Samuel woke up with a sniffle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a helmet and a Speedo. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like hearts and poker. His mom was planning to make plenty of waffles and Froot Loops for everyone. Samuel would try to blow out all eight candles on the jade and emerald green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Samuel would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cage! He hoped it would be a slimy cage. His friend Fred had said he would give him a tissue, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the spittoon she gave him last year. Samuel could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the crime scene. He would have to wear a dirndl instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his Speedo.
He jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like black pepper. His mom was standing there with a dish cloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a grin.
"Hi Mommy!" Samuel replied happily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped broccoli. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Samuel replied surreptitiously. "Do we have the Froot Loops ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied daringly. "It only has to heat in microwave for fifty minutes."
"Okay," Samuel replied openly. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some borscht 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," Samuel responded, as he sat down to his borscht. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the dining table and the crib with terra cotta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother surreptitiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marcy Fox. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Bleep," Samuel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a twitch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."