Andrea woke up with a frown. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a sweatshirt and a pair of shin guards. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the salon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited six of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like badminton and musical chairs. Her dad was planning to make plenty of enchiladas and pecan pie for everyone. Andrea would try to blow out all four candles on the rose and silver cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Andrea would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a clock! She hoped it would be a crude clock. Her friend Brook had said she would give her a ping-pong paddle, and her grandmother always gave her cool stuff like the diagram she gave her last year. Andrea could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a lightning storm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her sweatshirt. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the savanna. She would have to wear a girdle instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of shin guards.
She skittered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like wood. Her dad was standing there with a potato peeler in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a wince.
"Hi Daddy!" Andrea replied smoothly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the enchiladas," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra green chiles. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Andrea replied stealthily. "Do we have the pecan pie ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied valiantly. "It only has to freeze for eighty-seven minutes."
"Okay," Andrea replied nonchalantly. "I'm gonna go to the salon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some burritos 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Andrea responded, as she sat down to her burritos. "Let's hang lots of yellow balloons and cover the ping-pong table and the filing cabinet with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father reluctantly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Meredith Hunter. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a pair of tongs."
"Optimum," Andrea responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a titter. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."