Guy woke up with a roar. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a toga and a stovepipe hat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like red rover and chess. His mom was planning to make plenty of steak and cinnamon toast for everyone. Guy would try to blow out all eleven candles on the lime-green and mauve cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Guy would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bicycle! He hoped it would be a thick bicycle. His friend Alberto had said he would give him a book, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the padlock she gave him last year. Guy could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his toga. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the lakeside. He would have to wear a blazer instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his stovepipe hat.
He flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a papermill. His mom was standing there with a chopstick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with an air kiss.
"Hi Mommy!" Guy replied later. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the steak," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra graham crackers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Guy replied unnaturally. "Do we have the cinnamon toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied blissfully. "It only has to marinate for six minutes."
"Okay," Guy replied reluctantly. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sweet potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Guy responded, as he sat down to his sweet potatoes. "Let's hang lots of camouflage balloons and cover the piano and the bunk bed with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother perkily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Kristen Hartford. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Help," Guy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."