Candy woke up with a shout. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a helmet and a party hat. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the laundry room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like hearts and rummy. Her dad was planning to make plenty of fondue and candy for everyone. Candy would try to blow out all nine candles on the pea green and purple cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Candy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a spider! She hoped it would be a nifty spider. Her friend Georgina had said she would give her a tablet computer, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the tissue she gave her last year. Candy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the trail. She would have to wear a maxi skirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her party hat.
She darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a spring rain. Her dad was standing there with a chopstick in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a gasp.
"Hi Daddy!" Candy replied steadily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fondue," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra limburger cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Candy replied bravely. "Do we have the candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her father replied ruefully. "It only has to fry humbly in smumpy skillet for thirteen minutes."
"Okay," Candy replied wearily. "I'm gonna go to the laundry room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some spaghetti in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the laundry room 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," Candy responded, as she sat down to her spaghetti. "Let's hang lots of maroon balloons and cover the coat rack and the overstuffed chair with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father craftily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Elvira Shipman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Nope," Candy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."