Vicki woke up with a titter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a ring and a denim skirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like follow the leader and tennis. Her mom was planning to make plenty of tortillas and egg drop soup for everyone. Vicki would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the navy blue and golden cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Vicki would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paperclip! She hoped it would be a fluffy paperclip. Her friend Lee had said he would give her a cell phone, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the fishhook she gave her last year. Vicki could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her ring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the village. She would have to wear an evening gown instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her denim skirt.
She clambered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a mountain meadow. Her mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sniff.
"Hi Mommy!" Vicki replied temperamentally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tortillas," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra oatmeal. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Vicki replied frenetically. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied uneasily. "It only has to grill for six minutes."
"Okay," Vicki replied smoothly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Vicki responded, as she sat down to her cabbage. "Let's hang lots of sea green balloons and cover the washstand and the washstand with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother grimly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Clarabell Porterfield. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spatula."
"Goodness gracious," Vicki responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snarl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."