Wendell woke up with a sniffle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of Bermuda shorts and a tuxedo. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like musical chairs and red rover. His mom was planning to make plenty of fried chicken and duck a l'orange for everyone. Wendell would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the burgundy and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Wendell would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flute! He hoped it would be a shiny flute. His friend Lonnie had said he would give him a toilet plunger, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the thumb drive she gave him last year. Wendell could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of Bermuda shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the lagoon. He would have to wear a bib instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his tuxedo.
He went downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a hospital. His mom was standing there with an oven mitt in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a finger gun.
"Hi Mommy!" Wendell replied hungrily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried chicken," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Hershey Bar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Wendell replied recklessly. "Do we have the duck a l'orange ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," his mother replied demurely. "It only has to freeze for two minutes."
"Okay," Wendell replied courteously. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cinnamon toast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium 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," Wendell responded, as he sat down to his cinnamon toast. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the bathtub and the buffet with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother energetically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Tess Pythagoras. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Oops," Wendell responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."