Penny woke up with a squint. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a leotard and a pair of Crocs. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nineteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like duck duck goose and billiards. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cotton candy and French fries for everyone. Penny would try to blow out all two candles on the hot pink and pea green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Penny would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed owl! She hoped it would be a golden stuffed owl. Her friend Bailey had said she would give her a bag, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the arrowhead she gave her last year. Penny could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her leotard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the seacoast. She would have to wear a space suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Crocs.
She struggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like grapefruit. Her dad was standing there with a spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a caress.
"Hi Daddy!" Penny replied needlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cotton candy," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frozen spinach. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Penny replied neatly. "Do we have the French fries ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied resignedly. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for forty-five minutes."
"Okay," Penny replied violently. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cabbage rolls in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry room 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," Penny responded, as she sat down to her cabbage rolls. "Let's hang lots of terra cotta balloons and cover the piano and the dining table with rose crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father craftily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Carla Stucky. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a knife."
"Jiminy crickets," Penny responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."