Dani woke up with a snort. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bustier and a polo shirt. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bathroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eight of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like roulette and hide and seek. Her mom was planning to make plenty of tuna casserole and chicken soup for everyone. Dani would try to blow out all twenty candles on the magenta and striped cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Dani would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a coat hanger! She hoped it would be an ancient coat hanger. Her friend Alex had said he would give her a bugle, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the vase she gave her last year. Dani could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a drought was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bustier. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the rainforest. She would have to wear a beard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her polo shirt.
She waltzed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like elderberries. Her mom was standing there with a spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a kiss.
"Hi Mommy!" Dani replied truculently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tuna casserole," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra pitted black olives. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Dani replied coolly. "Do we have the chicken soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied oddly. "It only has to mix solemnly for twenty-one minutes."
"Okay," Dani replied nervously. "I'm gonna go to the master bathroom."
"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 master bathroom 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," Dani responded, as she sat down to her mushroom quiche. "Let's hang lots of peach balloons and cover the desk and the water bed with mauve crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother nimbly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mama England. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"W00t," Dani responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a fist bump. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."