Bruce woke up with a hoot. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gunny sack and a pair of Reeboks. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like red light green light and follow the leader. His mom was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and beef bouillon for everyone. Bruce would try to blow out all eight candles on the indigo and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bruce would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bell! He hoped it would be an immense bell. His friend Mel had said he would give him a coupon, and his wife always gave him cool stuff like the napkin she gave him last year. Bruce could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gunny sack. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cornfield. He would have to wear a tailcoat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of Reeboks.
He slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fried chicken. His mom was standing there with a melon baller in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a giggle.
"Hi Mommy!" Bruce replied uneasily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra celery seed. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bruce replied woefully. "Do we have the beef bouillon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied craftily. "It only has to heat in microwave for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Bruce replied effortlessly. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some apple pie 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Bruce responded, as he sat down to his apple pie. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the cupboard and the buffet with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother gratefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Julieann Withers. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a Sham-Wow!."
"Voilà," Bruce responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smirk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."