Stella woke up with a pout. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a cap and a badge. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the solarium was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited one of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend five hours playing fun games like roulette and jacks. Her mom was planning to make plenty of roast Cornish game hen and hot dogs for everyone. Stella would try to blow out all twenty-one candles on the forest green and orange cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Stella would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a Rubik's cube! She hoped it would be a rancid Rubik's cube. Her friend Nickolas had said he would give her a comic book, and her girlfriend always gave her cool stuff like the bottle of painkillers she gave her last year. Stella could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a hailstorm was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her cap. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the grassy knoll. She would have to wear a badge instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her badge.
She jogged downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like a Christmas tree. Her mom was standing there with a whisk in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a hiccup.
"Hi Mommy!" Stella replied valiantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the roast Cornish game hen," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra celery. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Stella replied madly. "Do we have the hot dogs ready?"
"I'm going to wait until three o'clock to start that," her mother replied dolorously. "It only has to spread into container for one minute."
"Okay," Stella replied cautiously. "I'm gonna go to the solarium."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some sweet potatoes in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the solarium 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," Stella responded, as she sat down to her sweet potatoes. "Let's hang lots of carrot-orange balloons and cover the dishwasher and the china hutch with white crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother dreamily. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Amanda Hayes. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has an ice pick."
"Thpft," Stella responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a power fist. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."