Unwanted child - стр. 30

Now, in the middle of the second year of the CEC, the children ate lunch sitting on full chairs, which consisted of four legs for stability, a seat and a backrest. In general, the chairs looked like normal chairs and were no different from the standard adult models, except that they were smaller in size. None of Theodore's classmates needed the auxiliary straps anymore.

Ted walked over to his chair, which was covered with yellow holiday balloons. On the table in front of him was a container of food tied with a golden ribbon in the shape of a bow, which the boy had to untie himself. The other children sitting around him gazed at the food box with interest, wondering about its inner contents. Slowly, Theodore climbed onto the chair, moved closer to the food and began to untie the intricately twisted bow by pulling one end of the golden ribbon. Then he opened the container, and all the neighbours on the dining table leaned forward, looking at the food inside. Inside lay a solid cooked piece of chicken fillet with rice on the side. To the right of the container, lay a napkin-wrapped sweet bun in the shape of an amused grimace. The same exact pastry awaited every child who came for lunch today. The glass to the left of the container was filled with apple sour cream, which was also expected by many, except for those to whom it was strongly contraindicated or disgusting. As it turned out, nothing special was provided for the birthday boy, which some of his classmates might have been excited about, feeling deprived.

Realising that Theodore's lunch did not merit any special interest, the children abruptly turned their attention to their containers and continued their meal. At the end of lunch, the group unintentionally sang the birthday boy a ‘Happy Birthday’ song at Mrs Donova's request. After the song was finished, the teacher brought Davel a small piece of colourful cake on a platter. There were exactly 15 such pieces for each child. Fortunately, no one in the group was allergic to confectionery. Everyone began to eat this culinary delicacy. Ted also took a small piece of his cake and put it in his mouth. The pleasant sweet fruity flavour filled the birthday boy with inexpressible feelings of joy and delight. He greedily began to work the spoon, trying to eat as quickly as possible all the contents of the saucer, before the whole piece disappeared from it to the last crumb. Of course, there were some children who could not get enough and demanded more. But they too had to accept the fact that there was no more to be had. So the little surprise in Ted's honour was over, and the children, cheered up by the dessert they had eaten, headed for the recreation room, which was scheduled for after lunchtime.