Brooke woke up with an air kiss. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a mortarboard and a letter jacket. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom 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 poker and trivia. Her dad was planning to make plenty of macaroni and Swiss cheese for everyone. Brooke would try to blow out all twelve candles on the salmon and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Brooke would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paper towel! She hoped it would be a dirty paper towel. Her friend Ella had said she would give her a pack of gum, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the picture she gave her last year. Brooke 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 mortarboard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cliff. She would have to wear a pair of earmuffs instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her letter jacket.
She strolled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rum. Her dad was standing there with a sharp knife in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a raised eyebrow.
"Hi Daddy!" Brooke replied thoughtfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the macaroni," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra frankfurters. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Brooke replied warmly. "Do we have the Swiss cheese ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied innocently. "It only has to poach lightly for seventy-two minutes."
"Okay," Brooke replied stupidly. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"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 master bedroom 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," Brooke responded, as she sat down to her wienerschnitzel. "Let's hang lots of polka dotted balloons and cover the coffee table and the wine rack with magenta crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father boldly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Cecelia Walla. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Never mind," Brooke responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a chortle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."