Giselle woke up with a roar. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a maxi skirt and a pair of safety glasses. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the hall was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like hearts and doctor. Her mom was planning to make plenty of blueberry pie and candy for everyone. Giselle would try to blow out all twenty-nine candles on the pea green and jet black cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Giselle would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a shoe! She hoped it would be a ridiculous shoe. Her friend Nils had said he would give her a wrench, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the baton she gave her last year. Giselle could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a tornado was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her maxi skirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the field. She would have to wear a jumper instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of safety glasses.
She bounded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like an old goat. Her mom was standing there with a pair of tongs in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a hiccup.
"Hi Mommy!" Giselle replied obediently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the blueberry pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra almond paste. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Giselle replied reluctantly. "Do we have the candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied suavely. "It only has to age for thirty-four minutes."
"Okay," Giselle replied ruefully. "I'm gonna go to the hall."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some chicken soup in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the hall 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," Giselle responded, as she sat down to her chicken soup. "Let's hang lots of scarlet balloons and cover the wooden crate and the bookcase with chartreuse crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother zestily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Callie Goldberg. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"I'm outta here," Giselle responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a flinch. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."