Draco woke up with a snarl. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a gas mask and a pair of nylons. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like dominos and Clue. His dad was planning to make plenty of waffles and Cheerios for everyone. Draco would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the green and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Draco would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Barbie doll! He hoped it would be a prickly Barbie doll. His friend Jen had said she would give him a paperclip, and his girlfriend always gave him cool stuff like the candle she gave him last year. Draco could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his gas mask. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the savanna. He would have to wear a Panama hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of nylons.
He made a beeline downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like spearmint. His dad was standing there with an egg cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a raspberry.
"Hi Daddy!" Draco replied cruelly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra beer. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Draco replied miserably. "Do we have the Cheerios ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," his father replied suavely. "It only has to blend for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Draco replied silently. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Draco responded, as he sat down to his Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the china cabinet and the counter with ivory crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father dolefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Alberta Dewey. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"For heaven's sake," Draco responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flinch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."