Jody woke up with a sneer. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a pair of jackboots and a veil. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the foyer was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and backgammon. Her mom was planning to make plenty of sauerkraut and pot roast for everyone. Jody would try to blow out all thirty candles on the rose and azure cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Jody would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a brush! She hoped it would be a disgusting brush. Her friend Dustin had said he would give her a dead ghost, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the coffee pot she gave her last year. Jody could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a flood was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her pair of jackboots. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the rainforest. She would have to wear a hoodie instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her veil.
She marched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like wood. Her mom was standing there with a napkin in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a shout.
"Hi Mommy!" Jody replied angrily. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the sauerkraut," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra egg whites. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Jody replied merrily. "Do we have the pot roast ready?"
"I'm going to wait until seven o'clock to start that," her mother replied bitterly. "It only has to melt for forty-four minutes."
"Okay," Jody replied softly. "I'm gonna go to the foyer."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some cotton candy in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the foyer 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," Jody responded, as she sat down to her cotton candy. "Let's hang lots of magenta balloons and cover the pool table and the rocking chair with striped crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother obediently. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Pallavi Hudson. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a foot."
"My my," Jody responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a snort. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."