Story (c) Alden MacManx 2004

Shripe (c) himself

Shripe was not having a good day. First, he found he had left the disc to a big report he was

working on in his computer, then he found he had bombed a math test the day before, then he found he

had forgotten his lunch money. It was a hungry, sad, upset teen cheetah who dragged himself home

after school.

At home, he found that his foster mother had found out about the blown test, and so, she sent

him to his room to study, after a light snack. "You stay there and study your math until dinner! No

games, either!" she said, visibly perturbed.

Glumly, he went up to study, finding the report disc still where he had left it. The only one he

had to talk to was Attie, a finch that had adopted his family. "Attie, why do these things happen? My

birthday's tomorrow, and I can't focus!"

"You're gonna have to. You know Dad's gotta go on a trip tomorrow morning. Mom's not

happy." Attie chirped. "You better study. I'll help!" For a couple hours, the bird helped the gloomy

cheetah study the intricacies of pre-calculus.

Through the afternoon, Shripe could sense some noise from downstairs, but he was not allowed

to peek out. When he tried, Mom chased him back into his room. "You study, Shripe!" she shouted.

Glumly, he did. "Why do I have to work? It's such a nice day!" he moped.

"You have to get your work done before you can play, Shripe." Attie chirped as they hit the

books again.

At dinnertime, Shripe was called downstairs. "You get your work done?" Mom asked, looking

quickly at Attie, who is perched on Shripe's shoulder.

"Yes, Mom, I did. Attie helped." he said. Attie bobbed up and down.

"Good! Now, down to the basement!" Mom ordered.

Shripe blinked. "The basement?" he asked, confused.

"Yes! Dinner is there! Now, go!" Mom said, pushing him to the basement steps.

Carefully, Shripe descended the steps. It was dark down there. He could smell foods and was

that stretched rubber? He reached out and flipped on the light.

The basement was filled with party favors. A banner stretched across the ceiling, saying

"Happy Birthday, Shripe!" as about 30 people shouted "SURPRISE!"

Shripe blinked in surprise. He looked around at the big cake, his favorite foods, and the pile of

presents. His big brother Roddy came over and hugged Shripe to his big belly. "Couldn't forget about

your big day!" Roddy said. Shripe happily hugged back, tears of joy in his eyes. Attie flew to Roddy's

big shoulder, to get out of the way.

All that night, Shripe was the center of attention from his family and friends. He received lots of

gifts, ranging from a new PS2 and a large assortment of games, to magic gifts from his father's friends at

the Helium Club, and CD's from his sister's band. He was also fed a lot of the food there, getting

stuffed till his belly bulged with goodies. "Gotta put some meat on you, skinny brother!" Roddy said as

he fed Shripe some delicious cake.

"Ohh, I'm gonna be so fat tomorrow!" Shripe moaned between mouthfuls.

"Nothing wrong with that, son!" His mother said, being quite round herself. His friends agreed,

joyfully stuffing the thin cheetah till he was quite fat indeed!

After the party, the bloated Shripe was helped up the stairs to bed by his mother. "This was a

wonderful day, Mom, despite what happened earlier." he said as he was tucked in.

Mom smiled at him. "Life is not always pretty, but, good friends help. We care and love you,

son. Sleep well!" she said as she turned out the light. Shripe slept well, dreaming about the party. The

meal also packed 300 pounds on him for a day, but he didn't mind.