Luis woke up with a gasp. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of knickerbockers and a thong. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like hearts and pool. His dad was planning to make plenty of chicken chow mein and lime sherbet for everyone. Luis would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the indigo and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Luis would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a gun! He hoped it would be a cotton gun. His friend Margaret had said she would give him a dead groundhog, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the camera she gave him last year. Luis could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of knickerbockers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the grassland. He would have to wear a nose ring instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his thong.
He sprinted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a skunk. His dad was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a honk.
"Hi Daddy!" Luis replied madly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken chow mein," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Cheerios. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Luis replied cautiously. "Do we have the lime sherbet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied courteously. "It only has to shake for fourteen minutes."
"Okay," Luis replied sorrowfully. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some smoked salmon 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," Luis responded, as he sat down to his smoked salmon. "Let's hang lots of pink balloons and cover the coffee table and the pedestal with aqua crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father jokingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Deborah Eklund. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Big deal," Luis responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sneer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."