Quinn woke up with a smack. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tunic and a pair of Crocs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like checkers and blackjack. His dad was planning to make plenty of macaroni and pot roast for everyone. Quinn would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the hot pink and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Quinn would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stack of papers! He hoped it would be a smelly stack of papers. His friend Tess had said she would give him a backpack, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the diagram she gave him last year. Quinn could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tunic. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the hill. He would have to wear a pair of sweatpants instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of Crocs.
He bolted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a bouquet. His dad was standing there with a chopstick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a beam.
"Hi Daddy!" Quinn replied cheerfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the macaroni," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra poppy seeds. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Quinn replied diligently. "Do we have the pot roast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," his father replied majestically. "It only has to blanch for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Quinn replied glumly. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some crumb cake in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Quinn responded, as he sat down to his crumb cake. "Let's hang lots of beige balloons and cover the stool and the wine rack with rose crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father curiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Rosie Easton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Dum de dum dum," Quinn responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."