Noel woke up with a gasp. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a belly button jewel and a poncho. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the kitchen was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like red light green light and cribbage. His dad was planning to make plenty of ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Noel would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the silver and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Noel would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fingernail clipper! He hoped it would be a delicate fingernail clipper. His friend Marla had said she would give him a soccer ball, and his grandmother always gave him cool stuff like the can of beer she gave him last year. Noel could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his belly button jewel. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the savanna. He would have to wear a body shirt instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his poncho.
He slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like caramel corn. His dad was standing there with a basting brush in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a chuckle.
"Hi Daddy!" Noel replied gently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ramen noodles," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra green beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Noel replied grimly. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his father replied angrily. "It only has to slow cook for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Noel replied sheepishly. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fish and chips in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the kitchen 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," Noel responded, as he sat down to his fish and chips. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the china hutch and the mattress with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father ingeniously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Heidi Flake. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dish cloth."
"As if," Noel 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."