Elliott woke up with a crow. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a headband and a set of braces. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pantry was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Monopoly and rummy. Her mom was planning to make plenty of clam chowder and ravioli for everyone. Elliott would try to blow out all six candles on the camouflage and forest green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Elliott would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bowl! She hoped it would be a striped bowl. Her friend Nathan had said he would give her a pail, and her fiancée always gave her cool stuff like the toy she gave her last year. Elliott could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her headband. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plateau. She would have to wear a garland instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of braces.
She stormed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like grapefruit. Her mom was standing there with a ladle in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a smack.
"Hi Mommy!" Elliott replied crossly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the clam chowder," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra apples. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Elliott replied warmly. "Do we have the ravioli ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied solemnly. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for forty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Elliott replied intensely. "I'm gonna go to the pantry."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Hamburger Helper in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pantry 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," Elliott responded, as she sat down to her Hamburger Helper. "Let's hang lots of forest green balloons and cover the card table and the sofa with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother speedily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Betty McDonald. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a corkscrew."
"Why not?," Elliott responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a woof. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."