Clio woke up with a grunt. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of flip-flops and a cardigan. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like poker and baseball. Her dad was planning to make plenty of strawberry shortcake and hors d'oeuvre for everyone. Clio would try to blow out all eight candles on the teal and olive green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Clio would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a toilet plunger! She hoped it would be a ragged toilet plunger. Her friend Annalouise had said she would give her a jar of olives, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the crutch she gave her last year. Clio could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sleet storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of flip-flops. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the backyard. She would have to wear a pair of Groucho glasses instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cardigan.
She ambled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like peanut butter. Her dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a flinch.
"Hi Daddy!" Clio replied pityingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the strawberry shortcake," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra almond paste. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Clio replied trustingly. "Do we have the hors d'oeuvre ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied carelessly. "It only has to spread into container for thirty-one minutes."
"Okay," Clio replied tenderly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pretzels in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Clio responded, as she sat down to her pretzels. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the bath mat and the dining table with pea green crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father crankily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Christina Dorn. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a blender."
"Bada bing bada boom," Clio responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grunt. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."