Sydmo woke up with a growl. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a jerkin and a robe. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the servant's quarters was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like hopscotch and checkers. Her dad was planning to make plenty of smoked salmon and fondue for everyone. Sydmo would try to blow out all eleven candles on the mauve and indigo cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Sydmo would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a gas mask! She hoped it would be a hefty gas mask. Her friend Bianca had said she would give her a feather, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the pair of fuzzy dice she gave her last year. Sydmo could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a pelting rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her jerkin. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the desert. She would have to wear a coat of mail instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her robe.
She darted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like tacos. Her dad was standing there with a meat tenderizer in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a sneeze.
"Hi Daddy!" Sydmo replied furiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the smoked salmon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra oatmeal. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Sydmo replied obediently. "Do we have the fondue ready?"
"I'm going to wait until four o'clock to start that," her father replied dolorously. "It only has to microwave for nineteen minutes."
"Okay," Sydmo replied briskly. "I'm gonna go to the servant's quarters."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some catfish stew in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the servant's quarters 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," Sydmo responded, as she sat down to her catfish stew. "Let's hang lots of burgundy balloons and cover the toilet and the toilet with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father intensely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Ana Saint Pierre. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cookie cutter."
"Par bleu," Sydmo responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."