Cliff woke up with a sneer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a set of pink foam curlers and a ribbon. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boiler room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Monopoly and solitaire. His mom was planning to make plenty of roast Cornish game hen and fried chicken for everyone. Cliff would try to blow out all five candles on the violet and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cliff would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a can of beer! He hoped it would be a hideous can of beer. His friend Hank had said he would give him a Van Gogh, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the broom she gave him last year. Cliff could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his set of pink foam curlers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the ridge. He would have to wear a nose ring instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his ribbon.
He dove downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like asparagus. His mom was standing there with an ice pick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a jeer.
"Hi Mommy!" Cliff replied lazily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast Cornish game hen," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra okra. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cliff replied curiously. "Do we have the fried chicken ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied tensely. "It only has to simmer for thirty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Cliff replied cunningly. "I'm gonna go to the boiler room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lasagna in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boiler room 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," Cliff responded, as he sat down to his lasagna. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the table and the table with rose crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother threateningly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Fiona Pythagoras. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Dadgum," Cliff responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a jeer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."