Cory woke up with a furrowed brow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cloak and a false moustache. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like treasure hunt and red light green light. His mom was planning to make plenty of lobster bisque and cookies for everyone. Cory would try to blow out all twelve candles on the teal and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cory would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bagpipe! He hoped it would be a handy bagpipe. His friend Wayne had said he would give him a Rubik's cube, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the pacifier she gave him last year. Cory could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his cloak. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the treetop. He would have to wear a tinfoil hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his false moustache.
He jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a swimming pool. His mom was standing there with a blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a roar.
"Hi Mommy!" Cory replied arrogantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lobster bisque," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra tarragon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cory replied curiously. "Do we have the cookies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied courteously. "It only has to whirl for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Cory replied ingeniously. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some popcorn in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Cory responded, as he sat down to his popcorn. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the umbrella stand and the china hutch with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother unexpectedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Laura Nixon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Jeez," Cory responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a twitch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."