Jack woke up with a beam. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gladiator helmet and a gorilla suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the garage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like red light green light and crazy eights. His mom was planning to make plenty of Froot Loops and crab rangoon for everyone. Jack would try to blow out all three candles on the fuchsia and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jack would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bell! He hoped it would be an azure bell. His friend Quint had said he would give him a vacuum cleaner, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the can of sardines she gave him last year. Jack could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gladiator helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the stream. He would have to wear a pair of nylons instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his gorilla suit.
He barrelled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an old goat. His mom was standing there with a blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hug.
"Hi Mommy!" Jack replied craftily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Froot Loops," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen peas. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jack replied oddly. "Do we have the crab rangoon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied dreamily. "It only has to age for sixty minutes."
"Okay," Jack replied surreptitiously. "I'm gonna go to the garage."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pot roast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the garage first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Jack responded, as he sat down to his pot roast. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the buffet and the toilet with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother courageously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Amanda Quinlan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Blah," Jack responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snicker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."