Rick woke up with a raspberry. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a ponytail and an overcoat. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Rummy and jump rope. His mom was planning to make plenty of Cheerios and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Rick would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the amber and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Rick would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hand puppet! He hoped it would be an ordinary hand puppet. His friend Joseph had said he would give him a can of sardines, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the key she gave him last year. Rick could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his ponytail. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountaintop. He would have to wear a pair of Reeboks instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his overcoat.
He jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a locker room. His mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a bound.
"Hi Mommy!" Rick replied diligently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Cheerios," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra spaghetti noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Rick replied confidently. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," his mother replied lickety-split. "It only has to heat for forty minutes."
"Okay," Rick replied brightly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fish and chips in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Rick responded, as he sat down to his fish and chips. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the casket and the dining table with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother truculently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jordan Bryant. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"Glaack," Rick responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a wag of the finger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."