Harold woke up with a pucker. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a Speedo and a bedsheet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Cootie and baseball. His mom was planning to make plenty of lamb curry and dry toast for everyone. Harold would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the blue and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Harold would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flowerpot! He hoped it would be a burned flowerpot. His friend Tony had said he would give him a calculator, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the clam she gave him last year. Harold 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 Speedo. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the treetop. He would have to wear a pair of pantaloons instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bedsheet.
He jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like success. His mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Mommy!" Harold replied arrogantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lamb curry," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn flakes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Harold replied grandly. "Do we have the dry toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his mother replied anxiously. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for two minutes."
"Okay," Harold replied lamely. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken chow mein in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Harold responded, as he sat down to his chicken chow mein. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the cupboard and the counter with polka dotted crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother crossly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Emily Brandon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Oh dear," Harold responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a hiccup. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."