Ava woke up with a smirk. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a tuxedo and a mortarboard. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the oubliette was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like leapfrog and blackjack. Her dad was planning to make plenty of tortillas and cotton candy for everyone. Ava would try to blow out all thirty-three candles on the orange and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ava would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a billiard ball! She hoped it would be a polished billiard ball. Her friend Kathryn had said she would give her a pair of pliers, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the stone she gave her last year. Ava could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her tuxedo. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the stream. She would have to wear a visor instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her mortarboard.
She tumbled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fine perfume. Her dad was standing there with a wooden spoon in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a death glare.
"Hi Daddy!" Ava replied intensely. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tortillas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra whale blubber. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ava replied dolefully. "Do we have the cotton candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her father replied brashly. "It only has to steam for fifty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Ava replied ruefully. "I'm gonna go to the oubliette."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some scrambled eggs in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the oubliette 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," Ava responded, as she sat down to her scrambled eggs. "Let's hang lots of pea green balloons and cover the coat rack and the computer with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father crankily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Linda Tilley. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a candy thermometer."
"Of course," Ava responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flutter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."