Anatoly woke up with a cringe. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of trousers and a kilt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like old maid and dominos. His mom was planning to make plenty of chocolate-covered ants and bread and butter for everyone. Anatoly would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the periwinkle and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Anatoly would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fish! He hoped it would be a multicolored fish. His friend Cat had said he would give him a piggy bank, and his mommy always gave him cool stuff like the floppy disk she gave him last year. Anatoly could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of trousers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the rainforest. He would have to wear a trench coat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his kilt.
He staggered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like oregano. His mom was standing there with a grater in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a finger gun.
"Hi Mommy!" Anatoly replied peevishly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chocolate-covered ants," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cinnamon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Anatoly replied dreamily. "Do we have the bread and butter ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied bitterly. "It only has to age for sixty-one minutes."
"Okay," Anatoly replied rapidly. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg drop soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Anatoly responded, as he sat down to his egg drop soup. "Let's hang lots of pea green balloons and cover the billiard table and the recliner with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother haughtily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Alicia Hyde. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Blaak," Anatoly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chuckle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."