Dagmar woke up with a smirk. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a swimsuit and a locket. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like blackjack and dodge ball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of cinnamon toast and pot roast for everyone. Dagmar would try to blow out all twenty candles on the scarlet and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Dagmar would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hubcap! She hoped it would be a rare hubcap. Her friend Baldwin had said he would give her a paperclip, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the pumpkin she gave her last year. Dagmar could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her swimsuit. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the dumpster. She would have to wear a pair of boxing gloves instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her locket.
She skidded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like eucalyptus. Her mom was standing there with a spatula in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a jeer.
"Hi Mommy!" Dagmar replied boisterously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cinnamon toast," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra white rice. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Dagmar replied frenetically. "Do we have the pot roast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied dubiously. "It only has to spoon into container for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Dagmar replied blankly. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cookies 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," Dagmar responded, as she sat down to her cookies. "Let's hang lots of beige balloons and cover the TV and the filing cabinet with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother cleverly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, June Greybottom. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a meat tenderizer."
"Who cares," Dagmar 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."