Hannah woke up with a flutter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a nose ring and a set of vampire fangs. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like Cootie and baseball. Her dad was planning to make plenty of pumpkin pie and corn on the cob for everyone. Hannah would try to blow out all twenty-three candles on the beige and olive drab cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Hannah would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hacksaw! She hoped it would be a smooth hacksaw. Her friend Theresa had said she would give her a Bunsen burner, and her wife always gave her cool stuff like the pair of knitting needles she gave her last year. Hannah could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hurricane was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her nose ring. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the tundra. She would have to wear a floppy hat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of vampire fangs.
She crept downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like flatulence. Her dad was standing there with a napkin in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a backward glance.
"Hi Daddy!" Hannah replied dolefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pumpkin pie," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra apple slices. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Hannah replied jokingly. "Do we have the corn on the cob ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied silently. "It only has to age for fourteen minutes."
"Okay," Hannah replied craftily. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some mulligan stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the master bedroom 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," Hannah responded, as she sat down to her mulligan stew. "Let's hang lots of sea green balloons and cover the hammock and the nightstand with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father oddly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Motormouth Simpson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"I'm so sure," Hannah responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a roar. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."