Claudette woke up with a shout. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a lab coat and a pair of combat boots. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like seven-up and bridge. Her dad was planning to make plenty of lamb curry and pancakes for everyone. Claudette would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the metallic red and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Claudette would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a chair! She hoped it would be a loose chair. Her friend Cinderella had said she would give her a baseball bat, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the umbrella she gave her last year. Claudette could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her lab coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the rainforest. She would have to wear a floppy hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of combat boots.
She pranced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Chanel. Her dad was standing there with a corkscrew in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a grunt.
"Hi Daddy!" Claudette replied fiercely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lamb curry," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra half and half. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Claudette replied crossly. "Do we have the pancakes ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied anxiously. "It only has to sear outside for fifty-six minutes."
"Okay," Claudette replied bravely. "I'm gonna go to the porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Swiss cheese in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the porch 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," Claudette responded, as she sat down to her Swiss cheese. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the washstand and the windowsill with beige crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father gracefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Megan Douglas. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a garlic press."
"Ow," Claudette responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."