Joseph woke up with a cheer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a burqa and a belt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like jump rope and blackjack. His dad was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and Froot Loops for everyone. Joseph would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the scarlet and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Joseph would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a garbage can! He hoped it would be a worn garbage can. His friend Kate had said she would give him a barbell, and his grandfather always gave him cool stuff like the ironing board she gave him last year. Joseph could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his burqa. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cornfield. He would have to wear a toga instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his belt.
He reeled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like carnations. His dad was standing there with a dull knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a snuffle.
"Hi Daddy!" Joseph replied ruefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra ramen noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Joseph replied irritably. "Do we have the Froot Loops ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied stupidly. "It only has to sear outside for eight minutes."
"Okay," Joseph replied dreamily. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some scrambled eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool 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," Joseph responded, as he sat down to his scrambled eggs. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the dining table and the bookcase with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father immediately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Regina Meyer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Can you dig it?," Joseph responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a shout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."