Blanca woke up with a snigger. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of shoes and a visor. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fifteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like roulette and treasure hunt. Her dad was planning to make plenty of refried beans and refried beans for everyone. Blanca would try to blow out all eleven candles on the hot pink and fuchsia cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Blanca would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a barbell! She hoped it would be a leather barbell. Her friend Seema had said she would give her a rubber stamp, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the doily she gave her last year. Blanca could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of shoes. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the seashore. She would have to wear a badge instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her visor.
She zoomed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like potpourri. Her dad was standing there with an electric mixer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a yawn.
"Hi Daddy!" Blanca replied blankly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the refried beans," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra apples. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Blanca replied carelessly. "Do we have the refried beans ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied arrogantly. "It only has to spoon into container for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Blanca replied doubtfully. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ice cream in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Blanca responded, as she sat down to her ice cream. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the bed and the wardrobe with forest green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father gratefully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Melissa Burner. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a mixing spoon."
"Touché," Blanca responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a twitch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."