Steven woke up with a fist bump. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of shorts and a set of vampire fangs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Cootie and battleship. His mom was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and clam chowder for everyone. Steven would try to blow out all six candles on the fuchsia and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Steven would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an Egyptian mummy! He hoped it would be a disgusting Egyptian mummy. His friend Wilbur had said he would give him a doll, and his grandma always gave him cool stuff like the pair of knitting needles she gave him last year. Steven could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the landfill. He would have to wear a pair of sweatpants instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his set of vampire fangs.
He zoomed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a Christmas tree. His mom was standing there with an electric mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a roar.
"Hi Mommy!" Steven replied suavely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pears. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Steven replied miserably. "Do we have the clam chowder ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied gracefully. "It only has to roast for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Steven replied lightly. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some strawberry shortcake in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium 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 strawberry shortcake. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the rocking chair and the chest of drawers with violet crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother hungrily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Cassie Sorovich. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Ay yi yi," Steven responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."