Mirabel woke up with a belly laugh. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a Superman costume and a tool belt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Snakes and Ladders and Candy Land. Her dad was planning to make plenty of beans and lobster for everyone. Mirabel would try to blow out all fifteen candles on the pink and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Mirabel would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a saw! She hoped it would be an ornate saw. Her friend Carrie had said she would give her a daisy, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the lemon she gave her last year. Mirabel could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Superman costume. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the lagoon. She would have to wear a garland instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her tool belt.
She jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like chloroform. Her dad was standing there with a knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a raised eyebrow.
"Hi Daddy!" Mirabel replied ingeniously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the beans," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra lima beans. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Mirabel replied cleverly. "Do we have the lobster ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied nicely. "It only has to whirl for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Mirabel replied dolorously. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lasagna in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Mirabel responded, as she sat down to her lasagna. "Let's hang lots of mauve balloons and cover the cushion and the carpet with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father vacantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Candy Quinlan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Oof," Mirabel responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cringe. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."