Nicole woke up with a beam. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a beanie and a set of pink foam curlers. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the atrium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-two of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like hearts and dominos. Her mom was planning to make plenty of waffles and macaroni and cheese for everyone. Nicole would try to blow out all eleven candles on the brilliant orange and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nicole would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a key ring! She hoped it would be a smooth key ring. Her friend Ethan had said he would give her a fossil, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the beret she gave her last year. Nicole could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a period of warm weather was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her beanie. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the seacoast. She would have to wear a pair of flip-flops instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of pink foam curlers.
She struggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a feed lot. Her mom was standing there with a dish cloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a snarl.
"Hi Mommy!" Nicole replied zestily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the waffles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra butter. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nicole replied uneasily. "Do we have the macaroni and cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied uneasily. "It only has to heat for thirty-one minutes."
"Okay," Nicole replied carelessly. "I'm gonna go to the atrium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pumpkin pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the atrium 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," Nicole responded, as she sat down to her pumpkin pie. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the bookshelf and the futon with emerald green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother valiantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Dusty Ellington. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a potato peeler."
"Ssss," Nicole responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a bow. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."