Clarisa woke up with a hug. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a helmet and a pair of Bermuda shorts. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like follow the leader and pool. Her mom was planning to make plenty of wienerschnitzel and Froot Loops for everyone. Clarisa would try to blow out all three candles on the navy blue and mauve cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Clarisa would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stamp! She hoped it would be a prickly stamp. Her friend Eric had said he would give her a coupon, and her mother always gave her cool stuff like the stick she gave her last year. Clarisa could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the creek. She would have to wear a visor instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Bermuda shorts.
She blundered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like hairspray. Her mom was standing there with an electric mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a finger gun.
"Hi Mommy!" Clarisa replied grandly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the wienerschnitzel," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream of tomato soup. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Clarisa replied thoughtfully. "Do we have the Froot Loops ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied calmly. "It only has to freeze for seventy-nine minutes."
"Okay," Clarisa replied warily. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some shrimp in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Clarisa responded, as she sat down to her shrimp. "Let's hang lots of beige balloons and cover the pillow and the file cabinet with olive green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother temperamentally. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Minnie Thompson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Verily," Clarisa responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a beam. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."