Shandra woke up with a hoot. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a bustier and an earring. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited nine of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend six hours playing fun games like roulette and poker. Her mom was planning to make plenty of chicken gumbo and applesauce for everyone. Shandra would try to blow out all five candles on the lavender and amber cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Shandra would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a paper airplane! She hoped it would be a ridiculous paper airplane. Her friend Bruno had said he would give her a comb, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the compass she gave her last year. Shandra could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a snowstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her bustier. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the backyard. She would have to wear a pair of earrings instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her earring.
She scurried downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a stable. Her mom was standing there with a fork in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a yawn.
"Hi Mommy!" Shandra replied coldly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the chicken gumbo," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra cream cheese. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Shandra replied peevishly. "Do we have the applesauce ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her mother replied grudgingly. "It only has to braise for sixteen minutes."
"Okay," Shandra replied resignedly. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some pie a la mode in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the rec room 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," Shandra responded, as she sat down to her pie a la mode. "Let's hang lots of black balloons and cover the coffee table and the credenza with jet black crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother suavely. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Mama Geiger. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a cheesecloth."
"Feh," Shandra responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a roar. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."