Otto woke up with a roar. Today was his birthday! He was going to have a lot of fun today. First, he would dress up in a pair of UGGs and a sundress. Then, he would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of his closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like rummy and cribbage. His mom was planning to make plenty of popcorn and Cheerios for everyone. Otto would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the pink and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Otto would be opening his gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bag of potato chips! He hoped it would be a brown bag of potato chips. His friend Craig had said he would give him a magnifying glass, and his mentor always gave him cool stuff like the wastebasket she gave him last year. Otto could hardly wait!
He glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. He looked in his closet for his pair of UGGs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from his day at the hillside. He would have to wear a hearing aid instead. He didn't really care, as long as he could still wear his sundress.
He tramped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peppermint. His mom was standing there with a pastry blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Son!" she said with a growl.
"Hi Mommy!" Otto replied reluctantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra brown sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Otto replied truculently. "Do we have the Cheerios ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," his mother replied dolorously. "It only has to whirl for seventy-seven minutes."
"Okay," Otto replied sorrowfully. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young man, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Otto responded, as he sat down to his cabbage rolls. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the washing machine and the counter with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said his mother arrogantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Patty Mann. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"So sure," Otto responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a honk. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."