Geraldine woke up with a wince. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of knickerbockers and a bodysuit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the workshop was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirteen of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend seven hours playing fun games like Scrabble and volleyball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of sushi and jambalaya for everyone. Geraldine would try to blow out all thirteen candles on the olive green and mauve cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Geraldine would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a pain pill! She hoped it would be a ridiculous pain pill. Her friend Joe had said he would give her an antenna, and her mommy always gave her cool stuff like the stick of gum she gave her last year. Geraldine could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a driving rain was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of knickerbockers. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the hill. She would have to wear a headscarf instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her bodysuit.
She bolted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a new car. Her mom was standing there with a slotted spoon in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a growl.
"Hi Mommy!" Geraldine replied gracefully. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sushi," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra red lentils. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Geraldine replied trustingly. "Do we have the jambalaya ready?"
"I'm going to wait until twelve o'clock to start that," her mother replied miserably. "It only has to arrange for seventy-one minutes."
"Okay," Geraldine replied sympathetically. "I'm gonna go to the workshop."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some roast Cornish game hen in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the workshop 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," Geraldine responded, as she sat down to her roast Cornish game hen. "Let's hang lots of pea green balloons and cover the water bed and the bed with navy blue crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother smoothly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Antoinette Madison. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a food processor."
"Ahh," Geraldine responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a sniff. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."