Muerto woke up with an evil eye. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a ring and a fez. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like backgammon and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of ravioli and chicken chow mein for everyone. Muerto would try to blow out all ten candles on the purple and turquoise cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Muerto would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a calculator! He hoped it would be a decrepit calculator. His friend Morgan had said she would give him a pencil sharpener, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the candy cane she gave him last year. Muerto 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 ring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the garden. He would have to wear a pair of contact lenses instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his fez.
He jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like spearmint. His dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a face palm.
"Hi Daddy!" Muerto replied ferociously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn chips. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Muerto replied crazily. "Do we have the chicken chow mein ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied tearfully. "It only has to shake for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Muerto replied neatly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tortillas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Muerto responded, as he sat down to his tortillas. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the hatstand and the desk with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father needlessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Julia Pryor. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Bless you," Muerto responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a giggle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."