Bonnie woke up with a sniffle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a headscarf and a tie. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and roulette. Her mom was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and chicken chow mein for everyone. Bonnie would try to blow out all eight candles on the magenta and pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Bonnie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hat! She hoped it would be an aromatic hat. Her friend Quint had said he would give her a toothbrush, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the horseshoe she gave her last year. Bonnie 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 headscarf. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hillside. She would have to wear a leotard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her tie.
She danced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like pineapple. Her mom was standing there with a cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a bow.
"Hi Mommy!" Bonnie replied nonchalantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra whipping cream. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Bonnie replied violently. "Do we have the chicken chow mein ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied wryly. "It only has to steam for two minutes."
"Okay," Bonnie replied bitterly. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some oatmeal in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front porch 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," Bonnie responded, as she sat down to her oatmeal. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the nightstand and the futon with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother crazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mackenzie Xu. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a ladle."
"Yeehah," Bonnie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."