arrogantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra shallots. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Alf replied menacingly. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied uneasily. "It only has to sear for four minutes."
"Okay," Alf replied sagely. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some banana split 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," Alf responded, as he sat down to his banana split. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the windowsill and the desk with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother dolefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lindy Castro. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Ssss," Alf responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a grimace. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."