Scotty woke up with a smack. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of socks and a sweatshirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and Snakes and Ladders. His dad was planning to make plenty of fried okra and scrambled eggs for everyone. Scotty would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the amber and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Scotty would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an antenna! He hoped it would be a speckled antenna. His friend Elinor had said she would give him a crate, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the cactus plant she gave him last year. Scotty could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of socks. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the stream. He would have to wear a bustier instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his sweatshirt.
He traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roast turkey. His dad was standing there with a food processor in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a fist bump.
"Hi Daddy!" Scotty replied fondly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried okra," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lime juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Scotty replied unabashedly. "Do we have the scrambled eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his father replied charmingly. "It only has to broil for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Scotty replied ignobly. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some potatoes and gravy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Scotty responded, as he sat down to his potatoes and gravy. "Let's hang lots of aquamarine balloons and cover the windowsill and the chest of drawers with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father joyously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Libby Withers. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Darn," Scotty responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snigger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."