Deng 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 suit and a pair of sweatpants. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like hide and seek and golf. His mom was planning to make plenty of ramen noodles and roast Cornish game hen for everyone. Deng would try to blow out all three candles on the lavender and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Deng would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a top! He hoped it would be a waxy top. His friend Greg had said he would give him a pickle, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the pumpkin she gave him last year. Deng could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the arroyo. He would have to wear a gladiator helmet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of sweatpants.
He sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Revlon. His mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a beam.
"Hi Mommy!" Deng replied noisily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ramen noodles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cheddar cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Deng replied boldly. "Do we have the roast Cornish game hen ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied nervously. "It only has to grill for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Deng replied accidentally. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken chow mein in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Deng responded, as he sat down to his chicken chow mein. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the four-poster bed and the toilet with chocolate brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother patiently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Andie DeGraff. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Woof," Deng responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an evil eye. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."