Fred woke up with a snarl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a false beard and a wet suit. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like blackjack and shuffleboard. His mom was planning to make plenty of ramen noodles and corn on the cob for everyone. Fred would try to blow out all six candles on the brown and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Fred would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a jar of olives! He hoped it would be a queer jar of olives. His friend Oscar had said he would give him a ball, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the clothespin she gave him last year. Fred 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 false beard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the countryside. He would have to wear a rain coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his wet suit.
He slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a feed lot. His mom was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Mommy!" Fred replied primly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ramen noodles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pine nuts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Fred replied needlessly. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his mother replied brightly. "It only has to deep fry for forty-three minutes."
"Okay," Fred replied ignobly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp 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," Fred responded, as he sat down to his shrimp. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the washing machine and the bath mat with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother calmly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Judy Slade. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"For Pete's sake," Fred responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a giggle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."