Ava woke up with a kiss. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a diamond bracelet and a belly button jewel. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like pool and badminton. Her mom was planning to make plenty of lasagna and sauerkraut for everyone. Ava would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the amber and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ava would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fishing pole! She hoped it would be an unusual fishing pole. Her friend Eldon had said he would give her an etching, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the lemon she gave her last year. Ava could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her diamond bracelet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a pair of ear muffs instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her belly button jewel.
She loped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like wood. Her mom was standing there with a candy thermometer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a frown.
"Hi Mommy!" Ava replied brashly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lasagna," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra kiwis. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ava replied delicately. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied calmly. "It only has to sear for fifty-six minutes."
"Okay," Ava replied unnaturally. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mushroom quiche in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Ava responded, as she sat down to her mushroom quiche. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the sofa and the ottoman with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother gently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Shannon Riley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a slotted spoon."
"Dang it," Ava responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an evil eye. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."