Cup O' Cocoa

Cocoa turns Thirteen

I woke up early morning as the mail carrier drove by. I peeked groggily out the window to see if they stopped at our house. They did, so I dragged myself out the door to get it. I opened the mailbox. Junk, junk, Honeydew Fashion Magazine for Meg, the news, and- a small box with a dinosaur attached? I rapidly opened it up and read what was inside. "Lily + Meg: yu ar invited to Cocoa's berfday partee. wear whatefer. 12 o clok today. Cocoa's apartmint." the letter read in scribbled letters. I ran inside and woke up Meg. "You didn't ask to come in..." a sleepy Meg complained. "Look!" I exclaimed. Mom appeared by the door. "Well, someone's jumpy." she said. She sounded more active than she looked. Meanwhile, Meg had snatched the letter from me and woke up like I had. "I get to go to Cocoa's!!" Meg said excitedly. "Er- with permission, of course..." she rephrased upon seeing mom. "You have permission, Nutmeg." mom said sweetly. Meg and I jumped up and ran to our closets to pick out something. I chose a t-shirt showing a cartoon bunny with one floppy ear and one straight. Shorts would work for pants.

Meg and I ran out into the hall and raced each other to the bathroom to brush teeth. Meg got there first and exclaimed "Ha!" while putting toothpaste on her princess toothbrush. I grunted and waited four minutes for her to finish brushing and use the restroom. When she exited I rushed in and barely took fifty seconds before I was out. If I was getting this excited, I wonder how Cocoa must feel. I pictured her jumping off tables to hang decorations and letting Creampuff unsuccessfully blow the balloons. Meg poked me. "It's almost eight. Let's get breakfast." she said. I followed her into the dining room where mom had heated poptarts and set them on a table with an orange and a glass of milk. "So, what are you going to buy Cocoa for her birthday?" mom asked curiously. I gulped. In the excitement of being invited, I had forgotten all about gifts! I panicked and thought of something Cocoa wouldn't have. Hmm... I remembered seeing a Club Penguin poster. There had been one saying Team Puffle next to it. I looked up "team puffle" on my phone and found a website for nonmembers. "Nonmembers!" I cried out. Meg stared at me. "We could get Cocoa a Club Penguin membership." I explained. Meg nodded. We told mom our plan and she drove us to Walmart. I decided that a couple one year cards would be about right. We paid for them and zoomed on the road back home. Meg and I did a high-five.

At home, we carried on with our day. Meg read about the latest dresses and typed up new outfit ideas on her blog and made me take pictures of her posing in different clothing combos. It was after I finally got some time to myself that my phone beeped. It was a text from Katie, a friend of mine at school. "cocoas. asap!" her text read. I hung up and pulled a complaining Meg down the hall and to our bikes. She understood, hopped on, and put the pedal to the metal. We whizzed past people crossing the street, a group of teenage boys playing basketball on their lawn, and a dog chasing a boomerang. Finally, we got to the apartment building and raced up the stairs. Right as we got to the top I heard the door open and a familiar voice saying "G'day Frank!" All signs pointed to Cocoa's presence. I saw a hand motion me over into her apartment I leaped in and closed the door softly. Katie pulled me behind the fridge. Just then I heard footsteps and Cocoa opened the door. Someone flicked on the lights and we all jumped out. "Surprise!!!" exploded the room. I took a second to see how many people came. There were at least forty heads wishing Cocoa a happy birthday. The oven dinged and Cocoa squeezed through the kids honoring her to take out a huge cake. "Peanut butter with animal crackers!" Cocoa announced. I smiled when I saw Cocoa's work. The animal crackers were in a ring on top of the cake. Cocoa ceremoniously ate the giant brownie 13 in the center of the cake.  

The cake was delicious, but it had a challenger for best part of the party. After everyone (Cocoa made us wait for Creampuff) had finished, Cocoa directed us to her bedroom. "Games!" she said. The last of the kids squeezed through the door. Those who were already inside the room took advantage of the opportunity to look around at the room full of giant teddy bears. One of them had a dartboard and some tiny teddy bears. Another held a sign telling the player to put one of Cocoa's shirts on it. "Play whatever you want. Organization is boring." Cocoa stated. People started running to the games. It was wild. Suddenly the room was filled with opera music. "Oops!"  yelled Cocoa over the loud singing. She pressed a few buttons and Party Rock Anthem blared. Cocoa turned a knob and it was the right volume. Kids returned to their games. Busting open pinatas was a popular activity because it was filled with tiny teddy bears. A group of boys attempted to knock over a giant teddy bear with a bunch of little ones. They only managed this once when one boy tripped on a small bear and knocked over the giant. A boy with flaming red hair was mastering the potato race.

The music stopped. The lights went out. A chorus of disappointed "oh!"s rang out.  Some kids pulled out their phones and turned on the flashlight app. Someone else started music. "Dance party!" Cocoa pointed her flashlight at Creampuff and held a carrot just out of the light to get him to dance. He stood up and moved his paws around to catch the carrot. After the electricity came back on, Creampuff got his carrot. "Is it time for presents?" a little boy asked. "I got you a-" his big sister covered his mouth. The boy wriggled out of it. "Okay!" Cocoa said. She ran over to a giant gift box with kitten face wrapping paper. A trampoline. Another box held a bike ("Ooh! Now I can try riding two bikes at once!"). Cocoa tore open at least fifty boxes when there were only two left. Cocoa carefully unwrapped them. "A two-year Club Penguin membership! This is going to be the envy of Team Puffle!" she exclaimed. There was only one thing left to do. "Happy birthday, Cocoa." I said softly.