Zack woke up with a furrowed brow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a flour sack and a bedsheet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the game room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and croquet. His dad was planning to make plenty of beans and sushi for everyone. Zack would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the tan and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Zack would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coffee pot! He hoped it would be an ornate coffee pot. His friend Pippa had said she would give him a baseball, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the key ring she gave him last year. Zack could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his flour sack. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cave. He would have to wear an Eton jacket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bedsheet.
He lurched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like creosote. His dad was standing there with a pair of tongs in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a coo.
"Hi Daddy!" Zack replied lightly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the beans," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream of mushroom soup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Zack replied properly. "Do we have the sushi ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied angrily. "It only has to place on serving dish for thirteen minutes."
"Okay," Zack replied urgently. "I'm gonna go to the game room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lasagna in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the game room 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," Zack responded, as he sat down to his lasagna. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the mattress and the cushion with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father immediately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Mia Feldman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Far out," Zack responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hiccup. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."