Jasmine woke up with a titter. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of boxer shorts and a sombrero. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-three of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like roulette and jump rope. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pancakes and lamb curry for everyone. Jasmine would try to blow out all twenty-seven candles on the azure and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jasmine would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bag! She hoped it would be a multicolored bag. Her friend Pablo had said he would give her a sea shell, and her sister always gave her cool stuff like the toy she gave her last year. Jasmine could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of boxer shorts. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the oasis. She would have to wear a motorcycle helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her sombrero.
She skidded downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like gingersnaps. Her mom was standing there with a potato peeler in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a stiff upper lip.
"Hi Mommy!" Jasmine replied delicately. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pancakes," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra water chestnuts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jasmine replied despondently. "Do we have the lamb curry ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her mother replied hopefully. "It only has to spoon into container for thirteen minutes."
"Okay," Jasmine replied gleefully. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some biscuits and gravy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the salon 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," Jasmine responded, as she sat down to her biscuits and gravy. "Let's hang lots of olive drab balloons and cover the display case and the washstand with metallic red crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother brightly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Sheryl Deutsch. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an egg cutter."
"Boo," Jasmine responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a smack. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."