Hallie woke up with a smile. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a mask and a miniskirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Scrabble and Scrabble. Her mom was planning to make plenty of cornbread and chicken pot pie for everyone. Hallie would try to blow out all six candles on the silver and forest green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hallie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a mousetrap! She hoped it would be a prickly mousetrap. Her friend Lawrence had said he would give her a battery, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the file folder she gave her last year. Hallie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her mask. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the butte. She would have to wear a hearing aid instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her miniskirt.
She sallied forth downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a laundry. Her mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a death glare.
"Hi Mommy!" Hallie replied breathlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cornbread," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra potatoes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hallie replied carefully. "Do we have the chicken pot pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied calmly. "It only has to spoon into container for seventeen minutes."
"Okay," Hallie replied doubtfully. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Froot Loops in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Hallie responded, as she sat down to her Froot Loops. "Let's hang lots of sea green balloons and cover the credenza and the pillow with lime-green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother suavely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Darcy Quintero. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"You bet," Hallie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cackle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."