Francene woke up with a laugh. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of knickerbockers and an Armani suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the living room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like red light green light and treasure hunt. Her mom was planning to make plenty of corn on the cob and hot dogs for everyone. Francene would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the azure and rose cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Francene would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Van Gogh! She hoped it would be an imitation Van Gogh. Her friend Studs had said he would give her a computer, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the notepad she gave her last year. Francene could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of knickerbockers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mountain. She would have to wear an award medal instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her Armani suit.
She blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like orange peel. Her mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a yawn.
"Hi Mommy!" Francene replied offhandedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the corn on the cob," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen peas. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Francene replied energetically. "Do we have the hot dogs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied sweetly. "It only has to simmer for twenty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Francene replied humbly. "I'm gonna go to the living room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some enchiladas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the living room 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," Francene responded, as she sat down to her enchiladas. "Let's hang lots of hot pink balloons and cover the cash register and the ironing board with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother deliberately. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Martina Dirkson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Alrighty-roo," Francene responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a face palm. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."