Cedric woke up with a fist bump. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a mortarboard and a pair of pajamas. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the family room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like tennis and Clue. His dad was planning to make plenty of Hamburger Helper and lasagna for everyone. Cedric would try to blow out all nineteen candles on the chartreuse and brilliant orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cedric would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Frisbee! He hoped it would be a curved Frisbee. His friend Henrietta had said she would give him a hair dryer, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the tablet computer she gave him last year. Cedric could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drizzle was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his mortarboard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the backyard. He would have to wear a letter jacket instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of pajamas.
He waded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like garlic. His dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a smile.
"Hi Daddy!" Cedric replied arrogantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Hamburger Helper," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cucumber. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cedric replied coldly. "Do we have the lasagna ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied suspiciously. "It only has to marinate for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Cedric replied strictly. "I'm gonna go to the family room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the family room 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," Cedric responded, as he sat down to his chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of fuchsia balloons and cover the dresser and the casket with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father stupidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Penelope Dunn. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato masher."
"Brrr," Cedric responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."