Cindi woke up with a coo. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of sandals and an 'I'm with Stupid' shirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like bridge and charades. Her mom was planning to make plenty of popcorn and scrambled eggs for everyone. Cindi would try to blow out all ten candles on the chocolate brown and chartreuse cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Cindi would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Band-aid! She hoped it would be a hollow Band-aid. Her friend Humphrey had said he would give her a piece of candy, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the box of Kleenex she gave her last year. Cindi could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of sandals. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the jungle. She would have to wear a poodle skirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her 'I'm with Stupid' shirt.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like cotton candy. Her mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a simper.
"Hi Mommy!" Cindi replied positively. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra watercress. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Cindi replied irritably. "Do we have the scrambled eggs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied demurely. "It only has to fry for twenty-three minutes."
"Okay," Cindi replied positively. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pretzels in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium 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," Cindi responded, as she sat down to her pretzels. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the table and the recliner with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother excitedly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Frances Gordon. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a bare foot."
"Adios," Cindi responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a gasp. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."