Malcolm woke up with a wag of the finger. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a helmet and a watch. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like hearts and badminton. His dad was planning to make plenty of chocolate-covered ants and mushroom quiche for everyone. Malcolm would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the chocolate brown and rose cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Malcolm would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bag of ice! He hoped it would be an old bag of ice. His friend Brook had said she would give him a church key, and his cousin always gave him cool stuff like the needle and thread she gave him last year. Malcolm could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an ice storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the forest. He would have to wear a Stetson hat instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his watch.
He reeled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like sour milk. His dad was standing there with a blender in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a gurgle.
"Hi Daddy!" Malcolm replied lovingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chocolate-covered ants," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra onion powder. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Malcolm replied automatically. "Do we have the mushroom quiche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," his father replied crossly. "It only has to freeze for sixty-two minutes."
"Okay," Malcolm replied sarcastically. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mashed potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dining 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," Malcolm responded, as he sat down to his mashed potatoes. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the bookcase and the china cabinet with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father openly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Marla Walker. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Totally rad," Malcolm responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a pout. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."