Steven 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 pair of panties and a T-shirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pantry was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like baseball and golf. His dad was planning to make plenty of borscht and cookies for everyone. Steven would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the lime-green and lime-green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Steven would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a package! He hoped it would be a cotton package. His friend Heather had said she would give him a handkerchief, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the Egyptian mummy she gave him last year. Steven 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 pair of panties. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gulch. He would have to wear a pair of overalls instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his T-shirt.
He flounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a pig. His dad was standing there with a knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a raised eyebrow.
"Hi Daddy!" Steven replied quickly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the borscht," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pineapple. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Steven replied firmly. "Do we have the cookies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied thoughtfully. "It only has to arrange for fifty-six minutes."
"Okay," Steven replied calmly. "I'm gonna go to the pantry."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some dirty rice in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pantry 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," Steven responded, as he sat down to his dirty rice. "Let's hang lots of green balloons and cover the stairway and the card table with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father shakily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Madeline Eisley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Can it," Steven responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a belly laugh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."