Franklin woke up with a power fist. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a negligee and a wet suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like billiards and backgammon. His dad was planning to make plenty of egg drop soup and squash blossom soup for everyone. Franklin would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the metallic red and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Franklin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an ingot of plutonium! He hoped it would be a hollow ingot of plutonium. His friend Melissa had said she would give him a pinwheel, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the vacuum cleaner she gave him last year. Franklin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his negligee. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the meadow. He would have to wear a poodle skirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his wet suit.
He slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a spring rain. His dad was standing there with a fork in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a grunt.
"Hi Daddy!" Franklin replied joyously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg drop soup," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra apple cider. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Franklin replied again. "Do we have the squash blossom soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied sharply. "It only has to press for fifty-two minutes."
"Okay," Franklin replied solemnly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some oatmeal 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Franklin responded, as he sat down to his oatmeal. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the cushion and the bed with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father kindly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Konstanze Sims. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Please," Franklin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a face palm. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."