When Chase’s alarm goes off on the morning of his birthday, he can hardly wait to get the celebration started—his mom’s famous pancakes, all of the presents and cake. He’ll even “tolerate” a hug from his little sister, Amelia.

But when he saunters into the kitchen, it’s not pancakes he smells, but the lingering scent of his mom’s perfume as she leaves for yoga class without so much as a Happy Birthday! Instead, Chase finds his first errand, in the form of a haiku.

As the day—and his list of errands—drags on, Chase doubts anyone has remembered his birthday, which makes him sad, even if he is learning an awful lot about biotechnology. What surprises are in store?

By Dawn Lus and James Grasdal