Huong woke up with a shiver. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a balaclava and a pair of bloomers. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dining room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like pool and red rover. Her mom was planning to make plenty of mushroom quiche and Froot Loops for everyone. Huong would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the lime-green and brown cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Huong would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a ruler! She hoped it would be a clean ruler. Her friend Muerto had said he would give her a skull, and her grandma always gave her cool stuff like the paintbrush she gave her last year. Huong 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 balaclava. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the seacoast. She would have to wear a pair of panties instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of bloomers.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Pla-Doh. Her mom was standing there with a blender in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sniff.
"Hi Mommy!" Huong replied later. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the mushroom quiche," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Dijon mustard. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Huong replied grudgingly. "Do we have the Froot Loops ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her mother replied shakily. "It only has to simmer for sixty-three minutes."
"Okay," Huong replied hastily. "I'm gonna go to the dining room."
"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 dining room 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," Huong responded, as she sat down to her ice cream. "Let's hang lots of lavender balloons and cover the canopy bed and the ping-pong table with salmon crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother solemnly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Jeanette Finegan. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Hallelujah," Huong responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a cheer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."