Garth woke up with a finger gun. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a fedora and a balaclava. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like doctor and marbles. His mom was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and egg rolls for everyone. Garth would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the crimson and peach cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Garth would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a whistle! He hoped it would be a sophisticated whistle. His friend Elmer had said he would give him a dog biscuit, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the dog biscuit she gave him last year. Garth could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his fedora. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the gully. He would have to wear a pair of contact lenses instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his balaclava.
He sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like elderberries. His mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a grunt.
"Hi Mommy!" Garth replied craftily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra water chestnuts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Garth replied cruelly. "Do we have the egg rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied dolefully. "It only has to sear for eighty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Garth replied gratefully. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken chow mein in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Garth responded, as he sat down to his chicken chow mein. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the china hutch and the file cabinet with azure crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother delicately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Abigail Popp. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Meow," Garth responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a jeer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."