Samantha woke up with a smile. 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 jumpsuit. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the bedroom was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like Mother May I and Clue. Her dad was planning to make plenty of tofu and tuna casserole for everyone. Samantha would try to blow out all twenty candles on the violet and camouflage cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Samantha would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a teddy bear! She hoped it would be an art deco teddy bear. Her friend Marisa had said she would give her a pot, and her aunt always gave her cool stuff like the pot she gave her last year. Samantha could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hot, sunny day 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 ridge. She would have to wear a helmet instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her jumpsuit.
She bolted downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like roses. Her dad was standing there with an egg cutter in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a woof.
"Hi Daddy!" Samantha replied proudly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the tofu," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra eggs. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Samantha replied demurely. "Do we have the tuna casserole ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied wearily. "It only has to freeze for eighty-two minutes."
"Okay," Samantha replied grimly. "I'm gonna go to the bedroom."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some tortillas in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the bedroom 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," Samantha responded, as she sat down to her tortillas. "Let's hang lots of lime-green balloons and cover the footstool and the wardrobe with grey crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father proudly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Charlotte Radcliffe. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a wooden spoon."
"Gotta love it," Samantha responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a sneeze. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."