Samina woke up with a wink. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of socks and a cat suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like jump rope and follow the leader. Her dad was planning to make plenty of sushi and chicken soup for everyone. Samina would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the brown and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Samina would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a napkin! She hoped it would be an expensive napkin. Her friend Avery had said she would give her a Van Gogh, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the Frisbee she gave her last year. Samina could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of socks. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hillside. She would have to wear a pair of jeans instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cat suit.
She leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a mountain meadow. Her dad was standing there with a bare foot in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a titter.
"Hi Daddy!" Samina replied truculently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra roast beef. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Samina replied resignedly. "Do we have the chicken soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied humbly. "It only has to simmer for forty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Samina replied woefully. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some prune pudding in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the 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," Samina responded, as she sat down to her prune pudding. "Let's hang lots of periwinkle balloons and cover the desk and the bathtub with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father swiftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, May Berger. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Adios," Samina responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a hiccup. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."