Xavier woke up with a crow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a shawl and a maxi skirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Cootie and Clue. His mom was planning to make plenty of chicken chow mein and lasagna for everyone. Xavier would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the yellow and teal cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Xavier would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a horseshoe! He hoped it would be a hefty horseshoe. His friend Greg had said he would give him a piggy bank, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the bag of ice she gave him last year. Xavier could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his shawl. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the countryside. He would have to wear a tailcoat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his maxi skirt.
He climbed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten eggs. His mom was standing there with an egg cutter in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a pucker.
"Hi Mommy!" Xavier replied victoriously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken chow mein," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra clam juice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Xavier replied diligently. "Do we have the lasagna ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied demurely. "It only has to heat in microwave for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Xavier replied briskly. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sushi in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry room 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," Xavier responded, as he sat down to his sushi. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the dishwasher and the cushion with purple crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother defiantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Pam Brock. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Zap," Xavier responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."