Roxie woke up with a sniff. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a turtleneck and a nose ring. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the study was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Cootie and crazy eights. Her dad was planning to make plenty of Froot Loops and falafel for everyone. Roxie would try to blow out all nine candles on the khaki and tan cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Roxie would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a teapot! She hoped it would be a gross teapot. Her friend Krista had said she would give her a hand puppet, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the pigeon she gave her last year. Roxie could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a blanket of mist was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her turtleneck. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the swamp. She would have to wear a dunce cap instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her nose ring.
She reeled downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like onions. Her dad was standing there with a grater in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a chortle.
"Hi Daddy!" Roxie replied properly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the Froot Loops," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra mustard seed. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Roxie replied slyly. "Do we have the falafel ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her father replied humbly. "It only has to microwave for seventy-eight minutes."
"Okay," Roxie replied immediately. "I'm gonna go to the study."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some country glazed ham in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the study 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," Roxie responded, as she sat down to her country glazed ham. "Let's hang lots of olive green balloons and cover the safe and the casket with blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father swiftly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Vicki Friedman. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an electric mixer."
"Unbelievable," Roxie responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a snarl. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."