Amanda woke up with a furrowed brow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a military uniform and a pair of sandals. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the attic 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 tennis and hopscotch. Her dad was planning to make plenty of chopped liver and lamb curry for everyone. Amanda would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the brilliant orange and striped cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Amanda would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a microscope! She hoped it would be a mechanical microscope. Her friend Ling had said she would give her a feather, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the padlock she gave her last year. Amanda could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a windstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her military uniform. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the country meadow. She would have to wear a tank top instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of sandals.
She barrelled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like manure. Her dad was standing there with a cookie cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a wink.
"Hi Daddy!" Amanda replied fearfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chopped liver," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mashed potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Amanda replied grimly. "Do we have the lamb curry ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied glumly. "It only has to toast for forty-three minutes."
"Okay," Amanda replied suavely. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fondue in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the attic 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," Amanda responded, as she sat down to her fondue. "Let's hang lots of brown balloons and cover the chair and the washstand with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father strictly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Melissa Marino. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Gee whiz," Amanda responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."