Chum woke up with a blush. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in an armband and an 'I'm with Stupid' shirt. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like red rover and hearts. His mom was planning to make plenty of blueberry pie and moo goo gai pan for everyone. Chum would try to blow out all five candles on the purple and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Chum would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spider! He hoped it would be a worn spider. His friend Eduardo had said he would give him a bowl, and his mother always gave him cool stuff like the ticket she gave him last year. Chum could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his armband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the bog. He would have to wear a pair of ear muffs instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his 'I'm with Stupid' shirt.
He paraded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Avon. His mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a face palm.
"Hi Mommy!" Chum replied obediently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the blueberry pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra white rice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Chum replied bitterly. "Do we have the moo goo gai pan ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied demurely. "It only has to slow cook for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Chum replied defiantly. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some squash blossom soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Chum responded, as he sat down to his squash blossom soup. "Let's hang lots of silver balloons and cover the floor and the chest of drawers with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother sternly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Magdalena McIntire. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Eek," Chum responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a bound. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."