Calvin woke up with a hiccup. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a visor and a tool belt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like follow the leader and poker. His mom was planning to make plenty of sushi and fried okra for everyone. Calvin would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the red and black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Calvin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bullet! He hoped it would be a miniature bullet. His friend Anthony had said he would give him a notebook, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the bedpan she gave him last year. Calvin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his visor. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountainside. He would have to wear a badge instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tool belt.
He rushed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cinnamon rolls. His mom was standing there with a slotted spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a cringe.
"Hi Mommy!" Calvin replied queerly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra baking soda. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Calvin replied elatedly. "Do we have the fried okra ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied effortlessly. "It only has to blend for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Calvin replied hungrily. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg salad sandwich in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Calvin responded, as he sat down to his egg salad sandwich. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the windowsill and the china cabinet with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother blindly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Alberta Lister. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Turn blue," Calvin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pound of the chest. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."