Aristotle 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 winter coat and a romper. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the pool room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like seven-up and rummy. His dad was planning to make plenty of ravioli and egg rolls for everyone. Aristotle would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the golden and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Aristotle would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chart! He hoped it would be an imitation chart. His friend Madeline had said she would give him an air compressor, and his sister always gave him cool stuff like the Rubik's cube she gave him last year. Aristotle could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his winter coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the beach. He would have to wear a pair of Oxfords instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his romper.
He darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like carnations. His dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a woof.
"Hi Daddy!" Aristotle replied deliberately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg white. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Aristotle replied fervently. "Do we have the egg rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied admiringly. "It only has to sauté for two minutes."
"Okay," Aristotle replied diligently. "I'm gonna go to the pool room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some biscuits and gravy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pool 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," Aristotle responded, as he sat down to his biscuits and gravy. "Let's hang lots of crimson balloons and cover the bookcase and the dishwasher with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father dubiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Roxie Gates. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Big deal," Aristotle responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."