Billy woke up with a snuffle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a loincloth and a Hawaiian shirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boudoir was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like jacks and battleship. His mom was planning to make plenty of steak and sushi for everyone. Billy would try to blow out all three candles on the silver and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Billy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a piece of candy! He hoped it would be a grubby piece of candy. His friend Solomon had said he would give him a bat, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the amulet she gave him last year. Billy could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his loincloth. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the badlands area. He would have to wear a coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his Hawaiian shirt.
He careened downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cigars. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a twitch.
"Hi Mommy!" Billy replied strictly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the steak," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra hot water. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Billy replied dolorously. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied hastily. "It only has to spoon into container for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Billy replied gingerly. "I'm gonna go to the boudoir."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast beef in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boudoir 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," Billy responded, as he sat down to his roast beef. "Let's hang lots of silver balloons and cover the bench and the carpet with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother miserably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Paige Meyer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Freaky," Billy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a jeer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."