Drover woke up with a chuckle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of sandals and a bulletproof vest. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Snakes and Ladders and Clue. His dad was planning to make plenty of prune pudding and Cheerios for everyone. Drover would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the aquamarine and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Drover would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a mirror! He hoped it would be an art deco mirror. His friend Konstanze had said she would give him an antenna, and his mother-in-law always gave him cool stuff like the spider she gave him last year. Drover could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of sandals. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the seacoast. He would have to wear a pair of booties instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bulletproof vest.
He marched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pickles. His dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a laugh.
"Hi Daddy!" Drover replied sadly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the prune pudding," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mashed potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Drover replied sleepily. "Do we have the Cheerios ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," his father replied sweetly. "It only has to whirl for eleven minutes."
"Okay," Drover replied mysteriously. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chocolate-covered ants in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed first?" he begged.
"It looks just like it always does," his father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Drover responded, as he sat down to his chocolate-covered ants. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the stool and the footstool with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father timidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Seema Borovich. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"Deranged," Drover responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."