Gunther woke up with a shrug. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a blazer and a class ring. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like shuffleboard and trivia. His dad was planning to make plenty of spaghetti and roast turkey for everyone. Gunther would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the yellow and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Gunther would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an ironing board! He hoped it would be a leather ironing board. His friend Sharon had said she would give him a barbell, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the watering can she gave him last year. Gunther 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 blazer. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the pond. He would have to wear a hoop skirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his class ring.
He skidded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotting meat. His dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a pout.
"Hi Daddy!" Gunther replied bitterly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the spaghetti," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra kidney beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Gunther replied dolefully. "Do we have the roast turkey ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied sorrowfully. "It only has to mix victoriously for sixty-five minutes."
"Okay," Gunther replied crankily. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some duck a l'orange 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Gunther responded, as he sat down to his duck a l'orange. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the bar stool and the sofa with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father suavely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Alisa Ramos. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Kazow," Gunther responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a backward glance. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."