Larry 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 letter jacket and a bulletproof vest. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Parcheesi and leapfrog. His dad was planning to make plenty of ice cream and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Larry would try to blow out all ten candles on the jade and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Larry would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flowerpot! He hoped it would be a cotton flowerpot. His friend Candi had said she would give him a pair of scissors, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the accordion she gave him last year. Larry could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his letter jacket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the forest. He would have to wear a pair of UGGs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bulletproof vest.
He leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bananas. His dad was standing there with a potato masher in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a gasp.
"Hi Daddy!" Larry replied sleepily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ice cream," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra soy sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Larry replied hastily. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied sharply. "It only has to spoon into container for fifty-six minutes."
"Okay," Larry replied energetically. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken pot pie 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," Larry responded, as he sat down to his chicken pot pie. "Let's hang lots of brilliant orange balloons and cover the china hutch and the bookshelf with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father charmingly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mary Griggs. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Crud," Larry responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."