Marion woke up with a growl. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in a feather boa and a beach towel. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the front porch was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited five of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend two hours playing fun games like ring around the rosie and baseball. Her mom was planning to make plenty of jambalaya and jambalaya for everyone. Marion would try to blow out all eleven candles on the peach and navy blue cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Marion would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a brochure! She hoped it would be a brightly-colored brochure. Her friend Cory had said he would give her a pail, and her mentor always gave her cool stuff like the candle she gave her last year. Marion could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a typhoon was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her feather boa. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the oasis. She would have to wear a birthday suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her beach towel.
She sallied forth downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like trouble. Her mom was standing there with a knife in her hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" she said with a shrug.
"Hi Mommy!" Marion replied sarcastically. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the jambalaya," she replied. "I decided to make it with extra beef broth. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Marion replied threateningly. "Do we have the jambalaya ready?"
"I'm going to wait until nine o'clock to start that," her mother replied thoughtfully. "It only has to age for sixty-six minutes."
"Okay," Marion replied numbly. "I'm gonna go to the front porch."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some apple pie in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the front porch 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," Marion responded, as she sat down to her apple pie. "Let's hang lots of golden balloons and cover the dining table and the dishwasher with peach crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her mother dubiously. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite Tv star, Edna Greenwood. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a dull knife."
"I doubt it," Marion responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Mother with a squint. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."