Kyle woke up with a belch. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sarong and a smartwatch. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like volleyball and battleship. His dad was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and ravioli for everyone. Kyle would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the lime-green and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kyle would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a remote control! He hoped it would be a narrow remote control. His friend Jennessa had said she would give him a chair, and his sister-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the stack of papers she gave him last year. Kyle could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his sarong. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the path. He would have to wear a pair of false eyelashes instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his smartwatch.
He waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a skunk. His dad was standing there with a foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a giggle.
"Hi Daddy!" Kyle replied innocently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kyle replied swiftly. "Do we have the ravioli ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his father replied diligently. "It only has to arrange for seventy-six minutes."
"Okay," Kyle replied anxiously. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some French fries in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Kyle responded, as he sat down to his French fries. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the hope chest and the desk with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father truculently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Godiva Fish. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"The joke's on you," Kyle responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cheer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."