Devlin woke up with a smirk. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a shirt and a cheerleader's uniform. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like cribbage and crazy eights. His mom was planning to make plenty of chicken chow mein and burritos for everyone. Devlin would try to blow out all seven candles on the forest green and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Devlin would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Van Gogh! He hoped it would be a large Van Gogh. His friend Phineas had said he would give him a ball, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the pair of headphones she gave him last year. Devlin could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the desert. He would have to wear a space suit instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his cheerleader's uniform.
He set out downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pizza. His mom was standing there with a turkey baster in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a simper.
"Hi Mommy!" Devlin replied miserably. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken chow mein," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra diced pineapple. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Devlin replied wearily. "Do we have the burritos ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," his mother replied merrily. "It only has to toast for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Devlin replied defiantly. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pot roast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Devlin responded, as he sat down to his pot roast. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the washing machine and the casket with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother happily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Gilda Palca. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Cripes," Devlin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a giggle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."