Jules woke up with a sniffle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a Superman costume and a set of camo fatigues. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like hopscotch and backgammon. His dad was planning to make plenty of candy and brownies for everyone. Jules would try to blow out all three candles on the olive green and emerald green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jules would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a horseshoe! He hoped it would be a hand-carved horseshoe. His friend Mopsy had said she would give him a bedpan, and his fiancée always gave him cool stuff like the iPod she gave him last year. Jules could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his Superman costume. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the dumpster. He would have to wear a corsage instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of camo fatigues.
He dashed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like trouble. His dad was standing there with a blender in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a laugh.
"Hi Daddy!" Jules replied properly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the candy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra wide egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jules replied caustically. "Do we have the brownies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied firmly. "It only has to heat for twelve minutes."
"Okay," Jules replied wearily. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"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 ballroom 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," Jules responded, as he sat down to his fish and chips. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the washstand and the bench with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father grandly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Babs Russell. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Eeek," Jules responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."