Ellen woke up with a titter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a necklace and a pair of Oxfords. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like battleship and rummy. Her dad was planning to make plenty of steak and catfish stew for everyone. Ellen would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the purple and scarlet cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ellen would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a sponge! She hoped it would be a nice sponge. Her friend Kelly had said she would give her a Band-aid, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the stapler she gave her last year. Ellen could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her necklace. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the savanna. She would have to wear an armband instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Oxfords.
She tore downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rose petals. Her dad was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a chuckle.
"Hi Daddy!" Ellen replied daintily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the steak," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra strawberries. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ellen replied fondly. "Do we have the catfish stew ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied angrily. "It only has to age for thirty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Ellen replied oddly. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pumpkin pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Ellen responded, as she sat down to her pumpkin pie. "Let's hang lots of crimson balloons and cover the dresser and the counter with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father hysterically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Lucy Seaman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Get outta here," Ellen responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a glare. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."