Roberta woke up with a blush. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of UGGs and a set of braces. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like cribbage and Candy Land. Her mom was planning to make plenty of lime sherbet and tofu for everyone. Roberta would try to blow out all nine candles on the brilliant orange and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Roberta would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a snail! She hoped it would be a petite snail. Her friend Bull had said he would give her an amulet, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the Egyptian mummy she gave her last year. Roberta could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of UGGs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plateau. She would have to wear a jumper instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of braces.
She struggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like leather. Her mom was standing there with a dish cloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a grimace.
"Hi Mommy!" Roberta replied sharply. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the lime sherbet," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra fresh papaya. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Roberta replied carefully. "Do we have the tofu ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied queerly. "It only has to freeze for sixteen minutes."
"Okay," Roberta replied flightily. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some wienerschnitzel in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the tool shed 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," Roberta responded, as she sat down to her wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of orange balloons and cover the computer and the umbrella stand with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother quietly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Tawny Nguyen. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Gadzooks," Roberta responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."