Erin woke up with a curtsey. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a few small rags and a robe. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the library was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like Scrabble and blackjack. Her mom was planning to make plenty of lamb curry and ramen noodles for everyone. Erin would try to blow out all sixteen candles on the teal and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Erin would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a houseplant! She hoped it would be a charming houseplant. Her friend Wesley had said he would give her a rubber stamp, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the bullet she gave her last year. Erin could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainbow was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her few small rags. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a pair of booties instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her robe.
She leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like car exhaust. Her mom was standing there with a melon baller in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snort.
"Hi Mommy!" Erin replied sagely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lamb curry," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra powdered milk. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Erin replied uneasily. "Do we have the ramen noodles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied gruffly. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for eleven minutes."
"Okay," Erin replied woefully. "I'm gonna go to the library."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ravioli 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," Erin responded, as she sat down to her ravioli. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the TV and the catbird seat with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother swiftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Annalouise Fodor. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"Blast," Erin responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a roar. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."