Phil 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 pair of shorts and a surgical mask. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the basement was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like blackjack and follow the leader. His mom was planning to make plenty of egg drop soup and refried beans for everyone. Phil would try to blow out all eight candles on the rose and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Phil would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an abacus! He hoped it would be a crusty abacus. His friend Broderick had said he would give him a Bible, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the stuffed bunny she gave him last year. Phil could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the dump. He would have to wear a romper instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his surgical mask.
He proceeded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baked beans. His mom was standing there with a cookie cutter in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a shout.
"Hi Mommy!" Phil replied courteously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the egg drop soup," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream of mushroom soup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Phil replied sternly. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied strictly. "It only has to smoke for twenty-six minutes."
"Okay," Phil replied coolly. "I'm gonna go to the basement."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some borscht in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the basement 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," Phil responded, as he sat down to his borscht. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the bench and the counter with turquoise crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother gratefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Stephanie Byers. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric paint mixer."
"Hurray," Phil responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a grin. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."