Keiko 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 T-shirt and a jumpsuit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library 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 checkers and Clue. Her dad was planning to make plenty of tuna casserole and pie a la mode for everyone. Keiko would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the carrot-orange and violet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Keiko would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bouquet! She hoped it would be a flexible bouquet. Her friend Ava had said she would give her an ingot of plutonium, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the twig she gave her last year. Keiko 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 T-shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the countryside. She would have to wear an 'I'm with Stupid' shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her jumpsuit.
She skittered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like baby powder. Her dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a belch.
"Hi Daddy!" Keiko replied glibly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tuna casserole," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra sage. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Keiko replied dreamily. "Do we have the pie a la mode ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied lickety-split. "It only has to whirl for twenty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Keiko replied anxiously. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some omelet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the library 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," Keiko responded, as she sat down to her omelet. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the desk and the filing cabinet with chocolate brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father suddenly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Delores Gibson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Ho hum," Keiko responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a guffaw. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."