Oksana woke up with a finger gun. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a Superman costume and a gladiator helmet. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Russian roulette and Russian roulette. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pecan pie and spaghetti for everyone. Oksana would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the striped and yellow cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Oksana would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a toothbrush! She hoped it would be a ragged toothbrush. Her friend Marty had said he would give her a flyswatter, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the calculator she gave her last year. Oksana 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 Superman costume. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the wasteland. She would have to wear a dress instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her gladiator helmet.
She tore downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smelling salts. Her mom was standing there with a food processor in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a simper.
"Hi Mommy!" Oksana replied cheerfully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pecan pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra vanilla. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Oksana replied thankfully. "Do we have the spaghetti ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied ferociously. "It only has to poach lightly for eighty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Oksana replied gingerly. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some applesauce in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the attic 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," Oksana responded, as she sat down to her applesauce. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the china hutch and the bed with tan crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother shyly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Sharon Tuttle. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a piece of cheesecloth."
"Chirp," Oksana responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snort. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."