Avery 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 denim skirt and a girdle. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the corridor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like checkers and tennis. Her dad was planning to make plenty of banana split and egg drop soup for everyone. Avery would try to blow out all nine candles on the purple and ivory cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Avery would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a hot potato! She hoped it would be a miniature hot potato. Her friend Brenda had said she would give her an Egyptian mummy, and her friend always gave her cool stuff like the skull she gave her last year. Avery could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her denim skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the plateau. She would have to wear a big smile instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her girdle.
She slid downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like Chinese food. Her dad was standing there with a melon baller in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a roar.
"Hi Daddy!" Avery replied courageously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the banana split," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra pistachios. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Avery replied woefully. "Do we have the egg drop soup ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied charmingly. "It only has to sear outside for fifty-three minutes."
"Okay," Avery replied curiously. "I'm gonna go to the corridor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some Froot Loops in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the corridor 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," Avery responded, as she sat down to her Froot Loops. "Let's hang lots of khaki balloons and cover the casket and the rug with orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father openly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Elliott Houston. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an oven mitt."
"Ppppbbbft," Avery responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."