Clio woke up with a bow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a kilt and a pair of jeans. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and solitaire. Her mom was planning to make plenty of oatmeal and apple pie for everyone. Clio would try to blow out all seventeen candles on the magenta and chocolate brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Clio would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pair of pliers! She hoped it would be a brittle pair of pliers. Her friend Aristotle had said he would give her a china doll, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the Frisbee she gave her last year. Clio 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 kilt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the path. She would have to wear a body shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of jeans.
She danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like lilacs. Her mom was standing there with a chopstick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a pout.
"Hi Mommy!" Clio replied intensely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the oatmeal," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra powdered sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Clio replied crankily. "Do we have the apple pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied patiently. "It only has to deep fry for forty-four minutes."
"Okay," Clio replied warmly. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beans in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Clio responded, as she sat down to her beans. "Let's hang lots of green balloons and cover the bed and the hamper with maroon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother oddly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Carolyn O'Brien. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pastry blender."
"Bless my britches," Clio responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a clenched fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."