Alisa woke up with a snort. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of contact lenses and a pair of cowboy boots. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like golf and leapfrog. Her mom was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and jambalaya for everyone. Alisa would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the navy blue and sparkly cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Alisa would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a lemon! She hoped it would be a crooked lemon. Her friend Arnold had said he would give her a photograph, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the cotton ball she gave her last year. Alisa 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 pair of contact lenses. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the gulch. She would have to wear a pair of UGGs instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of cowboy boots.
She breezed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peanut butter. Her mom was standing there with a dish cloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a gasp.
"Hi Mommy!" Alisa replied admiringly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra corn syrup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Alisa replied suspiciously. "Do we have the jambalaya ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied repeatedly. "It only has to freeze for fifty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Alisa replied tenderly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some corn on the cob 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Alisa responded, as she sat down to her corn on the cob. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the couch and the settee with chocolate brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother cunningly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Tori Vincent. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a turkey baster."
"Humph," Alisa responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a dope slap. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."