Quentin woke up with a bow. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a jumper and a pair of cycling shorts. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like red light green light and hearts. His mom was planning to make plenty of Froot Loops and chicken soup for everyone. Quentin would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the brown and metallic red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Quentin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an acorn! He hoped it would be a heavy acorn. His friend Cody had said he would give him a box, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the orchid she gave him last year. Quentin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his jumper. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the path. He would have to wear a loincloth instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of cycling shorts.
He strolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an ashtray. His mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a laugh.
"Hi Mommy!" Quentin replied crankily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Froot Loops," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg noodles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Quentin replied viciously. "Do we have the chicken soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied daringly. "It only has to slow cook for sixty-six minutes."
"Okay," Quentin replied deftly. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family 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," Quentin responded, as he sat down to his shrimp. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the card table and the catbird seat with mauve crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother recklessly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Chloe Rossi. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Shucks," Quentin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."