Olga woke up with a wince. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a visor and a beard. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the den was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like Candy Land and ring around the rosie. Her mom was planning to make plenty of strawberry shortcake and jambalaya for everyone. Olga would try to blow out all seven candles on the striped and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Olga would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a comic book! She hoped it would be a brightly-colored comic book. Her friend Perry had said he would give her a smart phone, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the dead zebra she gave her last year. Olga could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dust storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her visor. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plain. She would have to wear a uniform instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her beard.
She stormed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bacon frying. Her mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a power fist.
"Hi Mommy!" Olga replied anxiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the strawberry shortcake," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra capers. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Olga replied ignobly. "Do we have the jambalaya ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her mother replied fondly. "It only has to shake for forty-two minutes."
"Okay," Olga replied brightly. "I'm gonna go to the den."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lamb curry in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the den 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," Olga responded, as she sat down to her lamb curry. "Let's hang lots of white balloons and cover the fainting couch and the computer with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother glumly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Martha Rivera. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Blah," Olga responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a crow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."