Jasmine woke up with a pout. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of Reeboks and a pocket watch. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like follow the leader and doctor. Her mom was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and sweet potatoes for everyone. Jasmine would try to blow out all thirty-two candles on the red and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jasmine would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an umbrella! She hoped it would be a sleek umbrella. Her friend Geoffrey had said he would give her a knitting needle, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the piano she gave her last year. Jasmine could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of Reeboks. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the pond. She would have to wear a blazer instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pocket watch.
She barrelled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Chanel No. 5. Her mom was standing there with a paring knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sigh.
"Hi Mommy!" Jasmine replied busily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pears. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jasmine replied wildly. "Do we have the sweet potatoes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied caustically. "It only has to broil for forty-four minutes."
"Okay," Jasmine replied needlessly. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front porch 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," Jasmine responded, as she sat down to her egg rolls. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the piano and the ping-pong table with jade crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother truculently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Shelly Perry. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Nope," Jasmine responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snicker. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."