Kyra woke up with a clenched fist. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a big grin and a pair of culottes. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the rec room was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited twenty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend eight hours playing fun games like poker and seven-up. Her dad was planning to make plenty of crumb cake and ramen noodles for everyone. Kyra would try to blow out all four candles on the grey and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Kyra would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Frisbee! She hoped it would be a bizarre Frisbee. Her friend Pam had said she would give her a can of beans, and her dad always gave her cool stuff like the book she gave her last year. Kyra could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a humid day was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her big grin. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the park. She would have to wear a fur coat instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of culottes.
She flounced downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a wet dog. Her dad was standing there with a turkey baster in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a cringe.
"Hi Daddy!" Kyra replied temperamentally. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the crumb cake," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra whipping cream. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Kyra replied madly. "Do we have the ramen noodles ready?"
"I'm going to wait until five o'clock to start that," her father replied quietly. "It only has to fry for seventy minutes."
"Okay," Kyra replied rapidly. "I'm gonna go to the rec room."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some egg rolls 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 father replied. "Remember, I'm depending on you to help with the decorating."
"Oh yeah," Kyra responded, as she sat down to her egg rolls. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the futon and the stool with teal crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father sheepishly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Nicole Zhao. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a strainer."
"Son of a gun," Kyra responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a curtsey. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."