Clarisa woke up with a raspberry. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a baseball cap and a space suit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the outhouse was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited fourteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like leapfrog and seven-up. Her dad was planning to make plenty of cabbage and hot dogs for everyone. Clarisa would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the striped and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Clarisa would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an acorn! She hoped it would be a rancid acorn. Her friend Tara had said she would give her a billfold, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the fishing rod she gave her last year. Clarisa could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her baseball cap. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the cornfield. She would have to wear a pair of jeans instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her space suit.
She straggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smelling salts. Her dad was standing there with a pair of chopsticks in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a clenched fist.
"Hi Daddy!" Clarisa replied humbly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the cabbage," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra basil. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Clarisa replied threateningly. "Do we have the hot dogs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied unabashedly. "It only has to roast for forty-six minutes."
"Okay," Clarisa replied confidently. "I'm gonna go to the outhouse."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some omelet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the outhouse 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," Clarisa responded, as she sat down to her omelet. "Let's hang lots of jet black balloons and cover the TV and the dresser with mauve crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father gruffly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Dinah Satterlee. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Pow," Clarisa responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a jeer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."