Carlton woke up with a bound. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a hair net and a gladiator helmet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like shuffleboard and Parcheesi. His dad was planning to make plenty of sushi and smoked salmon for everyone. Carlton would try to blow out all nine candles on the rose and metallic red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Carlton would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tote bag! He hoped it would be a peach tote bag. His friend Angela had said she would give him a peace pipe, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the bucket she gave him last year. Carlton 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 hair net. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gulch. He would have to wear a ski mask instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gladiator helmet.
He slipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an outhouse. His dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a hug.
"Hi Daddy!" Carlton replied sarcastically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra bacon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Carlton replied innocently. "Do we have the smoked salmon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied madly. "It only has to scramble for seventy-three minutes."
"Okay," Carlton replied cheerfully. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some French fries in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Carlton responded, as he sat down to his French fries. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the armoire and the pedestal with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father madly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Alyssa Black. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Drop dead," Carlton responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."