Magdalena woke up with a snort. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a leotard and a sombrero. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and bridge. Her mom was planning to make plenty of catfish stew and prune pudding for everyone. Magdalena would try to blow out all four candles on the silver and lime-green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Magdalena would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a cell phone! She hoped it would be a nifty cell phone. Her friend Ronnie had said he would give her an air compressor, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the bedpan she gave her last year. Magdalena could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her leotard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the desert. She would have to wear a pair of false eyelashes instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her sombrero.
She walked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pumpkin pie. Her mom was standing there with a bare foot in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a glare.
"Hi Mommy!" Magdalena replied unnaturally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the catfish stew," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra walrus meat. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Magdalena replied hungrily. "Do we have the prune pudding ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied deftly. "It only has to arrange for forty-two minutes."
"Okay," Magdalena replied vigorously. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"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 study 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," Magdalena responded, as she sat down to her ravioli. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the recliner and the settee with silver crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother arrogantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Sadie Childs. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"I've had it," Magdalena responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."