Phillip woke up with a flinch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a midi skirt and a pair of shoes. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like leapfrog and roulette. His dad was planning to make plenty of banana split and crumb cake for everyone. Phillip would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the scarlet and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Phillip would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cactus plant! He hoped it would be a decrepit cactus plant. His friend Iggy had said she would give him a pack of gum, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the clipboard she gave him last year. Phillip could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pall of doom was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his midi skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the battlefield. He would have to wear a diamond bracelet instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of shoes.
He zoomed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like potpourri. His dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a power fist.
"Hi Daddy!" Phillip replied wearily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the banana split," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra soy sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Phillip replied perkily. "Do we have the crumb cake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied properly. "It only has to slow cook for forty-four minutes."
"Okay," Phillip replied again. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Hamburger Helper in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Phillip responded, as he sat down to his Hamburger Helper. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the four-poster bed and the ironing board with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father testily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lianlin Sawyer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Ouch," Phillip responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a finger gun. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."