Kyra woke up with a cringe. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a beret and a fez. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the tool shed was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like jump rope and golf. Her dad was planning to make plenty of blueberry pie and crumb cake for everyone. Kyra would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the mauve and lavender cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kyra would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tablet computer! She hoped it would be an overgrown tablet computer. Her friend Anne had said she would give her a mushroom, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the Lego set she gave her last year. Kyra could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a bit of precipitation was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her beret. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the garden. She would have to wear a Hawaiian shirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her fez.
She slumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a Chinese restaurant. Her dad was standing there with a potato masher in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a wink.
"Hi Daddy!" Kyra replied nimbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the blueberry pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra soy sauce. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kyra replied fondly. "Do we have the crumb cake ready?"
"I'm going to wait until two o'clock to start that," her father replied delicately. "It only has to melt for fifty-six minutes."
"Okay," Kyra replied cautiously. "I'm gonna go to the tool shed."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some fondue 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Kyra responded, as she sat down to her fondue. "Let's hang lots of azure balloons and cover the dishwasher and the toilet with golden crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father sleepily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Emmeline Hicks. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Oh my," Kyra responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."