Trent woke up with a jeer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a shawl and a derby. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like marbles and Clue. His mom was planning to make plenty of moo goo gai pan and burritos for everyone. Trent would try to blow out all twenty-eight candles on the lavender and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Trent would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a toilet plunger! He hoped it would be a well worn toilet plunger. His friend Morgan had said he would give him a bell, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the flyswatter she gave him last year. Trent 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 shawl. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the swamp. He would have to wear a false moustache instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his derby.
He sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like coconut. His mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a fist bump.
"Hi Mommy!" Trent replied fiercely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the moo goo gai pan," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lima beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Trent replied frantically. "Do we have the burritos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied positively. "It only has to braise for two minutes."
"Okay," Trent replied strangely. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some squash blossom soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Trent responded, as he sat down to his squash blossom soup. "Let's hang lots of red balloons and cover the ironing board and the wooden crate with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother warmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Callie Harrison. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Kapow," Trent responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."