Seema woke up with a sneer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of Reeboks and a big grin. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the attic was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like billiards and shuffleboard. Her mom was planning to make plenty of ravioli and ceviche for everyone. Seema would try to blow out all thirty-four candles on the jade and periwinkle cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Seema would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a corsage! She hoped it would be a gaudy corsage. Her friend Noah had said he would give her an advertisement, and her main squeeze always gave her cool stuff like the jar of olives she gave her last year. Seema 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 Reeboks. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the field. She would have to wear a pair of khakis instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her big grin.
She straggled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like beef stew. Her mom was standing there with a strainer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a gurgle.
"Hi Mommy!" Seema replied patiently. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ravioli," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Jello. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Seema replied ignobly. "Do we have the ceviche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied accidentally. "It only has to toast for forty-eight minutes."
"Okay," Seema replied bitterly. "I'm gonna go to the attic."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some blueberry pie 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 mother replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Seema responded, as she sat down to her blueberry pie. "Let's hang lots of emerald green balloons and cover the settee and the crib with camouflage crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother narrowly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Hillary Stringer. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Voilà," Seema responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sneer. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."