Anthony woke up with a death glare. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a wig and a romper. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like follow the leader and battleship. His mom was planning to make plenty of jambalaya and beef bouillon for everyone. Anthony would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the ivory and terra cotta cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Anthony would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a joint! He hoped it would be an electronic joint. His friend Antonio had said he would give him a Rubik's cube, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the tennis racket she gave him last year. Anthony 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 wig. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the moonscape. He would have to wear a body shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his romper.
He sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peanuts. His mom was standing there with a pair of tongs in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a grin.
"Hi Mommy!" Anthony replied fearlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the jambalaya," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pitted black olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Anthony replied sympathetically. "Do we have the beef bouillon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied sagely. "It only has to heat for forty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Anthony 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," Anthony responded, as he sat down to his borscht. "Let's hang lots of violet balloons and cover the china hutch and the hope chest with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother oddly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marina Winkler. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Bless you," Anthony responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a bow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."