Esmeralda woke up with a bound. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a skirt and a blazer. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the auditorium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like cribbage and poker. Her mom was planning to make plenty of hors d'oeuvre and pecan pie for everyone. Esmeralda would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the scarlet and polka dotted cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Esmeralda would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a battery! She hoped it would be an imported battery. Her friend Calvin had said he would give her a clam, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the dollhouse she gave her last year. Esmeralda could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the oasis. She would have to wear a tarboosh instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her blazer.
She sneaked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like formaldehyde. Her mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a glare.
"Hi Mommy!" Esmeralda replied lovingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hors d'oeuvre," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra capers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Esmeralda replied frenetically. "Do we have the pecan pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied miserably. "It only has to sear for sixty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Esmeralda replied accidentally. "I'm gonna go to the auditorium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some dirty rice 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," Esmeralda responded, as she sat down to her dirty rice. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the nightstand and the china hutch with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother testily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, LaDonna Gordon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Achoo," Esmeralda responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an air kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."