Alicia woke up with a pucker. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of culottes and a pair of trousers. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like tag and chess. Her dad was planning to make plenty of Swiss cheese and omelet for everyone. Alicia would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the olive green and hot pink cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Alicia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crayon! She hoped it would be a bizarre crayon. Her friend Frances had said she would give her a balloon, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the fishhook she gave her last year. Alicia could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a dense fog was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of culottes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the neighborhood. She would have to wear a poncho instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of trousers.
She scooted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like soap. Her dad was standing there with a Sham-Wow! in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a grimace.
"Hi Daddy!" Alicia replied repeatedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Swiss cheese," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra soy sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Alicia replied neatly. "Do we have the omelet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her father replied valiantly. "It only has to allow to rise in warm place for several hours for eighty-three minutes."
"Okay," Alicia replied daintily. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some popcorn in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Alicia responded, as she sat down to her popcorn. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the display case and the carpet with amber crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father thoughtfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Norma Del Genio. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Rats," Alicia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a cringe. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."