Harold woke up with a sneer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gown and a tattoo. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like shuffleboard and Russian roulette. His dad was planning to make plenty of lasagna and brownies for everyone. Harold would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the brilliant orange and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Harold would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a radio! He hoped it would be a curved radio. His friend Sydmo had said she would give him an iPad, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the dictionary she gave him last year. Harold could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blizzard was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gown. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the wasteland. He would have to wear a belt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tattoo.
He slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like popcorn. His dad was standing there with a garlic press in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snort.
"Hi Daddy!" Harold replied grimly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lasagna," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra boneless chicken breast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Harold replied ignobly. "Do we have the brownies ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied caustically. "It only has to melt for sixty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Harold replied charmingly. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some clam chowder in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living 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," Harold responded, as he sat down to his clam chowder. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the rocking chair and the counter with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father strictly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Katherine Simpson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Cock-a-doodle-doo," Harold responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."