Mason 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 blazer and a tattoo. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like old maid and roulette. His mom was planning to make plenty of lime sherbet and pizza for everyone. Mason would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the metallic red and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mason would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a teapot! He hoped it would be a smooth teapot. His friend Damon had said he would give him a pillow, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the bowling ball she gave him last year. Mason could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his blazer. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the stream. He would have to wear an 'I'm with Stupid' shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tattoo.
He slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like formaldehyde. His mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a hoot.
"Hi Mommy!" Mason replied brightly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lime sherbet," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra fava beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mason replied sarcastically. "Do we have the pizza ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied diligently. "It only has to spread into container for thirty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Mason replied flightily. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some brownies in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Mason responded, as he sat down to his brownies. "Let's hang lots of green balloons and cover the display case and the workbench with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother fearfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Audra Shoemaker. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a blender."
"Nope," Mason responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."