Carlton woke up with a sneer. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a coonskin hat and a jumper. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the outhouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like marbles and red rover. His dad was planning to make plenty of chicken chow mein and pot roast for everyone. Carlton would try to blow out all four candles on the grey and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Carlton would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Happy Meal! He hoped it would be a rare Happy Meal. His friend Evelyn had said she would give him a coat check ticket, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the flowerpot she gave him last year. Carlton could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his coonskin hat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the treetop. He would have to wear a poncho instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his jumper.
He scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Magic Markers. His dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a beam.
"Hi Daddy!" Carlton replied anxiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken chow mein," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lemon zest. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Carlton replied greedily. "Do we have the pot roast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," his father replied gleefully. "It only has to spread into container for thirty minutes."
"Okay," Carlton replied sadly. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some duck a l'orange in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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," Carlton responded, as he sat down to his duck a l'orange. "Let's hang lots of chartreuse balloons and cover the hamper and the pool table with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father noisily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Dani Green. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Hang it," Carlton responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."