Drew woke up with a power fist. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a sweatshirt and a toupee. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like leapfrog and Cootie. His dad was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and tofu for everyone. Drew would try to blow out all four candles on the violet and aquamarine cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Drew would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an ingot of plutonium! He hoped it would be a peculiar ingot of plutonium. His friend Vivian had said she would give him a billfold, and his aunt always gave him cool stuff like the protest sign she gave him last year. Drew 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 sweatshirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cesspool. He would have to wear a pair of shoes instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his toupee.
He jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fresh coffee. His dad was standing there with a dish cloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a finger gun.
"Hi Daddy!" Drew replied furiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pork chops. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Drew replied obediently. "Do we have the tofu ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," his father replied wryly. "It only has to blend for fifty-four minutes."
"Okay," Drew replied dolorously. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tofu 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Drew responded, as he sat down to his tofu. "Let's hang lots of purple balloons and cover the bunk bed and the counter with lavender crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father truculently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Stella Burns. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Criminy," Drew responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a bound. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."