Mitch woke up with a snort. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a name tag and a pair of pajamas. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the patio was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like tennis and blackjack. His mom was planning to make plenty of ramen noodles and wienerschnitzel for everyone. Mitch would try to blow out all seven candles on the maroon and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mitch would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Bible! He hoped it would be an electric Bible. His friend Jeff had said he would give him a stuffed kitten, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the pair of dice she gave him last year. Mitch could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his name tag. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the canyon. He would have to wear a leotard instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of pajamas.
He waddled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like burning trash. His mom was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hoot.
"Hi Mommy!" Mitch replied obediently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ramen noodles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra flour. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mitch replied hungrily. "Do we have the wienerschnitzel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his mother replied thankfully. "It only has to shake for seventy-five minutes."
"Okay," Mitch replied caustically. "I'm gonna go to the patio."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fried okra in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the patio 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," Mitch responded, as he sat down to his fried okra. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the end table and the floor with aquamarine crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother frenetically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Xaviera Yamamoto. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Gee," Mitch responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."