Yancey woke up with a snarl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a set of vampire fangs and a pair of combat boots. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like blackjack and cribbage. His mom was planning to make plenty of tacos and pumpkin pie for everyone. Yancey would try to blow out all twenty candles on the brown and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Yancey would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an artificial flower! He hoped it would be a tiny artificial flower. His friend Antonio had said he would give him a bowling ball, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the crutch she gave him last year. Yancey could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his set of vampire fangs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the range. He would have to wear a smartwatch instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of combat boots.
He ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Old Spice. His mom was standing there with a turkey baster in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a dope slap.
"Hi Mommy!" Yancey replied despondently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tacos," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra salt. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Yancey replied grimly. "Do we have the pumpkin pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied temperamentally. "It only has to grill for eighty-four minutes."
"Okay," Yancey replied woodenly. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster bisque 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," Yancey responded, as he sat down to his lobster bisque. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the ottoman and the nightstand with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother unexpectedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lori Brookshire. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Ssss," Yancey responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."