Oliver woke up with a shiver. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sundress and a cheerleader's uniform. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Cootie and leapfrog. His dad was planning to make plenty of sushi and falafel for everyone. Oliver would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the aquamarine and sea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Oliver would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tennis racket! He hoped it would be a queer tennis racket. His friend Sophia had said she would give him an air compressor, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the picture she gave him last year. Oliver could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sundress. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the tundra. He would have to wear a pair of booties instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cheerleader's uniform.
He zoomed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a wet dog. His dad was standing there with a spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Oliver replied kindly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground mustard. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Oliver replied haughtily. "Do we have the falafel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied defiantly. "It only has to microwave for twenty minutes."
"Okay," Oliver replied patiently. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lamb curry in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Oliver responded, as he sat down to his lamb curry. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the table and the wine rack with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father woodenly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Heidi Wall. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Wild," Oliver responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a smirk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."