Daniel 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 surgical mask and a pair of suspenders. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boiler room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like red light green light and Candy Land. His dad was planning to make plenty of blueberry pie and oyster on the half-shell for everyone. Daniel would try to blow out all two candles on the olive green and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Daniel would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a suitcase! He hoped it would be a thick suitcase. His friend Lauren had said she would give him a fossil, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the ticket she gave him last year. Daniel could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his surgical mask. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the moonscape. He would have to wear a cloak instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of suspenders.
He waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a chocolate factory. His dad was standing there with a turkey baster in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snuffle.
"Hi Daddy!" Daniel replied blankly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the blueberry pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra onion powder. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Daniel replied irritably. "Do we have the oyster on the half-shell ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied brashly. "It only has to mix queerly for one minute."
"Okay," Daniel replied roughly. "I'm gonna go to the boiler room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boiler 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," Daniel responded, as he sat down to his sushi. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the sofa and the counter with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father irritably. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Callie Ibrahim. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Far out," Daniel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a stiff upper lip. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."