Rocket woke up with a smile. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of pantaloons and a big grin. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like trivia and hearts. His dad was planning to make plenty of pretzels and egg rolls for everyone. Rocket would try to blow out all three candles on the brilliant orange and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rocket would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a houseplant! He hoped it would be a dry houseplant. His friend Carol had said she would give him a comic book, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the map she gave him last year. Rocket could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of pantaloons. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the oasis. He would have to wear a dunce cap instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his big grin.
He leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like aftershave lotion. His dad was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a beam.
"Hi Daddy!" Rocket replied steadily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pretzels," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra hard-cooked eggs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rocket replied boldly. "Do we have the egg rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his father replied hopelessly. "It only has to microwave for thirty-four minutes."
"Okay," Rocket replied warily. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some hash in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Rocket responded, as he sat down to his hash. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the computer and the four-poster bed with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father briskly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Hayley Lombardi. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a melon baller."
"Inconceivable," Rocket responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."