Draco woke up with a shout. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a bib and a towel. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the doghouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like chess and jacks. His mom was planning to make plenty of chicken pot pie and refried beans for everyone. Draco would try to blow out all twenty candles on the sea green and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Draco would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pen! He hoped it would be a bent pen. His friend Drover had said he would give him a pot, and his mom always gave him cool stuff like the sack she gave him last year. Draco 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 bib. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the treetop. He would have to wear a fez instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his towel.
He pranced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Band-Aids. His mom was standing there with a grater in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a twitch.
"Hi Mommy!" Draco replied recklessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken pot pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra black olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Draco replied joyously. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his mother replied woefully. "It only has to simmer for eleven minutes."
"Okay," Draco replied valiantly. "I'm gonna go to the doghouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beef bouillon in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the doghouse 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," Draco responded, as he sat down to his beef bouillon. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the hammock and the dresser with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother deftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Cheryl O'Sullivan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Great," Draco responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gurgle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."