Barnabas woke up with a death glare. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gun belt and a jumper. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like pool and billiards. His mom was planning to make plenty of hot dogs and steak for everyone. Barnabas would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the grey and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Barnabas would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a microscope! He hoped it would be an indigo microscope. His friend Louis had said he would give him a bird feeder, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the coin she gave him last year. Barnabas could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gun belt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountaintop. He would have to wear a ponytail instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his jumper.
He slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bacon frying. His mom was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a guffaw.
"Hi Mommy!" Barnabas replied bravely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hot dogs," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra parmesan cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Barnabas replied vacantly. "Do we have the steak ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his mother replied numbly. "It only has to toast for sixty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Barnabas replied glumly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fish and chips in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Barnabas responded, as he sat down to his fish and chips. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the beanbag chair and the buffet with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother curiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Anastasia Fritz. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"Yoohoo," Barnabas responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a tear. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."