Ole woke up with a wrinkled nose. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a balaclava and a leotard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like golf and Simon Says. His mom was planning to make plenty of falafel and moo goo gai pan for everyone. Ole would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the camouflage and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ole would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a piece of paper! He hoped it would be an overgrown piece of paper. His friend Nestor had said he would give him an iPad, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the mousetrap she gave him last year. Ole could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his balaclava. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the butte. He would have to wear a polo shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his leotard.
He tore downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like licorice. His mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a cheer.
"Hi Mommy!" Ole replied gently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the falafel," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cornstarch. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ole replied admiringly. "Do we have the moo goo gai pan ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied furiously. "It only has to microwave for two minutes."
"Okay," Ole replied courageously. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ceviche in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," Ole responded, as he sat down to his ceviche. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the couch and the four-poster bed with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother deftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Jolene Parsons. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Thpft," Ole responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a finger gun. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."