Sanjay woke up with a sigh. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a cowboy hat and a mortarboard. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Cootie and croquet. His mom was planning to make plenty of French fries and ramen noodles for everyone. Sanjay would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the burgundy and forest green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sanjay would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed owl! He hoped it would be a gleaming stuffed owl. His friend Michaelangelo had said he would give him a picture, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the package she gave him last year. Sanjay 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 cowboy hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the peninsula. He would have to wear a miniskirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his mortarboard.
He tramped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like nachos. His mom was standing there with a whisk in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a smack.
"Hi Mommy!" Sanjay replied irritably. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the French fries," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pimientos. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sanjay replied stupidly. "Do we have the ramen noodles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied joyously. "It only has to poach lightly for seventy-four minutes."
"Okay," Sanjay replied cautiously. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some country glazed ham 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," Sanjay responded, as he sat down to his country glazed ham. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the sofa and the water bed with terra cotta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother openly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Bonita Clinton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Very funny," Sanjay responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snicker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."