Nakisha woke up with a clenched fist. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of earmuffs and a corset. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the parlor was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty-four of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like baseball and baseball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of hot dogs and egg rolls for everyone. Nakisha would try to blow out all thirty-one candles on the ivory and beige cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Nakisha would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a fingernail clipper! She hoped it would be an autographed fingernail clipper. Her friend Garrett had said he would give her a coupon, and her grandpa always gave her cool stuff like the contract she gave her last year. Nakisha could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a thunderstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of earmuffs. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the mesa. She would have to wear a headscarf instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her corset.
She slithered downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a dusty attic. Her mom was standing there with a strainer in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a sniffle.
"Hi Mommy!" Nakisha replied valiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the hot dogs," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra peanuts. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Nakisha replied testily. "Do we have the egg rolls ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied hopefully. "It only has to blanch for forty-nine minutes."
"Okay," Nakisha replied neatly. "I'm gonna go to the parlor."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some apple pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the parlor 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," Nakisha responded, as she sat down to her apple pie. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the bath mat and the wine rack with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother openly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Daisy Kollmorgen. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a spoon."
"Eureka," Nakisha responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sigh. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."