Shannon woke up with a clenched fist. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a Hawaiian shirt and a belly button jewel. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend three hours playing fun games like treasure hunt and battleship. Her mom was planning to make plenty of moo goo gai pan and sauerkraut for everyone. Shannon would try to blow out all twenty-two candles on the red and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Shannon would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a wrench! She hoped it would be a ridged wrench. Her friend Fido had said he would give her a can of beans, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the cotton ball she gave her last year. Shannon could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her Hawaiian shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plateau. She would have to wear a flak jacket instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her belly button jewel.
She jumped downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like fine perfume. Her mom was standing there with a corkscrew in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a curtsey.
"Hi Mommy!" Shannon replied offhandedly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the moo goo gai pan," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra lime Jell-O. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Shannon replied surreptitiously. "Do we have the sauerkraut ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied crankily. "It only has to bake at 450 degrees F for thirty-five minutes."
"Okay," Shannon replied glumly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some country glazed ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Shannon responded, as she sat down to her country glazed ham. "Let's hang lots of mauve balloons and cover the end table and the table with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother crazily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Susanne Morrissey. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"I doubt it," Shannon responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."