Molly woke up with a twitch. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a thong and a pair of bell-bottoms. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like rummy and golf. Her mom was planning to make plenty of popcorn and chicken soup for everyone. Molly would try to blow out all eighteen candles on the polka dotted and grey cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Molly would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a flag! She hoped it would be a striking flag. Her friend Newton had said he would give her a box, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the toolbox she gave her last year. Molly could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her thong. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the lakeside. She would have to wear a raincoat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of bell-bottoms.
She scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lemons. Her mom was standing there with a pair of tongs in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a pout.
"Hi Mommy!" Molly replied softly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the popcorn," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cilantro. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Molly replied thankfully. "Do we have the chicken soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her mother replied ferociously. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Molly replied wildly. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cinnamon toast in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec room 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," Molly responded, as she sat down to her cinnamon toast. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the computer and the display case with carrot-orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother lamely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Morgan Dolman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Blaak," Molly responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smack. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."