Drew woke up with a flutter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a diamond bracelet and a helmet. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like badminton and pool. Her dad was planning to make plenty of strawberry shortcake and chocolate-covered ants for everyone. Drew would try to blow out all eleven candles on the blue and burgundy cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Drew would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a whistle! She hoped it would be a synthetic whistle. Her friend Evelyn had said she would give her a lollipop, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the stuffed bunny she gave her last year. Drew could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her diamond bracelet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a letter jacket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her helmet.
She sped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like bacon frying. Her dad was standing there with a dish cloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a bow.
"Hi Daddy!" Drew replied fervently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the strawberry shortcake," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Drew replied solemnly. "Do we have the chocolate-covered ants ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied urgently. "It only has to smoke for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," Drew replied shyly. "I'm gonna go to the closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast beef in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the closet 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," Drew responded, as she sat down to her roast beef. "Let's hang lots of teal balloons and cover the carpet and the card table with periwinkle crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father fervently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Yvonne Şerban. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of chopsticks."
"Big whoop," Drew responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a coo. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."