Olivia woke up with a grimace. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an Armani suit and a cheerleader's uniform. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Mother May I and old maid. Her mom was planning to make plenty of ramen noodles and chicken soup for everyone. Olivia would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the orange and metallic red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Olivia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flash drive! She hoped it would be a greasy flash drive. Her friend Nick had said he would give her a cigar, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the handkerchief she gave her last year. Olivia could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Armani suit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cornfield. She would have to wear a tank top instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cheerleader's uniform.
She marched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like mushrooms. Her mom was standing there with a dull knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a hug.
"Hi Mommy!" Olivia replied blankly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ramen noodles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra boneless chicken breast. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Olivia replied offhandedly. "Do we have the chicken soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied smoothly. "It only has to roast for fifty-one minutes."
"Okay," Olivia replied accidentally. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mushroom quiche in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the auditorium first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Olivia responded, as she sat down to her mushroom quiche. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the crib and the bunk bed with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother admiringly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Brianna Grayheels. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Boo," Olivia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a giggle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."