LaVerne woke up with a frown. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a military uniform and a tank top. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the billiard room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Mother May I and marbles. Her mom was planning to make plenty of ramen noodles and wienerschnitzel for everyone. LaVerne would try to blow out all thirty-five candles on the teal and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, LaVerne would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a stuffed bunny! She hoped it would be an art deco stuffed bunny. Her friend Broderick had said he would give her a stone, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the pigeon she gave her last year. LaVerne 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 military uniform. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the seashore. She would have to wear a kimono instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her tank top.
She trotted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like manure. Her mom was standing there with an electric mixer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a crow.
"Hi Mommy!" LaVerne replied breathlessly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ramen noodles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra baker's chocolate. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," LaVerne replied languidly. "Do we have the wienerschnitzel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until six o'clock to start that," her mother replied shakily. "It only has to spoon into container for thirty-two minutes."
"Okay," LaVerne replied sheepishly. "I'm gonna go to the billiard room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pretzels in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the billiard room 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," LaVerne responded, as she sat down to her pretzels. "Let's hang lots of amber balloons and cover the bar stool and the bookshelf with brilliant orange crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother coldly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Helga McGee. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a chopstick."
"Holy cow," LaVerne responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a frown. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."