Thomas woke up with a belly laugh. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a balaclava and a poodle skirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like doctor and Cootie. His mom was planning to make plenty of dirty rice and pretzels for everyone. Thomas would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the grey and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Thomas would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a piece of chalk! He hoped it would be a delicate piece of chalk. His friend Sean had said he would give him a paper clip, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the bag she gave him last year. Thomas could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his balaclava. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the countryside. He would have to wear a big grin instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his poodle skirt.
He rolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like apple pie. His mom was standing there with an electric paint mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a raised eyebrow.
"Hi Mommy!" Thomas replied queerly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dirty rice," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra shrimp. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Thomas replied ferociously. "Do we have the pretzels ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied gratefully. "It only has to toast for three minutes."
"Okay," Thomas replied rapidly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sweet potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Thomas responded, as he sat down to his sweet potatoes. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the wooden crate and the pedestal with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother woefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Nadine Winchester. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Hello," Thomas responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a giggle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."