Daisy woke up with a yawn. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a T-shirt and a pair of boxing gloves. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited sixteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like Rummy and Clue. Her dad was planning to make plenty of Cheerios and ramen noodles for everyone. Daisy would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the burgundy and aqua cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Daisy would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain an abacus! She hoped it would be a speckled abacus. Her friend Eve had said she would give her a pair of dice, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the bone she gave her last year. Daisy could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a sandstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her T-shirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the steppe. She would have to wear a leotard instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of boxing gloves.
She flew downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like barbeque. Her dad was standing there with a spatula in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a smile.
"Hi Daddy!" Daisy replied confidently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Cheerios," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra Velveeta cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Daisy replied daintily. "Do we have the ramen noodles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied ferociously. "It only has to spread into container for seventy-seven minutes."
"Okay," Daisy replied queerly. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some ice cream in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the attic first?" she begged.
"It looks just like it always does," her father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Daisy responded, as she sat down to her ice cream. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the catbird seat and the TV with brown crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father automatically. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Delores Berger. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a basting brush."
"Pish posh," Daisy responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a grunt. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."