Sierra woke up with a cackle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a mortarboard and a set of vampire fangs. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the linen closet was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like backgammon and Monopoly. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pizza and omelet for everyone. Sierra would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the rose and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sierra would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pacifier! She hoped it would be a delicate pacifier. Her friend Walter had said he would give her a banana, and her sister-in-law always gave her cool stuff like the bottle of painkillers she gave her last year. Sierra could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her mortarboard. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the tundra. She would have to wear a pair of knickers instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her set of vampire fangs.
She leapt downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gardenias. Her mom was standing there with a sharp knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flush.
"Hi Mommy!" Sierra replied automatically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pizza," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra vinegar. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sierra replied warmly. "Do we have the omelet ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eight o'clock to start that," her mother replied frenetically. "It only has to whirl for thirty-three minutes."
"Okay," Sierra replied suspiciously. "I'm gonna go to the linen closet."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some lobster bisque in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the linen closet 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," Sierra responded, as she sat down to her lobster bisque. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the chest of drawers and the wooden crate with crimson crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother pitifully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Marvella Eklund. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a fork."
"The joke's on you," Sierra responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a beam. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."