Fritz woke up with a dope slap. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a set of scrubs and a big smile. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Mother May I and red light green light. His dad was planning to make plenty of pancakes and squash blossom soup for everyone. Fritz would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the green and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Fritz would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a contract! He hoped it would be a bronze contract. His friend Bridget had said she would give him an egg shell, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the clipboard she gave him last year. Fritz could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his set of scrubs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the swamp. He would have to wear a headband instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his big smile.
He capered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a laundry. His dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a gurgle.
"Hi Daddy!" Fritz replied trustingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pancakes," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra garlic. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Fritz replied warmly. "Do we have the squash blossom soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied perkily. "It only has to heat in microwave for five minutes."
"Okay," Fritz replied tearfully. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ramen noodles in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool room 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," Fritz responded, as he sat down to his ramen noodles. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the display case and the stool with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father joyously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Elizabeth Sledge. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Oops," Fritz responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flinch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."