Nakisha woke up with a jeer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bow tie and a pair of cargo pants. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like musical chairs and tennis. Her dad was planning to make plenty of burritos and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Nakisha would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the black and sea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nakisha would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a map! She hoped it would be a crusty map. Her friend Dianna had said she would give her a model airplane, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the comic book she gave her last year. Nakisha could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bow tie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the desert. She would have to wear a party hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of cargo pants.
She scurried downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a Christmas tree. Her dad was standing there with an electric paint mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a pound of the chest.
"Hi Daddy!" Nakisha replied noisily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the burritos," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra thinly sliced radishes. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nakisha replied sweetly. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her father replied merrily. "It only has to deep fry for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Nakisha replied fearfully. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fondue in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Nakisha responded, as she sat down to her fondue. "Let's hang lots of sparkly balloons and cover the hope chest and the cupboard with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father languidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Ying De Luca. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Castor and Pollux! Blow me to Bermuda," Nakisha responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wag of the finger. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."