Tracy woke up with a hiccup. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a poodle skirt and a pair of gloves. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and backgammon. Her mom was planning to make plenty of dirty rice and omelet for everyone. Tracy would try to blow out all eight candles on the salmon and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Tracy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coupon! She hoped it would be a multicolored coupon. Her friend Morgan had said he would give her a salt shaker, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the water bottle she gave her last year. Tracy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her poodle skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gully. She would have to wear a toupee instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of gloves.
She careened downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like flatulence. Her mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a death glare.
"Hi Mommy!" Tracy replied cheerfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the dirty rice," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pickled peppers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Tracy replied intensely. "Do we have the omelet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied proudly. "It only has to slow cook for twenty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Tracy replied woodenly. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bathroom 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," Tracy responded, as she sat down to her ravioli. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the piano and the futon with azure crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother happily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Eileen Fritz. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a sharp knife."
"Get out," Tracy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a pucker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."