Ruth woke up with a snicker. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a toga and a pith helmet. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the ballroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like red rover and ring around the rosie. Her mom was planning to make plenty of ramen noodles and dry toast for everyone. Ruth would try to blow out all fourteen candles on the polka dotted and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Ruth would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a bird cage! She hoped it would be a sophisticated bird cage. Her friend Bobby had said he would give her a barbell, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the tote bag she gave her last year. Ruth could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a rainstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her toga. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the treetop. She would have to wear a hood instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pith helmet.
She bolted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like rotten eggs. Her mom was standing there with a basting brush in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a jeer.
"Hi Mommy!" Ruth replied trustingly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the ramen noodles," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra Velveeta cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Ruth replied impatiently. "Do we have the dry toast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied despondently. "It only has to spoon into container for thirty minutes."
"Okay," Ruth replied zestily. "I'm gonna go to the ballroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pancakes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the ballroom 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," Ruth responded, as she sat down to her pancakes. "Let's hang lots of beige balloons and cover the china cabinet and the credenza with olive drab crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother accidentally. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Emmeline Ling. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a napkin."
"Who says?," Ruth responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a shiver. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."