Anna woke up with a fist bump. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a trench coat and a pair of gloves. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the master bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like charades and Russian roulette. Her mom was planning to make plenty of fried eggs and cotton candy for everyone. Anna would try to blow out all twenty-five candles on the orange and crimson cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Anna would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pencil! She hoped it would be a funny pencil. Her friend Keith had said he would give her a stuffed bunny, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the key she gave her last year. Anna could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that an earthquake was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her trench coat. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a hoop skirt instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of gloves.
She skittered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smoke. Her mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a woof.
"Hi Mommy!" Anna replied sleepily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the fried eggs," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra vegetable broth. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Anna replied angrily. "Do we have the cotton candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied wearily. "It only has to broil for sixty-five minutes."
"Okay," Anna replied roughly. "I'm gonna go to the master bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some beans 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Anna responded, as she sat down to her beans. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the rug and the armoire with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother dreamily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, LaDonna Jones. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a grater."
"W00t," Anna responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."