Jan woke up with a chuckle. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a corsage and a cocktail dress. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited seventeen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like doctor and doctor. Her mom was planning to make plenty of Hamburger Helper and ham for everyone. Jan would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the terra cotta and maroon cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jan would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Frisbee! She hoped it would be an aromatic Frisbee. Her friend Clyde had said he would give her a primrose, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the flag she gave her last year. Jan could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a gale was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her corsage. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a set of vampire fangs instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her cocktail dress.
She traipsed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roses. Her mom was standing there with an ice pick in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a jeer.
"Hi Mommy!" Jan replied wearily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Hamburger Helper," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra kielbasa. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jan replied dubiously. "Do we have the ham ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied recklessly. "It only has to place on serving dish for eighty-two minutes."
"Okay," Jan replied urgently. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bread and butter in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Jan responded, as she sat down to her bread and butter. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the card table and the stool with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother thoughtfully. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Margaret Dalton. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to," Jan responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniffle. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."