Mao woke up with a shout. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of UGGs and a beanie. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like musical chairs and battleship. His mom was planning to make plenty of omelet and smoked salmon for everyone. Mao would try to blow out all eleven candles on the white and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mao would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stamp! He hoped it would be a chic stamp. His friend Jesse had said he would give him a daisy, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the rubber chicken she gave him last year. Mao could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of UGGs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the badlands area. He would have to wear a mask instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his beanie.
He flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like burnt toast. His mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a furrowed brow.
"Hi Mommy!" Mao replied cautiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the omelet," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra chopped pecans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mao replied anxiously. "Do we have the smoked salmon ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his mother replied delicately. "It only has to sear outside for fifty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Mao replied coldly. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some oatmeal in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Mao responded, as he sat down to his oatmeal. "Let's hang lots of metallic red balloons and cover the coffee table and the file cabinet with indigo crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother majestically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Lindsay Simpson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Puppy biscuits," Mao responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a beam. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."