Katherine woke up with an evil eye. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a blanket and a pair of shorts. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like old maid and chess. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fried eggs and chicken gumbo for everyone. Katherine would try to blow out all five candles on the burgundy and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Katherine would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a clam! She hoped it would be a hand-painted clam. Her friend Tony had said he would give her a flashlight, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the necklace she gave her last year. Katherine could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her blanket. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassland. She would have to wear a coat of mail instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of shorts.
She stalked downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like aftershave lotion. Her mom was standing there with a melon baller in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a raspberry.
"Hi Mommy!" Katherine replied furiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried eggs," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra thinly sliced radishes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Katherine replied haughtily. "Do we have the chicken gumbo ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied neatly. "It only has to spread into container for twelve minutes."
"Okay," Katherine replied ferociously. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some macaroni and cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Katherine responded, as she sat down to her macaroni and cheese. "Let's hang lots of salmon balloons and cover the ottoman and the beanbag chair with khaki crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother sweetly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Kendra Spanbauer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Godspeed," Katherine responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."