Newt woke up with a chortle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of safety glasses and a set of vampire fangs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pantry was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like billiards and battleship. His mom was planning to make plenty of Froot Loops and enchiladas for everyone. Newt would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the grey and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Newt would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a notepad! He hoped it would be a decrepit notepad. His friend Archie had said he would give him a sack of potatoes, and his dad always gave him cool stuff like the coin she gave him last year. Newt could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of safety glasses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the mountainside. He would have to wear a pair of Oxfords instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of vampire fangs.
He struggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Estée Lauder. His mom was standing there with an ice pick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a blush.
"Hi Mommy!" Newt replied coldly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Froot Loops," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra brown sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Newt replied confidently. "Do we have the enchiladas ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his mother replied threateningly. "It only has to blanch for eighteen minutes."
"Okay," Newt replied mysteriously. "I'm gonna go to the pantry."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some blueberry pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pantry 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," Newt responded, as he sat down to his blueberry pie. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the floor and the credenza with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother narrowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jane Cleveland. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"Mother of peanut butter," Newt 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."