Steven woke up with a guffaw. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a tuxedo and a pair of combat boots. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the boiler room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like crazy eights and leapfrog. His mom was planning to make plenty of dirty rice and ice cream for everyone. Steven would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the lavender and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Steven would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an iPod! He hoped it would be a gleaming iPod. His friend Rip had said he would give him a bilge pump, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the bouquet she gave him last year. Steven could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his tuxedo. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the treetop. He would have to wear a helmet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of combat boots.
He paraded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fruit. His mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Mommy!" Steven replied gently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dirty rice," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra calamari. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Steven replied truculently. "Do we have the ice cream ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied boldly. "It only has to steam for nine minutes."
"Okay," Steven replied truculently. "I'm gonna go to the boiler room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the boiler 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," Steven responded, as he sat down to his sushi. "Let's hang lots of striped balloons and cover the hamper and the recliner with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother daintily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Polly Lizard. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Ssss," Steven responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."