LaDonna woke up with a raspberry. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a blouse and a derby. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the pantry was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited ten of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like dodge ball and Mother May I. Her dad was planning to make plenty of banana split and mushroom quiche for everyone. LaDonna would try to blow out all twenty-six candles on the burgundy and metallic red cake. While the guests were eating their cake, LaDonna would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a crate! She hoped it would be a striped crate. Her friend Penny had said she would give her a spider, and her mom always gave her cool stuff like the plaque she gave her last year. LaDonna 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 blouse. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the briar patch. She would have to wear a pair of tights instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her derby.
She sailed downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like smoke. Her dad was standing there with a cheesecloth in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a bound.
"Hi Daddy!" LaDonna replied defiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the banana split," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra salmon. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," LaDonna replied clumsily. "Do we have the mushroom quiche ready?"
"I'm going to wait until ten o'clock to start that," her father replied speedily. "It only has to mix fearlessly for fifteen minutes."
"Okay," LaDonna replied woodenly. "I'm gonna go to the pantry."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some bonbons in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the pantry 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," LaDonna responded, as she sat down to her bonbons. "Let's hang lots of rose balloons and cover the piano and the catbird seat with burgundy crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father victoriously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Jill Pough. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a strainer."
"Not so fast," LaDonna responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a flush. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."