Winnie woke up with a raised eyebrow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of knickers and a pair of Oxfords. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like hide and seek and jump rope. Her mom was planning to make plenty of sushi and ramen noodles for everyone. Winnie would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the brown and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Winnie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an abacus! She hoped it would be a bizarre abacus. Her friend Ivan had said he would give her a cell phone, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the tube of glue she gave her last year. Winnie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of knickers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the landfill. She would have to wear a hood instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of Oxfords.
She inched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Givenchy. Her mom was standing there with a piece of cheesecloth in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a twitch.
"Hi Mommy!" Winnie replied impatiently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra powdered sugar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Winnie replied later. "Do we have the ramen noodles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied kindly. "It only has to age for seventy-four minutes."
"Okay," Winnie replied rapidly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken chow mein in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Winnie responded, as she sat down to her chicken chow mein. "Let's hang lots of burgundy balloons and cover the bed and the floor with green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother fearfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Savannah Ross. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Great Scott," Winnie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with an air kiss. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."