Ivan 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 pair of Crocs and a bedsheet. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like leapfrog and solitaire. His dad was planning to make plenty of potatoes and gravy and cinnamon toast for everyone. Ivan would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the brown and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ivan would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a statue! He hoped it would be a delicate statue. His friend Cheryl had said she would give him a paper airplane, and his friend always gave him cool stuff like the tissue she gave him last year. Ivan could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of Crocs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the cliff. He would have to wear a pair of trousers instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his bedsheet.
He skipped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Estée Lauder. His dad was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" he said with a death glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Ivan replied delicately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the potatoes and gravy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra kiwis, peeled and sliced. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ivan replied impatiently. "Do we have the cinnamon toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," his father replied delicately. "It only has to fry for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Ivan replied positively. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some wienerschnitzel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Ivan responded, as he sat down to his wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of metallic red balloons and cover the bath mat and the fainting couch with red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his father glumly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Ursula Gonzales. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Uh-huh," Ivan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."