Xenia woke up with a coo. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a helmet and a belt buckle. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the cage was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited eleven of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend four hours playing fun games like volleyball and Scrabble. Her mom was planning to make plenty of pecan pie and chicken chow mein for everyone. Xenia would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the jet black and white cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Xenia would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a doll! She hoped it would be a gleaming doll. Her friend Garrick had said he would give her a mosquito net, and her cousin always gave her cool stuff like the magazine she gave her last year. Xenia could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her helmet. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the dumpster. She would have to wear a bracelet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her belt buckle.
She sashayed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like plastic. Her mom was standing there with a wooden spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a flinch.
"Hi Mommy!" Xenia replied sheepishly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the pecan pie," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra ground lamb. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Xenia replied carelessly. "Do we have the chicken chow mein ready?"
"I'm going to wait until eleven o'clock to start that," her mother replied again. "It only has to marinate for eighty-two minutes."
"Okay," Xenia replied fearlessly. "I'm gonna go to the cage."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cornbread in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the cage 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," Xenia responded, as she sat down to her cornbread. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the settee and the bookshelf with black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother queerly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Susan Eastwood. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"I think not," Xenia responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a yawn. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."