The afternoon lesson was over, and all the pupils of Mrs Donova's group lined up in rows of two. Theodore wanted to stand at the end of the row, as was his habit, but this time the teacher took him by the arm and placed him at the head of the group. The teacher's assistant closed the row, making sure that none of the children deviated from the planned course. The class began to slowly ascend the escalator upwards, which leisurely endeavoured to take Mrs Donova's group to the top floor of the building. Since Theodore was at the very beginning of the row, he happened to be one of the first to see the welcoming group of cafeteria workers holding yellow balloons. These helium-filled balloons had written in large white letters on one side, ‘Happy Birthday, Theodore!’ and on the other, ‘5 years old.’ Two lunchroom workers, dressed in white aprons, with sanitary disposable white caps on their heads, stood on either side of the escalator exit, holding the balloons with their fingers, eager to float up into the air and close to the ceiling under the influence of helium. Anticipating the boy's surprise in advance, bringing him to a standstill, the staff pressed the escalator button and temporarily stopped its movement to allow Ted to enjoy the moment his holiday began. The escalator steps instantly froze, and with them the entire children's group.
– Happy birthday, Theodore! Look what we've prepared for you today! Come on! – said one of the canteen staff, at the same time handing Ted a balloon and pulling him a little to the side, thus making way for the other children. Another staff member jabbed a button with his palm, setting the escalator in motion again. The kids slowly began to rise and spread out across the room. Theodore, clutching the ribbon with the balloon dangling at the far end, began to pull it down, running his hands over it and getting closer and closer to his goal. He wanted to take a closer look at the white text written on the balloon.
– Happy Birthday! I forgot you had one today…’ came the loud voice of a girl on the left, who stood next to the birthday boy and held out her hand to him. It was so unexpected that he flinched and the balloon slipped out of his hands, flying upwards towards the ceiling. Theodore's eyes bulged, trying to catch hold of the ribbon that was just as quickly slipping away from him. In one precise and sharp movement, the girl caught on the fly, seemingly already irretrievably missed Ted ribbon along with the balloon and holding out to him the saved thing moralisingly said: ‘Here. Don't lose it again!’