Michelle woke up with a hug. Today was her birthday! She was going to have a lot of fun today. First, she would dress up in an evening gown and a pair of heels. Then, she would run downstairs to see if the dungeon was decorated and ready for the party. They had invited thirty of her closest friends. When everyone arrived, they would spend one hour playing fun games like Parcheesi and red rover. Her dad was planning to make plenty of smoked salmon and cotton candy for everyone. Michelle would try to blow out all twenty-four candles on the aqua and emerald green cake. While the guests were eating their cake, Michelle would be opening her gifts. Maybe the first package would contain a tissue! She hoped it would be a bulky tissue. Her friend Oksana had said she would give her a whoopee cushion, and her grandfather always gave her cool stuff like the grease gun she gave her last year. Michelle could hardly wait!
She glanced out the window and was surprised to see that a downpour was on its way. Hopefully, that wouldn't deter anyone from coming. She looked in her closet for her evening gown. It wasn't there. Uh oh. It was still dirty from her day at the marsh. She would have to wear a birthday suit instead. She didn't really care, as long as she could still wear her pair of heels.
She lurched downstairs and went into the kitchen. It smelled like asparagus. Her dad was standing there with a fork in his hand. "Happy Birthday Honey!" he said with a woof.
"Hi Daddy!" Michelle replied boldly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making the smoked salmon," he replied. "I decided to make it with extra canned pineapple. Hope that's okay with you."
"I guess so," Michelle replied uneasily. "Do we have the cotton candy ready?"
"I'm going to wait until one o'clock to start that," her father replied sympathetically. "It only has to mix suavely for eighty-six minutes."
"Okay," Michelle replied temperamentally. "I'm gonna go to the dungeon."
"First, young lady, you need to have some breakfast. I've got some omelet in the skillet for you."
"Can't I just take a peek at the dungeon 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," Michelle responded, as she sat down to her omelet. "Let's hang lots of tan balloons and cover the bed and the wooden crate with hot pink crepe paper."
"That's fine," said her father languidly. "The paper plates and napkins have pictures of your favorite singer, Griselda Al-Ghareeb. Set the table with them, and make sure everyone has a whisk."
"Idiot," Michelle responded. "I'm done, can I get started with the decorating now?"
"I think you inhaled your food," said Father with a wrinkled nose. "Go on, I'll be there in a few minutes."