Drew woke up with a gurgle. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a jogging suit and a pair of ear muffs. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Monopoly and dominos. His mom was planning to make plenty of enchiladas and pecan pie for everyone. Drew would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the black and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Drew would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bottle! He hoped it would be a multicolored bottle. His friend Lonnie had said he would give him a joint, and his grandpa always gave him cool stuff like the yardstick she gave him last year. Drew could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his jogging suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the landfill. He would have to wear an apron instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his pair of ear muffs.
He struggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fish. His mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a squint.
"Hi Mommy!" Drew replied patiently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the enchiladas," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra limburger cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Drew replied glibly. "Do we have the pecan pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," his mother replied unabashedly. "It only has to braise for thirty-four minutes."
"Okay," Drew replied swiftly. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Drew responded, as he sat down to his macaroni. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the ottoman and the chest of drawers with chocolate brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother humbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ella Oldfather. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Like, totally," Drew responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."