Priscilla woke up with a power fist. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a set of football pads and a gorilla suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like badminton and tag. Her dad was planning to make plenty of Froot Loops and bonbons for everyone. Priscilla would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the golden and red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Priscilla would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coat check ticket! She hoped it would be a cardboard coat check ticket. Her friend Madeline had said she would give her a hand puppet, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the horseshoe she gave her last year. Priscilla could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her set of football pads. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the canyon. She would have to wear a pith helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her gorilla suit.
She went downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a laundry. Her dad was standing there with a candy thermometer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a snarl.
"Hi Daddy!" Priscilla replied dubiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Froot Loops," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra thyme. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Priscilla replied tearfully. "Do we have the bonbons ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her father replied obediently. "It only has to grill for forty-three minutes."
"Okay," Priscilla replied timidly. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cornbread in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bathroom 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," Priscilla responded, as she sat down to her cornbread. "Let's hang lots of turquoise balloons and cover the bar stool and the TV with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father kindly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Izzy Marx. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Marvelous," Priscilla responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snigger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."